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All Chapters of Never My Seat: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The downpour didn't let up one bit when my cab pulled up outside the house. I had just dragged my bags into the entryway when Tatum Everest opened the front door behind me. Hazel Ritz trailed behind him, his jacket draped over her shoulders. Spotting me, she halted her footsteps. "Oh, Brooke. So you're home already. Mr. Everest mentioned that your flight was delayed, so I wasn't expecting you so soon." Tatum put away the umbrella. "Hazel lives pretty far out, and it's pouring, so I brought her back here to crash for the night." I stared at the fluffy slippers on her feet. They were pink, size seven. I wore a size five. "When did you get them?" Hazel dropped her gaze, her smile looking strained. "Well, I stayed the night when it rained real hard the last time. Mr. Everest didn't want me to feel uneasy wearing yours, so he bought me a new pair." The last time. It turned out, this wasn't the first time at all. Tatum dumped the car key into a tray and urged m

Chapter 2

First thing the next morning, Hazel walked out of the guest bedroom in my sleepwear.That was my birthday present from Tatum in the first year of our marriage.I'd been saving it all this time. Hazel fiddled with the sleeves. "I hope you don't mind, Brooke. My clothes were soaked, and Tatum said that we were about the same size and told me to grab anything from the closet." I turned to Tatum. "You let her rummage through my closet?" "It's just pajamas." He placed a piece of toast on Hazel's plate. "You weren't feeling well last night, so make sure to get a bit of food in you." Hazel frowned. "But I don't like the crust." Tatum sliced the crusts off and put the toast back on her plate. "There you go. All removed for you." My hand on the cutlery went still. For six years, I always cut the crust off my own toast. Yet, Tatum never once noticed. Yet, he looked after Hazel's health, knew when her neck and back were bothering her, made sure she didn't get caugh

Chapter 3

It took Tatum half an hour to return home. I slid the parking garage access card across the table toward him. "Care to explain?" Busy texting Hazel, Tatum didn't even look up. "She doesn't have a fixed parking space at her rental, but there's one near her office, so I registered the parking permit under her name to make her commute easier." "The car belongs to the family." "So?" At long last, he lifted his chin. "We've been married for six years. Don't you think you're taking this whole sentimental-car thing a little too far?""My mother paid the car loan." Back when we got married, Tatum claimed that money was tight. My mother, Sierra Bennett, dipped into her savings to cover the initial deposit and three years of loan installments. She said that since I was moving so far away to start a life with Tatum, I wouldn't have to worry about getting around in bad weather with a car. Tatum's expression hardened. "Anyway, the car belongs to the family. Stop going on

Chapter 4

As the pearls clattered against the floor, Sierra turned white. "That was your dad's…" I bent over to gather them. Tatum extended his hand, but I pulled away from him. Standing there, Hazel kept apologizing. "I had no idea the bracelet meant so much. Don't put this on Tatum, Brooke. I only asked him for it because the pearls were pretty." Tatum scowled. "I assumed it was just some cheap beads." "You never bothered to ask." I crawled under the hospital bed and scoured every corner of the hallway, only to retrieve seventeen pearls. There used to be twenty-four.Sierra clutched the bedsheet, tears seeping out from under her bandage. "It's fine. Stop searching for the rest." Even so, Sierra's hands fumbled around the area where the pearls had scattered. I cupped the pearls in her palm. Tatum murmured, "I'll find a craftsman to match the missing seven." Sierra shook her head. "It won't be the same anymore." A heavy silence fell over the ward. Out of nowh

Chapter 5

Tatum didn't notice the divorce papers until noon of the following day. When his call came in, I was in the middle of handling Sierra's hospital discharge. "What are you on about now, Brooke?""I think the answer is written on page three of the agreement." "Are you asking for a divorce over a passenger seat?" "It's not just a seat." "What is it then?" I buttoned Sierra's coat. "I'm done stepping aside to make space for you two." It was radio silent on the other line before his tone softened. "I went too far last night. Come home. I've arranged for the pearls to be replaced." "Don't bother." "Brooke, you can't just throw away six years of marriage. Sierra just had surgery. She needs care." "I've been the one taking care of both our parents in the last six years." "I'll do better." That was new coming from him. However, the words came to me far too late. Met with my silence, Tatum regained his familiar sense of confidence. "Maybe it's not a bad idea for

