Chapter Seven
Problems
Ella
“Go in and sit down,” I huff out to my oldest son.
He storms up the steps past me and into the house. Andrew climbs out of his car and storms up to me.
“This is bullshit,” he fumes.
Today, we got a call from AJ’s school. Apparently, my usual honor roll student got into a fight at school. One he started.
Andrew storms into the house, and I shut the door behind him.
“What were you thinking, AJ?” Andrew demands the moment he walked into the living room.
I place my purse down on the sofa table.
“I told you, he pissed me off.”
“Oh, he pissed you off, so you punched him in the face?” Andrew paces in front of our son. “Do you know how stupid you sound? Are you a fucking female that reacts with her emotions?”
I swing my head in my ex’s direction.
“Okay, let’s calm down.”
“Calm down?” Andrew says to me with so much vitriol, you’d think I was the one who got suspended for fighting.
“Yes. There is no need for name-calling or sexiest insults. There has to be a reason...”
My words are cut off when Andrew laughs dryly. “Now you want to be a parent?”
His words caused me to startle. At what point have I not been a parent?
“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask placing my hands on my hips.
“If you were more focused on being a decent mother and not out here wasting time getting a fucking makeover to look younger, then this wouldn’t have happened.”
I stand completely dumbfounded by the direction this has taken. How the hell did my makeover, which I got three days ago, have anything to do with this? And who said I was trying to look younger?
“I’m a damn good mother, even before I got a haircut. Maybe if you spent more time with your children when they are with you instead of leaving them home so you can run off with your new girlfriend, we might have seen this coming.”
“Oh, so that's what this is about? You’re jealous cause I moved on and you’re still lonely and desperate.”
“Excuse me?”
“You can get your hair cut all you want, Ella. No man is going to go chasing after some divorced mother of two who can’t hold a conversation past books and fucking cake recipes.”
Despite how much his words hurt, I tamp down on the pain. He will not get the benefit of seeing my anguish.
“You know what? I will not let you bait me into an argument. This is about AJ.”
I turn to my son, giving him my attention.
“What happened? This isn’t like you. Do you need to go back to counseling?”
Before AJ can answer my question, Andrew tosses his hands in the air.
“That’s his problem. All you do is baby him. You have no idea how to raise a man. Take your fucking titty out of his mouth, Ella.”
“Enough, Andrew!” I shout.
The door opens, and Mitch walks in. He looks pissed. His gaze rakes over me before it swings in Andrew’s direction.
I take this moment to turn my back on everyone. I needed to get my thoughts together. Andrew has a way of shaking me up. Whenever we argue, he always resorts to the most hurtful insults. It’s like he finds your weaknesses and holds a mirror up to your face as he points them out.
“Do you not know how to knock?” Andrew asks.
“I was invited over.”
“Well, this is a family matter. You can head back to your house.”
Mitch folds his arms across his chest. “This isn’t your house. If Ella wants me to leave, I will.” He turns to me as if he’s waiting for me to respond. Honestly, I’d prefer he stayed. His presence helps ease my frayed nerves.
“This may not be my house, but this is my family and my money helps keep this shithole running.”
“Actually.” I cross my arms over my chest, matching Mitch’s stance. “Your child support money goes into a trust for our sons. My money takes care of this house.”
And that is the reason I didn’t want alimony. I knew it would be just one more way he could attempt to control me.
The glare Andrew shoots at me could stop traffic; it’s so evil.
“Can I go to my room now?” AJ asks, standing to his feet.
We’ve been so busy bickering with each other we’ve almost forgotten why we were here in the first place.
“We’re not finished talking, AJ. We need to discuss what happened.”
“Stop acting like you care what’s going on with me. All you and Dad want to do is argue. You can do that without me sitting here.”
His words sting. I never want my kids to think we don’t care about their feelings or what’s going on with them.
“That’s not true, baby.”
“Sit your ass back down,” Andrew barks over me.
AJ shakes his head. “I’m out of here.”
