by Stacey Lewis
Tabitha sputters, not sure what to say. It’s been so long since I’ve stood up to her because I always try to keep the peace, but I’m done being a fucking pussy.
“B-b-but you can’t.”
She might think that, but she’s wrong. “The hell I can’t. I’ve stayed too long already.” A thought occurs to me and I ask the one question I’ve been wanting to ask for two years now. “Why would you even want to stay together, Tab? Neither of us is happy. Don’t you want a chance to find someone who will make you happy? We’re not good for each other, and staying in this relationship is slowly killing us both.” I’m not trying to be nasty. The anger I had towards her is gone, replaced by exhaustion and a desire to be finished with all of this.
Tabitha lifts her chin in a stubborn move I’ve seen way too often. I know when I see it I’m not going to get an answer, not a real one anyway.
“We could be happy again.”
I pull back from her in shock. “No, Tabitha, we can’t. Too much has happened for us to go back now.” Too many nights where she sat beside me on the couch playing games on her phone and ignoring my existence, too many times when she couldn’t do something as simple as stop at the store and pick something up or even be bothered to clean up the kitchen when I went to bed too sick to eat.
I’m tired of being the person to do everything for our family while she did whatever the hell she wanted. I don’t expect my wife to do all the cooking and all the cleaning, but damn, I expect us to both do the shit work so we can spend time enjoying each other.
Telling her all of this again is pointless. She won’t ever admit to any wrongdoing and if I try to explain she’ll just accuse me of attacking her.
I take another step back, and another, putting enough space between us there’s no danger of touching. I’ve touched Tabitha for the last time.
The only thing I have left to say to her is, “And as far as the kids go, if you try to leave with them, I’ll fight you every motherfucking step of the way. You can’t hold them over my head anymore. We all deserve more than this.”
After delivering my parting shot, I walk calmly out of the waiting room and am almost blindsided by Nick’s fist.
“What the hell did you do to her?” He shouts in my face and I snap.
All the rage I have pent up from the past two years explodes on him and I grab him by the neck of his shirt and shove him away from me before stalking after him.
“Where is she?”
Nick laughs. “Where do you think? She left, asshole. I don’t blame her either. What kind of asshole brings her into a closed-off room knowing his wife could show up at any moment? Why the fuck would you put her in that position.”
Now it’s Nick I’m pushing against the wall and getting far too close to in an attempt to make my point known. “Do not fuck with me right now, Nicholas. I don’t you an explanation, so I’m not telling you shit. What happened is between me and Hailey, so keep your ass out of it. I’ll tell her, and only her, what she needs to know.
“Good luck with that. You forget, Mitch, I saw how upset she was. I’m the one who took her home and watched as she cried. That girl was devastated by whatever shit you and the cold bitch perpetrated in that room and I’m not about to help you find her.”
I can see the resolve on his face, and as much as I’d like to beat the information out of him, I know better than to try. It’s hard, but I back off, glaring at him the entire time, then turn my back and walk away, barely managing to keep my rage in check. Beating my fist into his face would be counterproductive, and punching the wall will only hurt my hand.
Instead of heading for my office, I go straight to the front desk and pull her phone number off the forms she had to fill out before dropping her car off with us. See, I didn’t need Nick after all. Her address would’ve been better, but beggars can’t be choosers.
Putting the phone to my ear, I listen to it ring before her voice hits my ears. I clench it tighter in my hand and struggle for what to say. She says hello a second time, but all I can do is say her name.
She gasps in my ear. “You have some nerve calling me, Mitchell.”
“Please, Hailey, you have to let me explain what that was.”
The line is silent for so long I pull the phone away to make sure it’s still connected, then she says, “I don’t have to let you do anything. I have zero interest in being the third person in your relationship. My ex already did that to me once. I refuse to live through it again in the other position.”
My free hand fists at my side. “That’s not going to happen.”
“You’re right,” her voice says quietly, sadness clear even through the phone line. “Goodbye, Mitchell. Don’t call me again. This number and any others you call from will immediately be blocked.”
With those words, the connection between us ends and even though she said she was blocking me, I still try to call her, staring down at the screen in disbelief when I get the “your call can’t be completed” message.
Rage fills me once more and I throw the stupid thing at the wall, watching it shatter and fall to the floor.
Chapter 8
One year later
Hailey
It’s almost time for the parents to start coming in so I can meet them and the children who will be my charges for the school year starting in a little over a week. I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down so I don’t look like a crazy woman when they walk through the doors.
While I wait, I look around the room at all the posters I spent hours picking out and hanging up, as well as the neat rows of desks and brightly colored paper stacked on top of them, makes me giddy. Being a teacher is all I wanted to do from the time I was a little girl, and the fact that I’m finally living my dream has my chest feeling like it’s about to burst with happiness.
Sure enough, the first set of parents walks through the open door and it’s hard to stay standing beside my desk. The principal, Mrs. Sanders, warned me and the two other teachers who are new to the school this year not to seem too eager. She said if we were, the parents would think they could walk all over us. I don’t want to give that impression.
