Chapter 14 #2
“No, you are,” Garrett shot back angrily.
“You and your midlife crisis or whatever the hell you’ve been going through.
That’s the fucking problem. You’re running around doing whatever the hell you want, forgetting that you have a family half the time.
Well, you know what? We learned to live without you, and we didn’t even realize we were doing it.
That’s because Mom picked up the slack to make up for the fact that you were never there.
She was the one doing it all, and we let her because we didn’t know any better.
You let her because it was fucking easier for you. ”
Tears welled in his eyes and his voice was strained, and I choked back a sob at the sight of my strong, fearless son, defending the woman he’d claimed as his mother since the day they’d met.
My gaze shifted to Tanner as he stood up and began to pace the length of the room as he said, “You always told us that being a decent human being meant standing up for what you believe in and not giving in to peer pressure.”
I nodded, and he pointed his finger at me accusingly.
“Then why the fuck didn’t you stand up for Mom?
Why haven’t you told Mitch to fuck the hell off, instead of letting him talk you into neglecting your family and your responsibilities so you can go out and do shit with him all the time?
So much for not giving in to peer pressure, huh? ”
“That’s enough, boys.” The softly spoken yet firm demand cut through the anger filling the room, and the three of us whirled around toward the front door in shock, none of us having heard it open or close.
Melanie stood there, looking pale and drawn, with sadness and exhaustion clouding her amber eyes. I’d never seen a more beautiful and welcome sight.
“But Mom, we –“
She held her hand up wearily, and Tanner immediately shut his mouth. He and Garrett, attuned to each other as always, both dropped their heads slightly and nodded.
“Your dad and I need to talk, and you both need to get back to campus or Tanner will be late for his biology lab, and I’m sure he doesn’t want that, right?”
Tanner snuck a peak at his mom and the corner of his lip turned up in a grin. “No, ma’am, I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Garrett nudged his shoulder and muttered, “Who’s being a kiss-ass now?”
Tanner discreetly flipped him off, and Melanie dipped her head to try to hide the slight smile on her face.
The both shouldered past me without so much as a glance in my direction.
They stopped in the doorway, and Garrett bent to give her a hug first. She cupped his cheeks in her palms and stared up at him as she told him to please drive carefully.
“Tanner’s lab is important, but not important enough to risk something happening to my sons,” she admonished gently.
Garrett gave her a crooked smile and dropped a kiss on her cheek before saying, “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be careful.”
“And let –“
“And let you know as soon as we get there so you’ll know we’re safe,” Tanner finished for her as Garrett chuckled.
It was a familiar refrain; one Melanie had been offering since they got their drivers’ licenses two and a half years ago.
She’d worried herself sick every time they left the house for at least a month after that.
Melanie reached over and playfully tried to smack his arm as he laughed and ducked behind Garrett, who promptly stepped out of the way and pushed him back toward Mel.
Tanner wrapped his arms around her and whispered something in her ear, and Melanie nodded. “I know you meant well,” she said quietly. He smiled ruefully then pressed a kiss to her forehead.
She reached out and took one of their hands in each of hers, giving them a quick, reassuring squeeze. “We love you,” she told them, looking each of them in the eye.
Garrett shot a quick side-eye my way and Tanner glanced over his shoulder and glared at me.
“We love you, too,” Garrett said, nudging Tanner as he held my stare.
“Yeah, we love you, too,” he finally mumbled as he looked back at Mel.
It was blatantly obvious that they were directing their comments to their mother, rather than to me, and I had to turn away so none of them would see the tears in my eyes.
Goddamn, that hurt.
“Don’t forget the coats,” Mel reminded them, and they both rolled their eyes as they slipped them on. Although they were both a couple of inches taller than my father-in-law, Joe had at least fifty pounds on them, mostly around the middle, so the coats hung loosely on their frames.
An awkward silence descended on the room as soon as the door closed behind them. I stared at Melanie, taking in every inch of her as if seeing her for the first time in a long time.
In a way, I was doing just that.
She glanced around the room, her discomfort glaringly apparent, and I scrambled for anything to cut the tension.
“Do you want some coffee?”
Her gaze darted back to me, and she nodded before following me into the kitchen. We carried our mugs back into the living room, and I took a seat on one end of the couch. Melanie eyed the other end, then sat down in the chair that I’d recently vacated.
I took a sip of my coffee, mostly to have something to do my hands, and Melanie gasped as she caught sight of my swollen knuckles.
“What the hell happened to your hand?” She set her cup down and leaned forward to get a closer look at the damaged flesh. She started to reach for it, then pulled back suddenly, as if remembering that she didn’t want to touch me.
“I punched Mitch in the face.”
Her eyes widened as her mouth fell open in shock. I carefully flexed my hand to show her it wasn’t as bad as it looked, as she still sat there, completely dumbstruck.
“Why?”
I looked away, unable to face her as I whispered, “Because you filed for divorce.”