He heads for his bedroom. Andrew grabs his arm, and AJ yanks away from him. Andrew takes a dangerous step toward his son. I step in between the two. I’m not sure what’s going on, but everyone needs to calm down.
Mitch places a hand on my arm, sliding me out of the way. He takes my spot.
“AJ, despite how you feel, you will be respectful to your parents. Your mom asked you to sit down, now sit down.”
My son looks at his godfather, his eyes shining with tears dancing in them. Slowly, he lowers himself back onto the couch.
I watched the entire interaction. It leaves me wondering what the hell has happened to us that our son no longer listens. I’m so thankful to Mitch for being here. Had he not been here, that situation would’ve gone to a place that could’ve been hard to recover from.
“Maybe we should put a lid on this conversation,” I suggest. “Emotions are too high at the moment.”
“Good idea,” Mitch agrees.
“Andrew, what do you think is a fitting punishment?” I ask my ex hoping we could keep this together long enough to figure that part out.
He glares at me in a hostile way. “You know what, since you’re so hell-bent on ruining his fucking life, how about you figure it out without me?”
With those last words floating through the air, he storms out and slams the door so hard behind him that the picture on the wall falls to the ground and shatters.
The house is silent. The only sound left is the racing of my heart.
“Mom, I’m—” I hold up a hand to cut my son off.
“No phone for two weeks, and you will be going back to see your therapist.” With that, I turn and walk out of the house, heading to the back porch. I needed a moment of silence to gather my emotions. At the moment, they are all over the place.
Mitch
Admittedly, I probably should have left when I heard the screaming from the porch. When Ella called me and asked if I could pick up Cam and Jacob from school, I knew something was amiss. She always gets the boys from school. It’s part of her routine.
It was even more startling to pull into the yard with the boys and see Drew’s car.
I sent Cam and Jacob to my house as I made my way over here.
Hearing Drew talk to her the way he did had me ready to walk into the house and beat my friend’s ass.
I had to stand out there and take a few deep breaths before I walked in.
Glad I came in when I did. Things were about to go south really fast. I take a seat on the edge of the chair beside AJ. He leans back on the couch and tosses his head back.
“Talk to me,” I demand.
He shakes his head. “I let it get to me.”
“Let what get to you, kid?”
He shakes his head again. “This stupid kid was making fun of the quiet, chubby girl in class. I told him to knock it off, and he made a rude comment about me screwing fat chicks, and I lost it.” He lets out a deep sigh.
“I know it was stupid, Uncle Mitch. But seeing her sit there taking all that idiots' remarks just got under my skin.”
I let him finish his story. Not going to lie, I feel better about why he started the fight, but I need him to be able to handle these situations better.
“I commend you for standing up for the young lady. No woman should be talked down to like that by a man. Can’t say I’d have handled it any better than you did.” I chuckle.
He cut his eyes to me before sitting up.
“You also wouldn’t spend your entire weekend with your son talking badly about his mother.” The words come out low, but I hear them.
My back stiffens, and I have to tamp down that urge to go kick Drew’s ass again. It’s bad enough he’s talking negatively about Ella, but to do it in front of their sons tells me everything I need to know about him as a man.
“He’s doing that with Cameron around, too?” I ask.
AJ shakes his head. “No. He usually waits for Cam to go to sleep or when he’s not around.
I know you’re going to say to tell him I don’t like it.
I have, Unc. He doesn’t care. He just goes in on her, how she’s not as smart as the new girlfriend, or how she doesn’t fix herself up, and even how he got trapped by her because of me.
” AJ sighs. “When I heard that kid doing the same stuff to the girl in class, all I saw was my dad.”
“Have you talked to your mom about it?”
“No,” he shakes his head vehemently. “I don’t want her to know. You know how Mom is. She’ll take it all to heart. She was just starting to be her old self again. Between this and the wedding, I don’t want to set her back.”
