"I fucked up Bryan."
The bar was dimly lit, the kind of place where the air smells like stale beer and wood polish. Elliot sat slumped over the counter, a half-empty glass of whiskey in his hand, his tie loosened and his hair dishevelled.
His eyes, usually sharp and calculating, were now glassy and unfocused. Across from him, Bryan sat with a glass of water, his dark eyes watching Elliot with a mix of concern and exasperation.
"I fucked up Bryan," Elliot slurred, his voice heavy with regret. He took another swig of his drink, the liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rim. "I really, really fucked up."
Bryan raised an eyebrow, his expression unimpressed. "You're drunk, Elliot. Maybe you should slow down."
Elliot waved him off, nearly knocking over his glass in the process. "No, no, no. You don't get it. I'm not just drunk. I'm... I'm broken, Bryan. My life is a mess. My wife—Sophie—she's... she's impossible. I can't do anything right. I'm always stepping on eggshells around her, like one wrong word and she'll explode. And she does. She always does."
Bryan sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Elliot, you're married. That's what happens. You argue. You figure it out. You don't sit here whining about it like a kid."
Elliot glared at him, his face flushed from the alcohol. "You don't get it, man. It's not just arguing. It's... it's like she wants to fight. She makes me feel guilty for everything. If I want to go out, if I want to see my friends, if I want to do anything that doesn't involve her, she acts like I'm abandoning her. And now that she's got this fashion thing, she's never home, and you know what? I'm glad. I'm glad she's out of the house. I'm glad she's busy. Because it means I don't have to deal with her."
Bryan's expression hardened. "Elliot, that's your wife. You don't talk about her like that."
"Why not?" Elliot shot back, his voice rising. "She's not perfect, Bryan. She's not some saint. She's... she's manipulative. She's controlling. And I think... I think I hate her."
Bryan leaned forward, his voice low and firm. "You don't mean that. You're drunk, and you're angry, but you don't hate her. You married her for a reason. You have a kid with her. You need to figure this out, Elliot. You can't just sit here and whine about it."
Elliot laughed bitterly, running a hand through his hair. "A kid. Right. Corbin. My son. The kid who looks started to act out just like his mother. The kid who's just as clever and sharp to cut me down, just like her. I love him, Bryan. I do. But sometimes... sometimes I look at him, and I feel nothing. And that... it's terrifying."
Bryan's expression softened slightly, but his tone remained firm. "You're his father, Elliot. You don't get to check out just because it's hard. You need to figure out how to be there for him. And for Sophie. You made a commitment. You can't just walk away from that."
Elliot groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I know, I know. But it's not that simple. I'm not happy, Bryan. I haven't been happy in a long time. And I don't know how to fix it."
Bryan was silent for a moment, his dark eyes studying Elliot. Then he said, "Maybe you start by trying. By starting over again with her, not complaining about it. You're not a kid, Elliot. You can't just run away from your problems. You have a kid with her, so divorce should at least be the last option."
Elliot looked up, his brown eyes were filled with anger and desperation. "You think I don't know that? You think I don't try? I do. I try so damn hard. But it's never enough. Nothing I do is ever enough for her. And you know what? Sometimes I think... sometimes I think I married the wrong person."
Bryan's jaw tightened. "Elliot—"
"No, listen," Elliot interrupted, his voice cracking. "I think about her, Bryan. Grace. I think about her all the time. I think about how she looked at me, how kind she is, her face replaces my wife's. I never noticed her before... nah, I did. I was just too selfish. Too busy trying to have fun and live my life. And now she's married to some other guy, and she's got a kid, and I... I missed my chance. I missed her."
Bryan sighed, rubbing his temples. "Elliot, you need to let that go. Grace is happy. You need to focus on your own life."
"But what if she's not?" Elliot said, his voice rising again. "What if she's not happy? What if she's just... settling? What if she still thinks about me? What if—"
"Elliot," Bryan said sharply, cutting him off. "You're spiraling. You need to stop."
Elliot slumped back in his chair, his shoulders sagging. "I just... I wish things were different. I wish I'd seen what was right in front of me. I wish I'd chosen her."
Bryan shook his head. "You can't keep doing this to yourself. You made your choices. And yeah, maybe you were selfish back then. Maybe you were too focused on yourself to see what Grace felt for you. But that's in the past. You can't change it. All you can do is move forward."
Elliot looked at him, his eyes pleading. "Does that make me a bad person? For not seeing it? For not choosing her?"
Bryan hesitated, then said. "No. It doesn't make you a bad person. You were young. You were figuring things out. And yeah, maybe you made some mistakes. But that's life, Elliot. You don't get to go back and fix it. You just have to learn from it."
Elliot stared into his glass, his expression haunted. "I just... I wish she'd never met him. I wish she'd never had his kid. I wish—"
"Elliot," Bryan said, his voice a little more strict. "Stop. Before you say something you'll regret."
Elliot laughed bitterly. "What's the point? There's no one here to rat on me."
Bryan leaned forward, his dark eyes locking onto Elliot's. "The point is that you need to start being intentional about your life. Not just getting by on skill and luck you've had since birth. You can't keep thinking like you're some kid with no responsibilities. You have a wife. You have a son. You need to figure it out and make that work."
Elliot sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't even know what love is anymore, Bryan. Not real love. Not the kind that lasts. Not the kind that makes you want to stay."
Bryan was silent for a moment, then said. "Love isn't just a feeling Elliot. It's a choice. It's showing up. It's putting in the work. And yeah maybe you've lost it for your wife, or never even had it, but now all that's left for you to do is have respect."
Elliot looked at him, his expression a mix of frustration and desperation. "And what about you, huh? You're sitting here giving me all this advice, but you're not even in a relationship. You're not even trying."
Bryan shrugged, his expression unbothered. "I'm not ready for that yet. And that's okay. I'm not going to force something that isn't there. But you? You've already made that commitment. You've already got a family. So you need to figure out how to make it work."
Elliot groaned, burying his face in his hands again. "I don't know if I can, Bryan. I don't know if I have it in me."
Bryan reached out, placing a hand on Elliot's shoulder. "You do. You just have to try. One step at a time."
Elliot didn't respond, his shoulders shook slightly as he fought back tears. Bryan gave his shoulder a squeeze, then leaned back in his chair, letting the silence settle between them. The bar was quiet. The hum of conversation and clinking glasses fading into the background. For a moment, it was just the two of them, sitting in the dim light.