Chapter Twenty-Three
Runs Dry
Ella
Mitch and I spent most of Saturday at the cabin. We fished, talked, hiked, and made love. The man fucked me all over that cabin. I’m sure I made up for all the women that never got to step foot in the place.
Now, we were heading back to reality. The entire ride home, we held hands. We were like two teenagers. When he pulled his truck in front of my house, I didn’t think anything of it. He grabbed my bags and, like the gentleman that he is; he walked them my front door.
The moment we walked into the house, he placed my bags down at the door and wrapped his arms around me, kissing me.
“What time are the boys coming back tomorrow?”
His words come in between pecks on my lips.
“Not until around six.” I squeal when he lifts me up by the back of my thighs. I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck.
“That means I can spend another night in your bed and between your legs.”
I giggle as he trails kisses down my jaw to my neck.
“Of course.”
“Why wait for the bed? We can start now.”
He takes me over to the couch, dropping me down. I laugh when he lands on top of me, peppering my face with kisses that turn into a deep, soul-snatching kiss.
My fingers raked through the hair at the back of his neck, and I ground my pussy up against the knot in his jeans.
“What the fuck?” the roar from over our heads had me gasping and pulling away. Mitch leans back, and we both look up.
Standing behind my sofa, glaring down at me, are my ex and my fifteen-year-old son.
“Shit,” I grumble tugging my shirt back down. I don’t even remember when Mitch had pushed it up.
I push against Mitch’s chest. He slowly climbs off me and the couch. I roll off the side and get to my feet.
Although Andrew seems the most pissed, my gaze stays on AJ. His eyes are tight and so are his lips.
“I can explain,” I say, even though I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain this.
“Explain?” Andrew shouts. “How the hell are you going to explain you fucking my best friend.”
I flinch at his words.
“I understand you’re angry.” Mitch steps slightly in front of me. “But watch how you talk to her.”
Andrew scoffs and shakes his head. “I should’ve fucking known after the way you were acting at the poker night. I bet you couldn’t wait to run up in her.” Andrew turns to me with his face turned up. “And like a whore, you were desperate and lonely enough to let him.”
Before I could say anything, Mitch threw a blow that had Andrew staggering backward. I scream, cupping my hands to my mouth. Right before my eyes, my ex-husband and my boyfriend were in a full-blown fistfight.
Andrew shoves Mitch into my sofa table, knocking everything off it. Mitch regains his footing and grabs Andrew by the collar, slinging him into the wall. My pictures fell to the ground, shattering the glass. He then pins him against the wall and punches him in the face. Blood squirts everywhere.
“Uncle Mitch, stop it,” AJ shouts.
I stand there completely in shock and useless. Just then Cameron ran into the house. His eyes widened when he took in the scene.
“What’s going on?” he asks.
I run over to my baby, wrapping him in my arms. I shield him from the scene.
At this point, Andrew is barely fighting back as Mitch delivers another hard blow to his face.
Andrew collapses to the ground. AJ runs over to his uncle and shoves him.
Despite how angry Mitch is, he immediately backs away when AJ gets involved.
AJ bends down and helps his father off the ground. Cameron’s breathing is labored. I’m hoping this doesn’t turn into an asthma attack.
“What’s going on?” he asks, his voice heavy with fear and emotion. “Why are they fighting?”
I open my mouth to try to explain, but get cut off when my oldest speaks.
“It’s you.” AJ says, turning to glare at me as he helps his father stand. “You’re the problem. You ruin everything.” His words feel like a knife has physically sliced through my heart.
“Hey, don’t talk to your mother that way,” Mitch says, coming to my defense.
The look AJ gives his godfather breaks my heart. He looks so betrayed and broken as if he’d just lost his best friend. The sadness in his gaze is clear.
This entire time I thought of how hurt Andrew would be if he found out about Mitch and I, but not once did I stop and think about how this would destroy Mitch and AJ’s friendship. Mitch wasn’t just AJ’s uncle; he was someone he confided in, someone he trusted and listened to. He was his friend.
“Stay the fuck out of this,” Andrew shouts, regaining my attention. “Don’t you dare speak to my son. I don’t even know why you’re still here. This is a family matter now.”
“I am family.”
Andrew scoffs. “No, you’re just the scumbag fucking my leftovers.”
“I got your gotdamn leftovers.”
Mitch charges toward Andrew again. This time I intercepted him. Pressing my hand against Mitch’s chest, I keep him from doing more damage to Andrew.