“I understand your need to protect her, but you’re still a kid, AJ. You can’t place all that on your shoulders. Plus, Ella is stronger than you think. It may take her a moment to see it herself, but she is.”
He doesn’t look convinced, but that’s okay. He’ll see it soon.
“I won’t tell her why you were triggered, but I will tell her why you fought.”
He nods his head.
“And I’ll talk to your father.”
“Thanks, Uncle Mitch.”
He stands. I climb to my feet, too. We quickly hug. I pull back and look at him.
“I know this is hard for you, but never let me see you disrespect your parents like that again. Especially not your mother.”
He ducks his head but nods. When he goes to his bedroom, I make my way out to the back patio.
I find Ella sitting on her wicker lounge sofa, her legs tucked up to her chest. I walk around to the front of her.
It doesn’t shock me to find her crying. I take a seat on the sofa, right in front of her.
Tugging her legs, I stretched them out in front of her and placed them across my lap.
She wipes her cheeks. “I don’t know why I still let him get under my skin.”
“He said some pretty hurtful things. It makes sense.” I shrug.
A weak smile lifts her face.
“But I hope you know all that stuff he said is bullshit. You’re a great mom, El. You should never ever let that doubt cross your mind.”
She huffs and rolls her eyes. “A great mom whose son is suspended for starting a fight.”
“I don’t agree with him fighting, but he had a good reason.”
Her brow lifts. “He told you why he got into a fight?”
“Yep. He was standing up for a young lady by teaching a bully a lesson.”
She moves her legs out of my lap, planting her feet on the ground.
“Why didn’t he tell us that? I wouldn’t have punished him for so long.”
I hold up a hand to stop her. “At what point during that situation did you think he had time to explain that?”
She chuckles, dropping her head down between her shoulders.
“I guess you’re right. That was a disaster.”
She leans back on the sofa. I joined her, our shoulders touching.
“Thanks for everything.” She turns to look at me. I face her. “You’ve always had an amazing relationship with the boys. They’ll talk to you about stuff before they ever talk to me and Andrew. If I haven’t told you enough, I appreciate you. You’ve made this transition so much more bearable.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I got you. Always remember that.”
Her gorgeous brown eyes stare back at me. Those luscious, full lips draw my gaze directly to them. I swear I’d give up a fucking lung to know what her lips feel like pressed to mine. Her eyes flash down to my mouth, and for a second, I have a feeling that she might be thinking the same thing I am.
The urge to pull her into my lap, and sit her rounded ass on top of my cock as I shove my tongue into her mouth to claim it as mine takes over me. Shaking my head, I clear the vision of her grinding down on top of me out of my mind. That’s a dangerous fucking thought.
Sitting up from the sofa, I rest my elbows on my knees and bury my head in my hands. I take a breath, willing my hard-on to go down before I stand.
“I guess I should get some dinner going. Plus, I have a wedding cake to start.”
She stands up beside me. I turn just in time to find myself eye-level with her hip. The way her ass pokes out behind her makes my mouth water.
She goes to walk away, but I grab her hand, stopping her in her tracks. Those beautiful brown eyes look down at me, her gaze taking on that dangerous one from before. She waits patiently for me to say or do something.
Ten thousand things fly through my head at once.
I want to say so much to this woman. I want to tell her I could love her better than he ever could.
I want to tell her to give me a chance, to forget that she ever belonged to him.
But reality crashes in and it reminds me that what I want can never be.
“Andrew is a lawyer. His income runs circles around yours. Do you think she’s going to look at you?”
I let her hand go.
“Let me go check on the boys. Who knows what they’ve gotten into by now.” Standing to my feet, I caused her to take a step back to accommodate me.
“Yeah, I need no more surprises today.” Although she says the words jokingly, they sound a little flat. As if she wanted to say something else entirely.
Ella turns and walks back into the house. I stare at the door for a few seconds before walking around the house toward my home. I don’t dare risk going back into the house with her. Seeing her again might cause me to do something I can’t take back.