Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
EZRA
“Dad,” I call out as I make my way through the front door of my parents’ house. My childhood home.
There is something about walking into my childhood home that sends warmth through my heart—like a soft blanket wrapping me up, making me feel safe and loved.
I grew up with the most loving and supportive parents I could ever ask for.
They’re my biggest support system with whatever I’ve wanted to do.
Even in situations they questioned. But they still let me handle it, knowing the only way I’ll grow is if I learn from my mistakes.
They were never big fans of Rya as my wife. They liked her as my friend but didn’t think we connected on a bigger level than that. I feel dumb coming to them, letting them know what’s been going on, because I still remember when they questioned me when we first started dating.
I still remember the look they gave each other, and then me, when I asked my parents if I could put my business under their names.
But what I don’t think they were prepared for is me staying with Rya.
Because, come on, who stays with their spouse when they can’t trust them to the point they have to put their business under their parents’ names?
I had little to say about it when they questioned me, but once again, they were there for me supporting me in any way they could.
“There you are.” I step out the back door and spot my dad sitting on the porch, quietly watching the sun dip below the horizon.
He glances over at me. “What’s up, Son?”
I sit beside him, my eyes drifting to the trees ahead as they sway gently in the light breeze. The heat of summer is finally cooling down. Before we know it, fall will be here, and then winter. I love fall weather; it just makes me sad when it comes because I know what comes next. The bitter cold.
“Where’s Mom?”
“With some friends. Supposedly out running some errands,” he says in finger quotations. “She’ll be back with her hands full of shopping bags.”
That’s something we both have in common—our wives shopping on Saturdays. Well, soon to be ex-wife. At first, I thought Rya’s shopping habit was normal because I remember my mom always out on a Saturday shopping away. “Does it bother you that she shops a lot?”
“Nah. It makes her happy,” he says with a smirk on his face.
I nod slowly, listening to the softness in his voice. “Rya shops a lot.”
He crosses his arms loosely over one another. “Yeah. I could tell.”
“It was getting to where we would be short on bills, and I would have to pull from savings.”
He shakes his head in disappointment. “Well, your mother isn’t irresponsible. She pays bills first, then saves money, and keeps a little for herself to buy what she wants. But it’s not like she does this every day. It’s every now and then. So I don’t mind it.”
I sit back in my chair trying to come up with the words to tell him what’s been going on. Then I get a sense of déjà vu. We’re sitting in the same spot when I came to tell him I had a crush on someone. I was having a hard time coming up with the words to tell him.
“Hi, Dad,” I say as I slump down in the chair next to him, tired from playing in the river and riding bikes with my friends.
“What’s up, Son?” he asks, wiping off the oil on his pants as if it’s going to come off.
He always comes home from work with so much oil on him.
He says it’s from the cars he works on. Every day he gets home from work, he walks in, gives my mom a kiss on the lips, which I tell them is gross, then he asks her if she needs any help with dinner.
She always says no and tells him to go rest. So on the warmer days he comes out back and sits here until we’re called in for dinner.
When I grow up, I want to work on cars like he does.
I always tell my dad he should take me to work so I can learn so when I get older, I’ll be the best mechanic out there.
But he says it’s dangerous in the shop and I need to be a little older.
Whenever he works on the cars at home, he lets me help.
“I met a new friend,” I say with my cheeks heating.
“Oh yeah. What’s his name?”
My eyes flicker around nervously. “It’s a girl.”
“Oh. What’s her name?”
“Violet,” I say, staring down at the holes in my pants. My mom won’t let me wear my school clothes out to play. She says I’m too rough on my clothes and I need to save the nice ones for school. I wear the ones that already have holes in them when I’m playing outside.
“That’s a pretty name,” he says, looking over at me.
“Yeah.” I ignore his eye contact and still stare down at my holes, too nervous to tell him what I want to say.
“Where does she live?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Not too far. We were riding our bikes home, and she said she lived down that street,” I say, pointing towards the area she lives around.
“You didn’t make sure she got home safe?”
I glance up at my dad and shake my head.
“Son, you should always make sure a girl gets home safe,” he tells me, crossing his arms.
“Oh. Okay. I will next time.”
He nods his head once and looks back over at the trees swaying in the wind.
School is about to start, which tells me summer is almost over.
I get sad when I have to go back to school because then I can’t hang out with my friends as much.
I hope Violet goes to the same school as me.
I’ll be sad not being able to see her all day.
“What did you and your friends do today?”
“We played at the river.”
