Chapter 20: Elephant in the Room
The better things got, the more I weary I became. I hadn't heard a peep from Riley in over a week and as far as I knew, neither had Mickey. It worried me with how okay she seemed with it. Teenagers are temperamental little things. I never knew when her next explosion of emotion would be. Things were really good between me and her since our talk on the porch. Things were even better with Edward. We talked endlessly and saw each other whenever we could, which seemed to be more and more frequent.
I would be completely blissed out if not for the giant elephant in the room in the form of my ex. I glared down at the pot of homemade chicken noodle soup, stirring with more vigor than necessary. Some of the hot liquid sloshed up and over the top, sizzling on the burner.
"Sup?" Mickey came sauntering into the kitchen, that old swagger back in her step. I forced a smile at her and nodded to the stove.
"Dinner is about done."
"Coolio, Mama Bear," she said distractedly, tossing an apple between her hands as she leaned against the counter.
"Everything okay?" I asked her, turning off the burner and moving the pot to a cooler one.
She nodded, her eyes on the apple. "Just thinking."
"About?" I urged as I set out two bowls.
"About going public," she mumbled and I had to strain to hear her.
"Oh, and what are your thoughts on that?"
She finally looked up at me and shrugged. "My thoughts are that I'm going to lose my girlfriend if I don't and I don't like the pressure on me right now."
My lips set into a grim line. "If you're not ready, then you're not ready. She shouldn't push you. This is something you have to do on your own time."
Mickey dropped the apple back into the fruit basket on the island and hopped up onto the counter, her eyes observing me. "I don't care what people think," she finally said, her lips pursed. "It's just one person I'm worried about."
I felt the tension in my shoulders increase as I spooned soup into the bowls. "I get that, but Mickey, you can't let him dictate your life and your happiness. He's not even around," I said before thinking. I turned quickly to Mickey to see her eyes drop to the floor and her shoulders slump forward.
"I'm sorry," I breathed and she shrugged.
"It''s cool. He's not here. He hasn't texted or called or reached out in any way since that night. It is what it is."
I sighed and walked over to her, dipping my head down to catch her eyes. "I'm sorry." I didn't know if I was apologizing for me or him anymore. I was just sorry either way.
She hopped off the counter and grabbed a bowl, going to sit at the table. I followed behind her with my own bowl and sat across from her.
"How you feeling about it?" I asked after a loaded silence.
She shook her head, her eyes trained on her noodles.
"Mick," I kept on her, her shoulders starting to shake and for a moment I thought she was crying until she looked up and her eyes were dancing.
"It's just so fucking typical. The selfish bastard just does whatever he pleases and expects us to be exactly where he left us when he decides to show his stupid fucking face?" Hysterical laughter bubbled from her throat. "Fuck him. Fuck him!" She slammed her fist on the table, shaking our soup and making hers slosh over.
I felt my face tighten at her obvious hurt and reached across the table to place my hand on her balled-up fist. I was pleasantly surprised when she didn't shake me off. She just shook her head, her eyes bouncing around the table and looking anywhere but at me.
"Fuck him," she whispered and removed my hand from her fist to take a bite of her soup. I retracted my hand and sighed. I didn't know what to say to her. There was nothing I could say to make her feel better. All I could do was be there for her. So I sat there and ate silently while my daughter's desolate face turned emptier by the second.
"Hurry with those cakes, Bella," Angela called from the front of the bakery. I quickly folded them into their respective pale pink boxes and sealed them shut inside.
"On it!" I called back.
It was much harder to handle the tasks of the bakery now that I had a full-fledged cast on my arm. I balanced the boxes atop my cast and held them in place with my good hand and rushed as quickly and carefully as I could to the front. I was greeted by angry faces at the counter, their patience running thin.
"I'm so sorry for the wait," I said breathlessly, setting the boxes on the counter in front of them.
The older woman of the group stuck her nose in the air. "I don't see the point of making an order for a certain time if that time is not kept." Her snooty voice and attitude ticked me off but I kept the fake smile plastered on my face.
"Truly sorry for the wait," I said again.
The woman scoffed and grabbed the boxes, handing them to a younger man behind her. "You better hope these are good or your Yelp review will not be pretty."
"Have a nice day," I said with as much forced kindness as I could muster.
The woman only scoffed again and her group moved away. I gasped when their retreating figures revealed a very stoic looking piece of human filth.
The facade dropped quickly and I glared at him. "What are you doing here?" I knew the anger in my voice was noticed when I saw him take a small step back.
"I came to apologize," he had the nerve to say. I felt the growl rumbling in the back of my throat.
My eyes darted to the door then back to his face. I wanted to tell him to take a hike and stay out of my life and away from everyone in it, but I had things that needed to be discussed. Calmly.
"I've been trying to reach you," I forced through gritted teeth. He looked contrite and nodded.
"I know. I needed some time to cool down from the other night. Things didn't go as I had intended."
"How exactly did you intend for things to go when you show up unannounced?"
He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Better than that? I don't know. I wanted to have a calm discussion about... well, everything. But you went crazy."
There was a line starting to build up behind and I motioned for him to follow me out the back exit, through the back of the bakery. He followed without a word of protest, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
When we were outside, I whirled on him. "You couldn't have maybe texted or called your daughter to let her know that you needed some time?"
He bowed his head and teetered on his feet, rocking back and forth. He refused to meet my eyes. "I should have. I know. But I texted her this afternoon. She hasn't gotten back to me."
