“Penny!” they said in unison.
“Hey, guys!” They were fine. In fact, they looked more than fine. “Where’s your dad?”
“Oh, he went to the studio.” The woman crossed her arms. “You get the day off, yay.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not leaving you with the kids alone. I don’t know you.” I crossed my arms to mirror her. “Unless I hear it from Trevor—”
“Mommy!” Bella giggled. “Can you get me some more Sprite?”
“Sure, honey.” She winked and went over to the fridge to grab some Sprite, Sprite that I’d purchased for the kids for when they were allowed to have soda.
It was next to the gallon of milk I’d gotten because Trevor had forgotten.
A golf ball lodged in my throat as I watched this strange woman, Trevor’s ex-wife, move through the house like she’d been the one to make it a home. When I knew that in the last two weeks I’d done more than she ever had.
“What are you doing here?” I asked boldly.
“Being a parent,” she fired back. “And a wife.”
My jaw went slack. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure.” She gave Bella her pop. “Eric, help your sister open it. No spills.”
“Okay.” He was the only one who seemed mildly upset over the pizza. And suddenly the Subway I’d bought them felt pathetic and stupid.
So did my cheap leggings and my long-sleeve Henley.
And the stupid beanie I’d put on.
The lip gloss I’d purchased at Sephora.
Everything felt…less than.
And I hated it.
Trevor had never made me feel that way.
This woman did with not so much as a word.
“You can’t just say things like that,” I whispered in a low voice. “The kids, they miss you—”
“I’m going to stop you right there, Penny.” She held up her hand like I was a petulant child. “Those kids are mine, not yours. This life is mine, not yours. Got it? I’m their mother, not you. And Trevor and I are still working through some things.”
That was when I saw the ring.
On her left hand.
It was so many karats that I was sure it cramped the muscles on that side of her body because of the weight.
It was beautiful.
It was just like her.
I shook my head, tears filling my eyes.
“Sweetie, we’re talking about Trevor Wood here. Did you really think that he was going to go for—” She narrowed her eyes in disbelief as her gaze raked over me. “Whatever you have going on?”
I felt that stare all the way into my Nikes.
“That’s not—” I prayed for patience. “That’s not what I mean. Trevor said you guys are divorced, ergo, you can’t come in here randomly and give the children hope.”
There, that sounded good.
“Oh, sweetie, he didn’t tell you, did he? Shame.” Her grin was pure evil. “I haven’t signed shit. We’re legally separated. Not. Divorced.”
The room started spinning.
The kids laughed in the distance.
And she stared at me like she’d won, when I wasn’t even aware I was in a game. Let alone racing her.
“I’ll just…” I moved past her. “Kids? If you need anything, you have my number, okay?”
“Okay!” they chirped.
I shared a look with Eric, but he quickly averted his eyes.
Bella grinned at me. “Isn’t it great, Penny? Mommy’s back!”
“It’s…something.” I forced a smile that felt more like my face was on the verge of breaking into a million pieces and excused myself from the house.
I grabbed the Subway food and put it back in my car.
With shaking hands, I took a sip of coffee, only to have it spill down the front of my shirt.
And then I burst into tears and called the only person who could give me answers.
Only to have it go straight to voicemail.
Chapter Twenty
Trevor
“Sorry I’m late.” I breezed into the room and put my phone on silent, grabbed a pair of headphones and sat down. “Penny wasn’t back yet, and then my worst nightmare showed up out of the blue on my doorstep…” I groaned into my hands. “She’s like the devil but worse.”
Drew shrugged and strummed his guitar. “You’re the douche that didn’t listen to us when we said she tried to get Ty to sleep with her at least a dozen times before you put a ring on it.”
“Don’t remind me.” I tossed a drumstick in the air.
“So did she stay?”
I let out a rough exhale. “Unfortunately. I’m hoping if I play nice, she’ll give me full custody. The divorce just went through last month, man, but she’s missed every court date and the law says she has to be present. She has one more chance, then the kids are mine. I’m hoping they scare her away.”
Drew stared me down like I’d grown three heads. “I’m sorry. Am I to assume that she’s at the house right now?”
“What the hell was I supposed to do? Kick her out? Bella burst into tears and ran into her arms. She brought pizza, see? The devil incarnate! Malcom looked ready to worship her, and Eric smiled for the first time all day!”
Ty walked into the room. “Sorry, I was eavesdropping—know what? Actually I’m not sorry. Are you insane?”
“What?” Heat crept up the back of my neck, that and a shit ton of anxiety. “Could you guys just explain?”
Will came over the studio com. “Guilty of eavesdropping too. Dude, you need to go back to the house now.”
“Guys, she’s their mom. They’re not going to set her on fire even if she deserves it.”
“Right…” Will said through the mic and then shook his head and walked into the main part of the studio and pulled out a chair. “Look, Drew and I have experience with this sort of manipulation.” Drew just snorted and gave a nod. Good to know they were at least speaking without cussing each other out or pulling out dicks and measuring. “Hollywood bitches be bitches.”
