Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me.
A/N: Pure drabble, enough said.
He wanted to know if the sky had come crashing down and Bree had a hard time believing that he hadn't felt the rumble, that he didn't have the sudden pressure of the world upon his shoulders. But, she figured she shouldn't have been that surprised; he didn't know what he felt like to support the weight of some many worlds with a smile on your face. Did anyone really know what that felt like? Sometimes, Bree couldn't remember if she remembered what it felt like for she had been living with the weight her entire life. Was the pressure on her shoulders the world? Or was it just everyday life? Was there really a difference?
He wanted to know if her world had fallen down around her and Bree couldn't believe that he couldn't see the pieces. They were shattered around her feet, dropped as causally as she had just dropped her silver serving tray. Could he not see them? But, Bree realized this didn't really surprise her; he could never see the important things that were right in front of him. If it had to do with her, he overlooked it flawlessly; it was his best trait, being able to overlook her tears and act as though he couldn't see her pain. Her friends could see the pieces that had once been her perfect life, scattered around her feet like the appetizers she had spent hours making. Bree could see their sight when she looked into their faces; Susan, Gabrielle, and Lynnette all staring at her like they couldn't remember to breathe. She wasn't surprised; she couldn't remember either.
He wanted to know if it hurt her to know that everyone in the room knew her secret and Bree was surprised to find that he had even used the word. Secret. Well, it didn't seem very secret to him and she found his word choice curious. It had been her secret, yes, her precious secret that she kept pressed against her chest like a weight. Or perhaps it wasn't her secret that held so much weight but the lives she was trying to support. Bree wasn't quite sure. Was the secret just another pound on her shoulders? Not anymore. No, now it wasn't a secret; it certainly wasn't her secret and it hung in the room like a heavy odor. Bree could do her best to pretend like it wasn't there but it was no use; she could tell that everyone else could smell this once secret scent and it would do no good to open the windows and air out the room. It wasn't secret anymore and she tried to remember why she had been so adamant about keeping it hidden. Obviously it meant nothing for him to fling it around like that and only after his first glass of champagne. She had been watching him closely and she knew. He was just looking for an excuse to speak.
He wanted to know these things as he looked around the room, looking at the faces of the others that had entered their home. Mike was standing by the book shelf, acting as though he was admiring their collection and pretending like he hadn't stumbled upon something that was no longer secret. Bree wanted to grab him and force him to look at her; she wanted to make this man stare into her face and act as though he hadn't heard her husband's voice. She didn't know what good that would have done and was almost grateful, she realized, that he was not staring at her. The eyes of her friends were enough. Bree could see in their faces that they were both angry and hurt on her behalf; there was no judgment there, nothing but love for her and hatred for her husband. Oh how they wanted to hurt him then for hurting her. Bree could almost hear Lynette shouting for her monsters to go for her husband, to take him down at the ankles because that was his weak spot. She could almost hear Gabrielle snap at the man who used to love her in her thick Spanish accent, words no one could understand but her voice filled with attitude. Then there was Susan, who hated her own ex-husband enough to justify whacking her friend's beau with the gravy dish. But those things didn't happen and Bree was left with nothing but silence.
He wanted to know if her world had fallen down and Bree wanted to know how he couldn't see it. How could he not see the pain in her eyes, how could he not see that she was inches away from losing everything she had fought so hard to become? How could he not see that, yes, her world had fallen and it was going to remain that way until she could drag herself to pull what was left of the pieces back together. How could he not see?!
But, Bree realized that she shouldn't be surprised. He never saw anything about her.