40. Sutton
Sutton
“Did you need more yogurt?” I asked when Iris picked up the phone.
She groaned on the other end. “The texture is terrible, Sutton.”
I stood in the grocery store tapping my foot. “I’m aware but it’s a heart-healthy food—it’s on the list from the doctor that I put on the fridge.”
“It’s not on the fridge,” she said as I heard Sophie squawk on the other end of the phone.
“You didn’t think I’d notice you ripped that part off?”
“Clint is making me lots of salmon.”
I hadn’t met Iris’s “friend” yet, but I was pushing the topic now. She said she wouldn’t introduce him unless he was going to make an honest woman out of her and she didn’t think that would ever happen, mostly because she didn’t want to be married.
“Vanilla, raspberry, or peach?”
“Aargh! Can it be ice cream? It’s basically the same thing.”
“It’s not,” I replied patiently. “If you don’t want to pick, I’ll surprise you.”
“Raspberry,” she grumbled.
“Great choice.” I tucked the phone into my shoulder as I grabbed the tub. “I’m going to grab some diapers, syrup, and milk and then I’m on my way home. Do you need anything else?”
“I didn’t need anything to begin with.”
I laughed as I moved through the store. “I’ll be home soon!”
“Whatever.”
Quinn and I had to work late tonight, finishing off a quarterly report and a presentation for the medical school to let them know about the volunteer program we had set up for medical students.
Now I was heading home and Sophie, Iris, and I were doing breakfast for dinner. Asher was going to come over later. It was the first night this week we hadn’t gone to his house and I was pretty sure he was going to convince me to head over there after dinner.
I liked his house. Sophie liked his house. I just felt guilty leaving Iris on her own, so I made an effort to have dinner with her at least once a week. Even though she assured me she could just come to Asher’s, I told her that was unnecessary since I lived next door.
It was just before eight and the store was quieter, so I was in and out through the self-checkout quickly with the few things I needed.
This wasn’t my normal store, it being a little out of the way and part of a strip mall, but it was on my drive home and we needed milk for the pancakes.
The parking lot was quiet. The lights had turned on but they were those weird blue-purple ones that didn’t really light up much. I reached into my pocket, digging around for my keys, trying not to drop the diapers tucked under my arm.
“Sutton.”
The voice stopped me in my tracks.
The wrong reaction? Absolutely. But what else was I supposed to do when he stepped out between me and my car?
“What are you doing here, Ben?” He wasn’t much taller than me, and his blonde hair was longer than when I’d last seen him. His clothes looked like they didn’t fit well, like he’d lost weight.
The last I’d heard from Maya was that she was waiting for the judge to set a court date. She told me she hadn’t gotten anything else from his lawyer. I definitely didn’t expect to see him in Calgary, standing in front of me.
“Thought it was time we stopped talking with lawyers. It’s getting a little ridiculous.” He shook his head, taking a step closer to me. I glanced around the parking lot. It was fairly empty and I didn’t see anyone close by.
“How did you find me?” I hiked my bag up my shoulder and shifted my weight. He was blocking my car, but I could go back inside.
“Made some calls.”
My eyes narrowed, remembering the feeling of being watched over the last few days.
“Have you been following me?”
He shrugged, his eyes looking me over. “It looks like you’ve really put yourself together. You were a mess the last time I saw you, really the whole time we were together.”
His avoidance of the question was concerning.
“Yeah well, when you last saw me I was pregnant, and you abandoned me.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re so dramatic. I just didn’t believe that the kid was mine.”
I closed my eyes and took a breath. Him calling Sophie “the kid” made me want to fly into a blind rage but that wouldn’t do me any good. Plus, I still didn’t want him to know her name. Maya said it worked to my advantage.
“You should be going through our lawyers, Ben.”
He laughed, the sound sending shivers down my spine.
Was that how he always laughed? Or was this new? It was terrible either way.
“I hear you’re dating a new guy.” I worked to keep a neutral look on my face even though I could feel panic starting to rise in my chest. “Knight Enterprises.” He made a noise in his throat. “Very impressive. What are you getting for whoring yourself out?”
Don’t react. Don’t react.
“Doesn’t your girlfriend want custody of my daughter? Isn’t that what this is all about? It doesn’t matter who I’m dating.”
“I think I could ignore custody if we had some extra money going around that we didn’t have to waste on a kid.”
I scoffed as I shook my head, anger coursing through my veins. There was no amount of money that would have stopped me from fighting for Sophie.
“You’re not getting any money from anyone at Knight Enterprises.” I took a step back. “Don’t contact me again, Ben.”
I turned around. I needed to get away from him. Going into the store seemed like the safest option.
“You don’t get to walk away from me,” Ben bellowed from behind me. I took a step to start running when his hand grabbed the hair at the back of my head and yanked me backward.
The momentum and shock had my arms shooting out, my purchases sprawling on the ground around me as I let out a scream. My ass hit the ground and instead of letting my hair go like I thought he would, he kept pulling.
The pain was searing as he worked to pull me up, almost like he was trying to get me to stand.
He sneered. “You’re an entitled bitch, Sutton. Think you’re better than me now.”
I thrashed around, trying to get a hold on his arm to try and relieve some of the pressure on my head.
“Ben, stop.” I got my feet on the ground and he pulled me the rest of the way up.
“Listen—”
“Hey!” Some of the pressure from Ben’s hand lessened. “What the fuck are you doing, man!”
I heard the footsteps of someone running toward us, tears forming in my eyes at the idea that someone was coming to stop this.
Ben’s hand disappeared but then his palms landed on my shoulders and he shoved. I just managed to get my hands out in front of me as I hit the ground, hard.
My ears started buzzing, and I was shaking. The pain in my head was sharp but I wasn’t sure what else was wrong because a numbness had set in while I lay on the ground of the parking lot.
“Hey, are you okay?” A man appeared, his hand hovering above me.
“I… I…” Stammering, I tried to sit up but hissed when I put pressure on my palms.
The world seemed to be closing in on me, black edging my vision.
“Stay here. My phone is in my car but I’m going to get help.” The man took off running as I started gasping for breath.
My ragged breaths were the only thing I could hear as the panic set in.