The little girl makes a beeline for the reading corner I’ve set up in one corner of the room. Grabbing a book out of one of the bins, she immediately plops down to make herself comfortable in one of the three bean bag chairs and starts flipping through the pages. I already know we’re going to get along well because if given the choice, I’m going to be reading instead of talking to grown-ups too.
Turning my attention back to her parents, I decide, screw the principal’s advice. I don’t want to come off like I’m one of the stuck-up teachers I loathed when I was in school. I want to build happy, trusting relationships with the parents of my students.
Decision made, I walk over to meet them, holding out a hand for them to shake. “Hi! I’m Hailey Lucas and I’ll be your daughter’s teacher this year.”
The excitement in my voice is clear, making both parents relax as they return my smile and take my proffered hand, first the father, then the mother, before introducing themselves as well. “I’m Stacey Montgomery, and this is my husband Isaac.” The pretty redhead turns slightly to focus on her daughter. “The little bookworm over there is Sophie.”
“She gets that from her mother,” Isaac shares, his warm brown eyes sparkling with a joke only he and his wife understand.
Leaning further into him, she explains, “I review books, so I’m always reading something.”
“Oh, I bet that’s a fun job.” It’s true. Normally, when I think of book reviewers, I think of stuffy old men publishing scathing reviews in the paper, not someone like Stacey Montgomery who’s beautiful and friendly, her smile and personality drawing people in.
Realizing I’ve been staring at her much too long while I think about the differences between her and the reviewers I’m used to hearing about, I turn my attention to her husband. “And what do you do, Mr. Montgomery?”
“Plea
se, call me Isaac,” he says with a grin and a wink that makes his wife roll her eyes in a way that says she deals with his charm often. “I own a construction company.”
His profession isn’t shocking at all. He’s tall and lean, but his arms and shoulders clearly say he does plenty of physical labor.
Get a grip, Hailey. He’s the father of one of your students. It’s been way too long since I’ve been around someone as attractive as he is. The thought makes me think of Mitchell, the asshole I met a few months ago who was also too attractive for his own good… and married just like Isaac.
Ugh. He has no business invading my thoughts. I’ve been working so hard to forget I ever met him, but I’m failing.
Forcing myself to focus back on the conversation I’ve been having with the Montgomerys, I pretend not to notice the concerned looks they’re both giving me and paste a smile on my face. “I’m sure I can count on you coming in for career day, right? The kids love hearing about putting things together and tearing them apart almost as much as they love doing it themselves.”
Isaac chuckles but assures me he will, and I spend a few more minutes explaining what I’m planning to do this year with their daughter, a speech I’ve spent the last week and a half preparing and memorizing since I know I’ll be saying so many times.
More families are coming in, so I let the Montgomerys go explore the room and what I’m planning to have their daughter study this year while I go greet the others. Meeting all the kids I’m going to be teaching this year makes that exploding feeling in my chest bigger, and I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be…finally.
The meet the teacher time is almost over when the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. Praying to every deity I know, I turn around slowly, hoping it’s not who I think it is, but my wishes go unanswered.
Standing in the doorway is Mitchell in all his bearded and tattooed glory. Any hope I had that my memory of him was exaggerated dies as we stare at each other in disbelief. Surely fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to have his child in my class.
Please, please let him just be in the wrong room.
That request goes unanswered too when the adorable dark-haired girl at his side says in a sweet little voice, “Are you Ms. Lucas?”
I can’t ignore her. Crouching down so we’re eye-level, I confirm, “I am Ms. Lucas. Who are you?”
She ducks her head and leans heavily into the man I’m trying desperately to ignore. I almost look up at him, wanting to share with him how precious she is, but stop myself at the last second. He’s the enemy, even if his daughter is in my class and I’m not going to make any of this easy for him.
After a few seconds of hiding, Mitchell reaches down to cup her shoulder with his big hand and she lifts her gaze to his. “Tell her your name, honey.”
That voice… saying that endearment… I’m fairly sure my ovaries just exploded. I have got to get a handle on my hormones.
His daughter finally peers up at me and takes a deep breath. “Evie.”
I think back on my student list, but I don’t remember seeing an Evie on it. Relief courses through me, but Mitchell’s next words obliterate it.
“Evelyn,” he says, and without thought, I look up at him and freeze.
He’s staring down at where I’m practically on my knees in front of him and his blue eyes are so dark they’re almost black. His free hand is fisted at his side and the sight of him starts my heart racing. “What?”
“Her name. It’s Evelyn Anderson, but she prefers Evie.” Mitchell says this like he’s extremely disgruntled about this fact, which only makes me determined to only call her Evie just to irritate him.
Turning my attention back to her, I hold out a hand. “Evie, would you like to see your classroom?” She nods, looking up at me shyly when I stand to my full five-foot-eight and grabs my hand, a toothy smile gracing her pretty face when she sees her name written on a wide white strip covered in butterflies.
Once I’m finished showing her around the classroom, I take her back to where her dad is still standing, eyes on both of us. I’ve been able to feel his stare the whole time and it’s done nothing but make me nervous.
