I hated lying Eli and doing this behind his back. But I know if he went to talk to Fitz everything would end horribly. That night when Eli was still at work doing the radio show and the kids were asleep, I went to the phone book and looked up Mark Fitzgerald. I had to call 3 other Mark Fizgeralds before I finally reached Fitz.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Fitz?"

"Hahaha no one has called me that since high school! Wait a second, is this...Clare Edwards?"

"Uh, yeah it is. I heard you stopped by my house earlier today and talked to the kids. Fitz, I think we should talk."

"Oh, of course! I would love to catch up" He sounded very excited.

We planned to meet up at The Dot tomorrow evening after work. I asked the babysitter to stay a bit longer than usual. I still felt very guilty for lying to Eli. We are married, we work as a team and to do this behind is back is so wrong, but I'm really the only one who can handle Fitz.

The next day around 5:00, I went to The Dot. As I sat there waiting for him, I opened my phone to check the time. I looked at my screen saver and saw my beautiful children. Annabelle looked almost exactly like Eli; long, straight black hair except she has my light blue eyes. She even had her father's wit and charm. They listen to classic rock together in the garage as she helps Eli tune up his car that he calls Kelso. For her 7th birthday, we bought her a guitar and she just started lessons. She's a true natural and already told us when she's older she wants to form a band. Eric on the other hand is my mini me. Short, curly light brown hair, light blue eyes. He's quieter and enjoys drawing. We listen to Michael Jackson together or sometimes The Beatles. For a small boy, he has a big heart. Whenever someone in the family gets sick, he's there with a blanket and keeps the other company.

I closed my phone to see that Fitz was just walking in. He looked around, saw me and smiled. I never was into Fitz like some girls at my school were. It was strange because I always saw him as the school bully, even when he found God.

"Hi, Clare. How are you?"

"Hey Fitz, I'm doing well, how are you?"

"Please, call me Mark. Fitz was something I got rid of a long time ago."

"Alright...Mark" It was weird calling him by his first name.

"It was so nice of you to invite me out for coffee. I haven't seen you in so long Clare! Not since..." He paused and looked down. I know he's remembering that night when I told him I love Eli instead of him and made him leave. I tried my best to erase that day from my memory.

He looked back up. "It doesn't matter when I last saw you. I'm just glad to be with you here right now!"

"F- I mean Mark. There's something I need to tell you. I don't want to come across as rude, but... Eli and I don't exactly feel comfortable being around our children. I mean its just Eli still hasn't exactly forgiven you for what you did to him in high school."

"Oh. I understand completely. I mean I know Eli is still bitter, but I hope the Lord will open his heart and will soon forgive me"

"Yeah, but for now, can you just... stay away from them, for Eli's sake?"

"Of course Clare. But when I went to your house yesterday, I was looking for you."

Wait, what? I thought.

"Um, why you would want to look for me?"

"Clare I know its been many years since we last saw each other but" He grabbed my hand. "I still love you" he whispered.

I pulled my hand back. "Fitz, I'm married to Eli! I love him! I'm not leaving him or my children to run off with you."

"Its MARK." He yelled. He looked shocked at himself, but then calmed down. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me."

"Mark, it was a bad idea for me to come here. Just, don't come near us again okay? Or I will get a restraining order."

I left The Dot without looking back. I should have kept my promise to Eli and never should have gone looking for him. As I drove home, all I could think about was Fitz's face when I said I loved Eli. The amount of hurt he had, I almost felt bad for him.

When I got home, I was surprised to see that Eli's car was in the driveway. I went to unlock the front door, when it suddenly opened.

"Hello, my lovely wife. Where were you?"

"I, uh, had to stay back at work for a bit. What are you doing home?"

"I took the night off and told Jeff to take over for me tonight because tonight, we're going out to dinner. The babysitter said she'll stay and watch the children"

"That sounds wonderful! Let me quickly change."

As soon as I changed, we went out to a lovely Italian restaurant. I was having a great time and I even forgot about my visit with Fitz.

We came home around 11:30. When we opened the front door, what I saw completely shocked me. Annabelle was on the bottom stair, crying her eyes out and shaking. The babysitter was in the middle of the foyer, in a pool of her own blood. Her face was pale and she had been stabbed in the chest numerous times.

"H-he took E-Eric m-m-mommy. T-the man from y-y-yesterday" Annabelle then burst into tears.

Oh man some serious stuff is happening! Chapter 3 is going to be very intense.