I blew out a breath, the tendrils of my hair flying up and around my face. "Can you blame her?"
He shook his head. "I'm trying, okay? I'm trying to get back in the groove here. I just need some understanding?"
I stifled the scream that wanted to erupt in his face, stamping it down deep into my soul where it was sure to fester. Instead, I took a calming breath in through my nose and let it out slowly from my mouth.
"I want you to sign the divorce papers," I said cutting to the chase.
His eyes widened fractionally. "I'm... I'm not ready for that."
It was my turn to widen my eyes. I looked at him like he grew a second head and took a step forward, hissing quietly. "What do you mean you're not ready for that? You left, Riley. You left. I want my damn divorce."
His face turned mocking. "Why? So you can go marry your new boyfriend that you brought around my kid?"
I tried very hard to keep myself calm, locking my hands behind my back and forcing them to stay there this time. I replied in a calm tone. "No. This has nothing to do with Edward. I want my life back. And it doesn't include being married to you."
He sniffed and looked away but I could see his eyes were blazing. "Not ready."
My jaw clenched and it took all my will power to keep my hands to myself and my voice steady. "Riley," I said as calmly as I could given the circumstances, "why are you doing this?"
"You want your life back?" he asked, finally meeting my eyes. He took a step forward so he was towering over me. "Well, so do I. I want my family back, my house, my life here. I want it all back and I will do whatever it takes to get it."
I didn't miss how he said family. With reverence and want and need. I took a staggering step back and looked at him. "You lost that. You lost all of that when you left. When you chose some little girl over your family," I spat the word back at him. What a joke. We were never a family. Not with him,
He caught me off guard, his hands wrapping around my waist and pulling me roughly to him, his lips connecting harshly with mine. It took only a second for me to push him away and for my cast-covered hand to connect with the side of his thick skull.
He toppled to the side and I screamed as pain shot through my arm. I jumped up and down as I tried to make the pain stop. When it finally subsided I looked down at his surprised face and spat at the ground next to him, wiping my lips of his unwanted kiss.
"You'll be hearing from my lawyer," I said shakily.
He scrambled to his feet and glared at me. "Don't make this worse for yourself, Bella. Because I sure as hell have a better lawyer than you."
Instead of entertaining this fiasco anymore I turned on my heel and ran inside, my insides clenching painfully.
"Thanks again," I said for the hundredth time as Edward installed a new lock on my door. He dismissed my thanks with a wave of his hand. "I don't know if he still has a key but I don't want to take any chances."
"It's fine, Bella. I'm glad to help." He was still angry. Not with me, but with Riley. I was honest with him and told him every detail about what had transpired, right down to the kiss.
His face was set in a permanent scowl for the rest of the day.
I sighed and walked into the kitchen to check on the chicken baking in the oven. Mickey sat at the counter with Leah by her side. Leah hadn't wanted to come inside. She loved being outdoors but I think she felt the angst in her teenage companion and was following her everywhere.
"Hey," I said softly coming to stand next to her.
"Sup," she said just as quietly.
"How are you feeling right now?" I needed to know how she was fairing. She didn't look so well.
She only shrugged. I brushed past her, touching her back as I went to the oven to check on dinner. Seeing that it was done, I pulled on an oven mitt and removed it from the oven, kicking it shut with my foot.
"Dad wants to take me to lunch tomorrow," Mickey muttered after a minute of silence.
I felt my body tense. What could I say? No? No, you can't see your father? I couldn't do that. Not if she wanted to see him.
"Do you want to go?"
She looked over at me. "I want answers. I need answers."
"You may not like what you hear." I tried to soften whatever blow I knew was coming if she went with him and asked him why he left her.
Mickey shook her head. "I don't care. I have to know... I have to know why. Why he left, why he stayed away for so long and why he's back now."
"He said he wants his family back." This honesty thing was getting easier.
She scoffed, her eyes rolling in her head dramatically. "As if," she said but I noted something in her tone. Something that made my chest tighten and my stomach do flips.
Longing.
Before I could comment, Edward came into the kitchen. Leah regarded me with a soft growl as he neared closer to Mickey. He held his hands up in surrender and went around the island so he was standing a safe distance away and closer to me.
"Locks are changed. You're good."
I smiled gratefully up at him and he returned the smile with a forced one of his own. I rolled my eyes at his seemingly endless anger. Plating three servings and handing them to each of us, we made our way to the table and ate dinner in complete silence. So different from our last dinner together.
It made me uneasy.
It was getting late and we both had work in the morning so I walked Edward out. We stood on the porch, both of our arms locked over our chests as we silently regarded the other. Finally, Edward sighed and released his arms to pull me to him. I clung to his back and inhaled his heady scent.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly into my hair.
I nodded. "It's okay. I wouldn't be too happy if the roles were reversed."
Edward pulled away slightly, just enough so that he could look down into my face. And then his lips were on mine, a hungry kiss of tangled tongues and heavy breaths. I didn't know how long we shared that kiss but it was too soon when he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine.
"I wanted your last kiss of the night to be better than your first," he said playfully, trying to make light of the situation.
I smiled at his efforts. "It beats it by a long shot."
He hugged me back to his chest and squeezed. And for a moment everything else melted away. In his arms, I was safe.
Y'all wanted those locks changed so badly lol. There you go. This is not a terribly angsty story, I don't want that for it. It's fluff and family with a dash of drama. Thank you for reading and a big thanks for reviewing. I love hearing your thoughts.