“We need to talk.” He leans in close to say the words in a voice low enough no one else can overhear. I can smell his unique blend of car and cologne, and the scent has me closing my eyes and breathing deeply to savor it before I realize what I’m doing.
I know better than this, I swear I do.
My body sways closer to his without my permission, but then I hear Evie’s voice calling for her mom and feel his body stiffen at the same moment mine goes rigid. It takes everything in me to take a step back from the warmth of his body, but I manage... barely.
“No, Mitchell. We don’t have anything to say to each other.”
He looks like he wants nothing more than to argue, but Evie’s voice is getting closer and the last thing I want is another confrontation with his wife. The last one was more than enough.
Mitchell looks over his shoulder, and I guess he has the same thought I do because he backs off. “This isn’t the time, but we are going to talk, Hailey. A lot has changed since I saw you last.”
With that ominous statement, he leaves my classroom and I shut the door before anyone else comes down the hall. A quick look at my watch reveals the meet and greet is just about over and I slowly sink to the floor in relief.
How am I supposed to do this? How can I be his daughter’s teacher and still keep my distance from him? I don’t know what it is about him, but staying away is a struggle. It shouldn’t be, considering he’s married and I’m not that type of woman, but it’s like my body, maybe even my soul is drawn to him whenever he’s near.
I can’t go to the principal and ask her to remove Evelyn from my class either. That will just give him the irrefutable proof he affects me and I don’t want to give him that kind of power over me. No, I’m stuck. I’ll just have to do whatever I can to keep my walls up around him and not let him get to me.
Easier said than done.
The bell rings, signaling the end of the evening and I rush to get my stuff together so I can go home and cuddle with my son. There are still a few days before school starts, so I’m going to take advantage of this time with him before he goes back to daycare. And use the time to build up any defense I can against Mitchell Anderson.
When I walk out into the parking lot, he’s far enough ahead of me I can study him without him seeing me. Strangely, it’s just him and his daughter, along with a boy who must be his son. Where did his wife go? Evelyn, Evie, was talking to her in the hallway, but she isn’t with them now. Did she go ahead of them to start the car? That doesn’t seem right.
Ugh. I have got to get a handle on this. Thinking about him isn’t going to cause me anything but heartache and I refuse to do to someone else what Seth did to me. Being the person who’s cheated on is the worst, and no matter how hateful she is, his wife deserves better than that… and so do his kids. So, do I.
Chapter 9
Mitchell
What the hell are the chances Hailey would be my daughter’s teacher? I’m not sure if fate is the best fucking thing ever or if karma is proving just what a bitch she can sometimes be.
Tabitha is in the hall with Ben and Evie, paying more attention to whatever is on her phone screen than what Evie is telling her about her new teacher. That’s probably a good thing because if Tabitha knew Hailey was the teacher, she’d probably explode. Tabitha blames Hailey for being the reason I finally decided I was done with her shit and called the bluff of her taking my kids to California if I left.
She’s not altogether wrong. Meeting Hailey was what finally made me grow a pair and tell her I was done. I knew there was no way Hailey would get involved with me if I was still married and I never would’ve asked her to do that either.
I reach the three of them just as the door to Hailey’s classroom shuts, the sound probably not as loud in reality as it sounds in my head considering there are still kids
running up and down the halls and parents discussing their children with the teachers who will be spending all day with them this year.
Personally, I’m grateful Hailey shut the door because if she hadn’t, Tabitha might have decided to go in and try to intimidate her the way she always has Ben’s teachers in the past. If she had her way, Ben would be the mini version of her entitled asshole brother, and that’ll happen over my damn dead body.
It’s the beginning of Tabitha’s week with the kids, and I’m eager to get the handoff over with so I can go find Hailey and convince her to let me explain.
Evie instantly transfers her attention from her mom to me as soon as I’m within reach, and as much as I’d like to ignore her mother, I try not to be a total dick when they’re around. Not that it stops her.
“Mitchell.”
Tabitha sneers my name like I’ve done something terrible to her, and I know it’s a way to get me to react. I refuse to give her the fight she’s looking to start and just nod my head in acknowledgment before turning my attention to Ben.
“What did you think of your teachers, Ben?”
He looks down at his shoes and shrugs. This is the big downside to the divorce. At thirteen, Ben blames me for his mom being the way she is and she does everything she can to stoke his anger. Unless I want to tell him what a bitch his mom truly is, I’m stuck bearing the brunt of his unhappiness, and unlike Tabitha, I’m not putting either of my kids in the middle of our issues. They were there for way too long already.
Knowing it’s pointless to try to get him to say more, I turn my attention to Evie and hug her since I know she’ll accept it gladly. At least one of my kids still wants to be around me. “Have fun with your mom this week. I love you.” Having our “week” start on Wednesday is a pain in the ass sometimes, but at least we both get equal time with the kids.
My shoulders tense when Tabitha sighs. Before she speaks I know she’s about to piss me off and disappoint the kids.