Chapter 2: The Friend Who Remembered
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
The television continued playing in the background, some sports channel talking quietly about a game nobody was watching anymore.
The only sound in the room was the soft hum of the refrigerator.
Scott stared at Brandon.
“What are you talking about?””
Brandon didn’t look away.
“I’m talking about the night your wife almost didn’t make it through delivery.””
My chest tightened.
Scott’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I noticed.
Because I knew him.
Or at least, I used to.
Brandon looked around the room.
“All of you are laughing at something you don’t understand.””
One of Scott’s friends, Mark, shifted awkwardly in his seat.
“Man, we didn’t know it was that serious.””
Brandon turned toward him.
“You didn’t know because it wasn’t your business.””
Then he looked back at Scott.
“But it was his.””
He pointed at my husband.
“He was there.””
The package was still in Scott’s hand.
Suddenly, it didn’t look like a joke anymore.
It looked like evidence.
A reminder of something cruel.
Scott lowered it slightly.
“Brandon, don’t make this a big deal.””
Brandon’s jaw tightened.
“That’s exactly what you did.””
His voice stayed calm.
That somehow made it worse.
“You made something big into something small because you wanted people to laugh.””
I stood frozen near the doorway.
Part of me wanted to disappear.
Another part of me wanted to hear everything.
Because Brandon knew something I didn’t.
Scott had never told me what he said to his friends after the birth.
I only knew that the week after we came home, he seemed different.
Distant.
Frustrated.
Like my recovery was an inconvenience.
Brandon looked at me.
“I’m sorry.””
Those two words almost broke me.
Not because they fixed anything.
But because someone finally acknowledged that something was wrong.
Scott immediately shook his head.
“Brandon, seriously?””
“No.””
Brandon faced him again.
“Seriously, Scott.””
He picked up the package from Scott’s hand.
For a moment, I thought he was going to throw it away.
Instead, he gently placed it on the table.
Like it was something that deserved dignity.
Not humiliation.
Then he said something I would remember forever.
“Your wife carried three lives inside her body. She nearly destroyed herself bringing your children into this world. And you’re standing here acting like she failed because her body didn’t magically return to the way it was before?””
Nobody laughed.
Nobody even looked at Scott.
Scott’s face turned red.
“You’re overreacting.””
Brandon shook his head.
“No. You’re underreacting.””
The words landed.
Scott looked at the others.
“You guys seriously think this is normal?””
Nobody answered.
That silence seemed to anger him more than anything.
He pointed at Brandon.
“You’re taking her side?””
Brandon stared at him.
“I’m taking the side of basic human decency.””
I felt tears building.
I hated that I was crying.
I hated that after everything, I still cared what Scott thought.
But I couldn’t stop.
Because for a year, I had wondered if maybe I was too sensitive.
Maybe I was making it bigger than it was.
Maybe marriage meant accepting things you didn’t like.
But standing there, hearing someone else say it out loud, I realized something.
Love wasn’t supposed to make you feel ashamed of surviving.
Scott looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw uncertainty on his face.
Maybe he expected me to forgive him.
Maybe he expected me to laugh it off.
Maybe he expected me to stay quiet like I always had.
But I didn’t.
I walked forward.
Slowly.
I looked at the package on the table.
Then at him.
“Do you know what hurts the most?””
Scott said nothing.
I continued.
“It’s not that you showed them.””
His expression shifted.
“It’s that you knew exactly what it meant.””
The room was completely silent.
“You knew how many nights I cried.””
I swallowed.
“You knew how scared I was that something was wrong with me.””
My voice shook.
“You held my hand in that doctor’s office.””
Scott looked away.
“And then you used the same thing I trusted you with as a joke.””
For once, he had no answer.
One of his friends, Daniel, stood up.
“Scott… man.””
Scott snapped.
“What?””
Daniel hesitated.
“I think you owe her an apology.””
Scott laughed once.
But there was no humor in it.
“Everybody’s acting like I committed some crime.””
Brandon’s face hardened.
“No. We’re acting like you hurt your wife.””
Scott grabbed his phone from the table.
“Whatever. I need some air.””
He walked toward the door.
I thought he was leaving.
But before he opened it, he stopped.
He turned back.
And instead of apologizing, he said something that made my stomach drop.
“You know what? Maybe everyone’s right. Maybe this marriage hasn’t been working because you haven’t been the same since the babies.””
The words hit harder than the joke.
Because they revealed something I had been afraid to admit.
Scott didn’t just think my body had changed.
He thought I had.
The door slammed behind him.
Nobody spoke.
Then Brandon quietly picked up his beer.
But he didn’t drink it.
He looked at me.
“Can I ask you something?””
I wiped my face.
“What?””
His expression was serious.
“Has he been talking to you like this for a long time?””
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
Because the answer was obvious.
And somehow, saying it out loud made it real.
“Yes.””
Brandon nodded slowly.
Then he reached into his pocket.
He pulled out his phone.
“I think there’s something you need to know.””
My heart started beating faster.
“What?””
He looked toward the closed door where Scott had disappeared.
“Because this isn’t the first time Scott has told people a story about you.””
My blood ran cold.
“What story?””
Brandon hesitated.
May you like
Then he turned the phone screen toward me.
And I saw my husband’s name in a group chat.