He chuckles softly. “You and those damn skeeter bugs. Did Violet catch any of them?”
I giggle. “Yeah, and she thinks they’re cute.” I chuckle louder, swinging my legs since they’re hanging off the chair.
“Cute?” he questions, laughing louder.
“She says because they’re so small.” I glance up at him, both of us still laughing.
Our laughter dies down and we both sit back against our chairs. “I think she’s really pretty,” I finally say, stumbling over my words.
“Oh, really?” he asks with his brows raised, eyeing me with amusement.
I bite my lips together and nod. My dad always said I could come to him about anything. I hope he doesn’t make fun of me.
“Well, I hope you’re nice to her.”
I fidget with the holes in my pants, pulling on the loose thread. “I am.”
“You know how they say if a boy is mean to a girl it’s because he likes her?”
I nod.
“That’s not true,” he says more seriously as I look up at him. “No girl should allow a boy to be mean to her. No one should be mean to anyone,” he adds, eyeing me. “You understand?”
I nod again, looking him in the eyes.
He places his hand on my shoulder. “Good. Now let’s go inside. I need to shower, and you can see if your mom needs help with dinner.”
I’m pulled back to the present moment from the wind blowing through the trees.
“I left Rya,” I blurt out. He turns his head to face me, but I avoid his gaze, still staring out at the trees.
He places his hand on my shoulder in a comforting manner. “Are you okay?”
I snort a small laugh. “That’s the thing,” I say facing him. “I feel relief.”
A small smile forms on my dad’s face, but he hides it by biting down on his lips.
“You can say it.”
He shakes his head and furrows his brows. “Say what?”
“I told you so.”
“Son, you know I’ve never been like that. I won’t start now. Your mom and I have always let you and your sister make your own choices.”
My sister, Danielle, has never been a fan of Rya.
Even when we were friends, she never liked her.
She’s three years younger than me, and I always thought it was because she was too young to understand our relationship.
But she was right about something. Rya is fake.
That’s what she always told me, and I could never see it.
“Then why are you holding in your smile?”
He lets out a sigh. “Okay,” he says, swaying his head back and forth. “I’ll be honest with you. This marriage lasted longer than I thought. You know I’ve always liked Rya, but you know I never saw you two being more than just friends.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“So what was the final straw?” my dad asks.
I let out a bitter chuckle. “Ah. That’s the other fucking kicker.” I lay my head against the chair, looking up at the darkening blue sky. “She and Zayn slept together.”
“What!” He sits up taller in his chair and turns to me.
I nod my head.
“What the fuck?” He lets out a breath. “Zayn.” I look over at him. His jaw is tight and his eyes burn sharp as he looks over at me. He looks madder than I ever was. “I just…I can’t believe it. I mean, I can see Rya doing something like that. But not Zayn.”
My eyes widen in shock that he can see her doing that. Why was I so blind about her?
He shakes his head, running his hand down his face in disbelief. “And you say you felt relief? Even with Zay?”
My throat tightens as I look away. That one stung harder than it did with Rya. He was my best friend. More like a brother to me. But things shifted over the years. I thought it was just me. Is that my problem? I need to stop blaming myself for everything?
I replay all the short replies or dismissals of anything personal I would bring up to him.
He always chalked it up as if it wasn’t a big deal or I was making it a big deal.
He always got into my head and made me question a lot.
Never did I think he would betray me like this.
Even after his smart-ass remarks about opening up our own mechanic shop.
I still never thought he would do what he did. To me or to Violet.
I shrug my shoulders. “A lot has changed over the years,” I say, leaning forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Was I really this blind?”
“No, Son. You see the best in people.”
“I’m wondering if seeing the best in people is a smart thing. I mean, look what happened.”
“It’s a great quality to have. But unfortunately, sometimes people take advantage of it,” he says, resting a hand on my shoulder, giving a small squeeze.
“Never change your good qualities because of the people who never deserved them. You’ll find the right people who deserve it.
And everything you went through with the ones that didn’t deserve it will make it all worth it for the ones that do. ”
His words sink in deep. My mind drifts to her—Violet.
The one person who has always shown her genuine self.
She’s always been there for people without expecting anything in return.
The person who has always made me feel like I’ve mattered.
She is nothing like the other two. She’s never taken advantage of my kindness.
As I sit here next to my dad, I let his words sink even deeper. He’s right. I need to give my loyalty to the people who deserve it. The one that has never made me feel less of myself. The one I truly feel like it should have always been.