“You sound so white,” Ty muttered.
“Accurate, however,” Drew pointed out. “And as much as it pains me to give Will any credit where he looks better in public—he’s a hundred percent right. Okay, so even if you aren’t concerned that your ex might take off with the kids, what do you think’s gonna happen the minute Penelope shows up to do her job?”
“She’ll do her job.” I said dumbly. “I mean I don’t exactly trust Jo to stay put, she’s the type of parent that would take off, remember? Bored with this life? She was a good mom until she just quit being a mom, it didn’t help that she started using drugs with whatever that dick’s name is.”
“My point exactly.” Will sighed like he was stressed out when I was sweating bullets. “Penelope isn’t used to that sort of thing. To guys like us, we just laugh it off and go ‘wow, glad I’m not married to that.’ She won’t know what’s real and what’s not real.” He shot me a pointed stare. “Then again, if you haven’t slept with her, I guess that’s not a problem—”
I shot to my feet and reached for the front of his T-shirt.
Will’s eyebrows shot up. “I thought you were the least violent of the bunch.”
“Holy shit.” Drew sounded like he was seconds from shitting his pants. “You slept with her, you dirty dog, up top!”
I ignored his hand.
Shoved Will away.
And reached for my phone.
I had two missed calls from Penelope.
And five from my own kids.
I quickly dialed the emergency phone I’d given Eric and waited.
When he answered, I heard crying in the background and then screaming. “Wake up, wake up!”
“Eric, buddy, what’s going on?” I felt myself pale as all of the guys stood, like they were ready to go to war for me.
“Mom, she’s sick, I don’t know. She told us to eat our pizza and made Penny sad, and I knew it was a trick because then she went into the b
athroom and didn’t come out for a really long time.”
“Is she still there?” I was already headed out of the studio, with all of my bandmates on my heels.
“Yeah, but she’s super sleepy and her eyes look funny, and she yelled at Bella for ruining her buzz. Is that bad?”
Son of a bitch!
I jumped in my SUV and noticed that all the guys got in their cars too.
“Stay on the phone with me, buddy, I’m headed there now.”
“Wait, someone’s at the door….”
“DON’T ANSWER THE DOOR!” I roared.
But it was too late.
I saw my life flash before my eyes in those few seconds.
I felt my heart shatter into a billion pieces.
Amazing how the one person you imagined you’ll build your life with—is the very one who brings it crashing down around you.
I gripped the steering wheel and hit the accelerator, breaking every law in downtown Seaside, and prayed he didn’t answer the damn door.
Chapter Twenty-One
Penelope
I made it maybe seven minutes past their house when I stopped in the middle of the road and just stared at the four-way stop.
I had nowhere to go.
My shift was done.
All my stuff was currently in a house that I couldn’t live in.
And the rest of my things were at Trevor’s.
I could have gone shopping, I guess.
Headed to Dani’s.
I could have done a lot of things.
But part of me felt like I was running away from a fight.
Part of me felt like I was doing to those kids exactly what their mother had done to them.
I was leaving my job.
Leaving my job.
But Trevor hadn’t asked me to.
No, his bitch of an ex or whatever she was did.
What if something happened to the kids?
She hadn’t been parenting them for the last year. Did she know about Bella’s allergies? Or about Eric’s night terrors? Malcom’s fear of toothbrushes?
The more I thought about it, the sicker I felt, until I turned the car around, ignoring all the signs in my heart that told me I was being used and being stupid.
Because if I’d learned nothing else in the last few weeks, it was that the kids trumped all.
And I would never forgive myself if anything happened.
I pulled to the front of the house, took a few deep breaths and walked up the walkway, knocked twice, then let myself in.
Why hadn’t she locked the door?
That was what you did when you had kids!
The minute I opened the door, Eric dropped the phone in his hand and burst into tears, wrapping his little arms around me. “I’m so scared.”
“It’s going to be okay, buddy.” Terror seized my very soul as I looked around the room. The horrible woman was sprawled on the floor, her head laying on the coffee table, an empty smile on her gaping mouth. I could barely see her eyes. She squinted at me like she was looking at the sun. “What happened?”
Soon I had Bella attached to the other side of me, Malcom squeezing in next to Eric, and the woman who shall not be named laughing hysterically from the floor. Her head fell back to the table. “God, they get loud when they get older, right? Thought pizza would at least keep them occupied for a few hours.”
“Kids eat fast,” I said, ready to slap her across the face and call the police. “What’s wrong with you?”
Her head lolled to the side and then she pointed at me, her hand dropping to her side limply, as if she didn’t have the energy to lift it anymore. “You’re nothing like the women those guys date.”
My eyebrows shot up. “From where I stand, that’s a pretty nice compliment, thank you.”
“Bitch.” She tried to stand.
A soft wind could blow her over.
I knew she couldn’t hurt us, but I also knew the scars that could run deep in a kid’s mind when they saw their mom not acting normal.
So I lied.
Not for her.
For them.