The moment his gaze connects with mine, he backs off, running his hand through his hair. He turns away from me.
Turning to face my ex-husband, I knew the only way to deescalate the situation is to separate everyone.
“I understand there is a lot to unpack...”
“You think?” Andrew interrupts.
Rolling my eyes, I get back to my point. “But right now is not the time. Emotions are too high. You need to leave.”
The way Andrew’s eyes bulge, you would think I’d just spat in his face. “Me?” He points at himself in disbelief. “I’m not leaving. He should go.”
“Both of you are going.”
“Ella?” Mitch pleads behind me.
I turn to him and hold up a hand. “If you two stay, you’re only going to argue. Let me talk to my boys alone.”
He doesn’t want to go. Without saying it, I can read it all over his tight shoulders and pinched brow. For a moment he doesn’t move. I think he’s warring with himself. Mitch is a protector, and right now he just wants to keep me safe. I loved him for that, but now was not the time.
“Please,” I mouthed the one word to him. He sighs, shutting his eyes briefly.
“Okay.”
Mitch walks past me to the door. He stops and holds it open, then turns to glare at Andrew. Silently waiting for him to leave.
“This is bullshit,” Andrew roars before walking out of the house.
Mitch gives me one last longing glance before he calmly follows Andrew and closes the door behind him. I send up a silent prayer that those two don’t get into a fight out in my front yard.
The moment they leave, the room goes quiet. I turn to face my boys. AJ glares at me. The anger and disappointment I see shining back at me break me little by little.
“You weren’t supposed to be back until tomorrow.” Yes, that was a lame-ass excuse, but they weren’t. Mitch and I are always careful. We would’ve never been as careless if we had known the boys were coming home.
“I forgot my asthma pump,” Cam supplies the missing piece.
Now I feel even more like shit. First, I was so stressed about Mitch pulling away from me I forgot to check that my son had his asthma pump. Then, to justify what they walked in on, I questioned their early return only to find out it was because of the missing asthma pump.
“Mom, are you and Uncle Mitch dating?” Cam’s tone is a mix of confusion and shock.
I smile down at my son. “We were—”
“No,” AJ says, cutting me off. “They were just having sex.”
“Andrew Scott Junior, that is enough.”
I understand him being angry, but he needed to control his mouth. AJ looks away from me, his brown eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
I try again to take control of the situation. “Look, I’m sorry you found out this way. If we had more time—”
He shakes his head, holding his hands up to stop my words. “I don’t even want to be around you right now.”
He makes a beeline for the door.
“AJ, wait.” I reach for him, but he jerks away from me as if my hands were covered in filth. The rest of my heart shatters and falls to the floor.
“I’m staying with Dad.” With those last words, he storms out of the house. I clutch my hand to my chest as if it’s a bleeding heart.
“I’m going with AJ,” my baby boy says, and then follows his brother out.
I quickly ran out after them. The moment I step onto the porch, I find Andrew leaning up from the hood of his car.
“Are you okay?” he asked AJ.
“I don’t want to stay here with her. Can I stay with you?”
Andrew looks up at me and then shakes his head.
“Sure son. For as long as you like.”
AJ goes to the passenger side of the car and gets in. Cameron walks past his father and heads to the back seat. I watch my two boys walk away from me, taking my heart with them. Andrew walks up the stairs toward me. He stops at the bottom step.
“You did this,” he says. “This is all on you.”
“Andrew, please,” I beg as the first stream of tears falls down my face. “Talk to him. Tell him—”
He shakes his head. “How did you think this would end, Ella? He’s their uncle, for Christ's sakes? How could you be so desperate?”
His words pierce my soul. My shoulders shake with my silent cry.
He sighs. “Give the boys time. In the meantime, you need to figure out what’s more important: that temporary infatuation Mitch has with you, or your children? You can’t have them both.”
With those words lingering between us, he walks away. I remain on my porch as he climbs into his car and drives off, taking my entire world with him.
Mitch
I’ve paced my living room floor so much I may need to replace the hardwood. It’s been fifteen minutes since Drew’s car pulled out of that driveway. My knuckles still ache from beating his ass.
Hitting him was probably not my finest moment, but hearing him talk to Ella like that sent me over the edge.
I didn’t give a shit what he said about me, but calling her a desperate whore was too much.
Unfortunately, AJ and Cameron had to witness this confrontation.
But I won’t let anyone disrespect her. Not even the father of her children.