Chapter 6

For a whole week straight, Tatum came by to pick Sierra up for her follow-up appointments. On his first visit, I didn't let him in. The next time, he showed up with the restored bracelet. Sierra watched him through the peephole for a while before uttering, "Just tell him to go." By the third time, Tatum stood outside Sierra's residence in the pouring rain for two hours. Before, Tatum would always whine that I took ages to get ready. He would be honking if I took an extra minute to put on my shoes. Now, as I helped Sierra down the stairs, he quietly popped the umbrella open and approached us. "I'll take you." I stepped around him and called an Uber. He followed us to the car. "Mom, I'll take you out for dinner after your appointment." Sierra murmured, "Don't call me Mom anymore." Color drained from Tatum's face. "The divorce isn't finalized." "It's only a matter of time." Sierra slipped into the back of the cab, no longer giving him another glance. After

Chapter 7

Tatum didn't show up on the last day we were supposed to finalize our divorce. The clerk looked at the clock. "Your husband has to be here. We can't finalize the divorce today without him present." I called him, only for Susie to pick up the phone. "Brooke, Ted passed out during the dialysis. Tatum is at the ER right now. Putting the paperwork off for a few days won't hurt. Please come over and help us." I held the phone. "What did the doctor say?" "Ted's stable at the moment, but the lab results don't make sense to me. You used to be the one keeping track of his vitals." "The precautions to take are written on the last page of the medical record." Susie's voice trembled with anxiety. "Hazel lost the medical record." I paused. "Why is she there?" The line went silent. Half an hour later, I made it to the hospital. I wasn't there for the Everests. Ted was always kind to me. Through his illness, he often slipped me cash on the downlow and told me to stop p

Chapter 8

Tatum arrived half an hour early on Monday morning. He didn't try to persuade me to come back this time. Instead, he set a cardboard box down by the table. "Here are the last of your belongings left at the house. I didn't touch them." The box contained my certificates, old books, a photo of my dad, and the recipe notebook I wrote when we first got married. On the very top was the sleepwear Hazel had put on. It had been washed and folded. I took the pajamas out and dumped them in the trash can next to me. Tatum's eyes dimmed. "If anything is missing, just make a list for me." "That's all of it." The clerk verified our documents and asked how we intended to divide our assets. Because we both contributed to the mortgage, Tatum said he would just give me his share of the property. I shook my head. "We'll go by the law." "The house is closer to Sierra's." "I won't be living there anymore." He murmured, "Because Hazel lived there?" "I spent six years in that

Chapter 9

With the house sale going through, Tatum moved back in with his parents. He started taking Ted to his dialysis appointments, picking up Susie's preions, and calling early to get hospital appointments. Susie never stopped nagging at first. "Brooke handled everything so well before. Why is it so complicated when you do it?" Tatum would always say, "She found it exhausting back then too." He logged every one of Ted's test metrics in his phone. Tatum added too much salt to the roast chicken. Ted took one bite before setting his fork down. "Brooke never made it this salty." Tatum made another batch. The second time, the chicken was too dry. By his third try, the mashed potatoes came out too thick. Only then did Tatum realize how many tiny details went into making a meal taste just right. Hazel quit her job and disappeared from the city altogether. Before leaving, she sent Tatum a message. "I thought you would marry me." Tatum didn't respond to her text. He sh

Chapter 10

Six months after the divorce, I bought myself a compact car. It wasn't anything fancy, and there was nothing sentimental about it. The sales associate asked me about the features I wanted. I sat behind the wheel and adjusted the seat. "Does it have driver memory settings?" "Yes, it can store two driver profiles, one for you and a family member." "One profile is good enough." The day I picked up my new car, Sierra climbed into the back seat with a pothos plant on her lap. Her vision had recovered well. Throughout the drive, she kept her gaze outside the car window. "Doesn't the car feel a little small?" "It's plenty for us." "Tatum's previous car was spacious." She then cautiously scanned my face. I smiled. "Mom, just be frank with me." "He came by for a visit last month." "Hmm." "He replaced the string for your dad's pearl bracelet. He didn't try to replace the pearls." Sierra ran her fingers across her wrist. "He said that when certain things were

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