“Your mom is probably catching what your dad had.” I forced a smile. “Why don’t we go upstairs and watch a movie while she sleeps it off?”
She gave another delirious laugh from her spot on the floor.
Eric put his hand in mine, while I picked up Bella, holding her on one hip. Malcom grabbed Eric’s hand, and all of us walked upstairs to shut out the rest of the world.
I locked the door.
And immediately called Drew, knowing that he would at least be with Trevor and be able to let him know.
He answered on the first ring. “Kinda busy, Penny!”
“I’m at the house,” I blurted. “Trevor’s—his wife is downstairs, high out of her mind,” I whispered into the phone. “I took the kids upstairs and the room’s locked and—” Footsteps pounded outside the door. “—someone’s coming.”
“Open the door, Penny.” Trevor’s voice sounded from the other side.
I scrambled over and unlocked the door.
Trevor bypassed me, making a beeline for his kids. “Are you okay?” He cupped Eric’s face and started examining it like he’d been in a fight. “Eric?”
Eric’s eyes filled with tears. “I was so scared, and I heard Penny. She came back, Dad.” He fell apart in his dad’s arms. “Dad, Penny came back for us.”
“Yes.” Trevor rocked Eric back and forth as Bella and Malcom surrounded them. “She did.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Trevor
I called the police.
I asked them to be discreet.
And I watched them handcuff my ex-wife for possession. Heroin, Oxy, and a few other gems that were stuffed in her purse.
Apparently, her latest flame left her for someone else, and the minute she heard that I was recording in Seaside and had been linked somehow to Penny, she’d taken the first flight out.
To fight for her family.
Or so she said and believed.
But fighting shouldn’t include getting high in front of your kids or traumatizing them.
It didn’t include buying their love with pizza and gifts, empty promises and smiles.
I was sick.
So sick.
Her lies were like a poison. She dug her talons into everything perfect in my life and spread like a darkness I couldn’t stop.
I hated her.
So. Much.
The guys stayed over while I talked with the police. Penny didn’t leave the kids’ sides and I noticed a few times how Bella would tug on Penny’s arm and she would just naturally lift her off her feet and hold her or play with her hair while she walked around the kitchen.
If Jo was my nightmare.
Penny was my dream.
I just didn’t know how to navigate it, especially considering I had nothing to offer but a struggling, traumatized family, myself included.
When the police finally left and the house was once again silent, when the kids were put to bed with strict instructions to never ever answer the door unless an adult was home…
I exhaled.
And then I didn’t think. With purposeful steps, I walked toward Penny. She was cleaning up all the leftover pizza, putting things back in the cupboards, and now she was elbow deep in the sink, surrounded by dirty dishes since the dishwasher was probably still full.
I’d never seen anyone so stunning in my entire life.
I wrapped my arms around her and felt time stop as her body stiffened.
“I’m only going to say this once.” My heart thudded wildly against my chest. “I would be lost without you. We would be lost without you. Stay.”
I could feel her body sway, knew that she was fighting something, most likely doubt—about us, about what any of this chaos meant.
“Stay,” I said again and then slowly turned her to face me.
Water ran down her hands, tears filled her eyes.
“For the record,
I’m not married. She signed the divorce papers and the only reason I left her with the kids today was because I knew you would be on your way and I underestimated the hate in her heart. She told me she was in town for a day before leaving and begged to have some time with the kids. I told her you were bringing lunch so to check with you first…” I tilted my head. “I gave her your number and everything and then totally spaced the rest when Drew texted and said he had a breakthrough on one of our tracks. Plus, I know it’s stupid, but she had one final thing to dangle in front of me, and that’s one hundred percent custody, so I let her, and I shouldn’t have.” My voice cracked. “Because I can’t imagine what could have happened, what would have happened had you not come back.”
“But I did.” Her voice was hoarse, full of pain. “I came back. For them.”
“I’ll never be able to repay you. I can’t say I’m sorry enough. I should have called you, should have warned you, I just—you have to believe me, what you saw today, that’s not always been her. She was present. She wasn’t the best but she wasn’t ever cruel to others, she wouldn’t endanger her kids. Ignore them? Yes. Endanger them? No.”
“Drugs…” Penny sighed. “They let you justify everything and take responsibility for nothing.”
“Thank you.” I kissed the tip of her nose, then her forehead. “Thank you…for being here, for being part of us.”
“Am I?” She looked up at me, her eyes questioning. “I mean, what are we doing here? The twins start school in a couple of weeks, Bella starts pre-school sooner than that, and I’m just—”
I silenced her with a kiss. And then another when she tried to protest.
And then I lifted her onto the counter and pulled her against me, wrapping her legs around me. “You were saying?”
“I’m…” Her dazed expression darkened. “You can’t just kiss it away, Trevor. I’m furious with you!”
I grinned “Because you thought I was still married and sleeping with you?”
Her cheeks pinked. “Well, that and you should have called. That was stupid, so stupid. Ugh, I hate men.” She let out a little grumble. “Women are evil, horrible creatures.”
All Stars Fall Page 13