“Yes, you better.” Her lips curved up. “Good luck, Nicky.”
I bolted from her room, formulating a plan in my head. Tonight was the end of the year Scout party. I needed to somehow get her alone. Almost, half, whatever; I’d take anything if it meant I got to keep her. She was mine in all the ways that counted.
I hoped that when I gave up on Ellie, she hadn’t given up on me.
“THIS WAS Agreat year. Thanks for all you did for our boys.” Gary Reilly, one of the Tiger Scout fathers, stopped me at the front door of the gym to shake my hand.
“No need for thanks. I had a great year, too.” I shook it back, not really making eye contact. My eyes darted the room in search of Ellie. I left her house two weeks ago without saying a word, and I had no idea how she’d react when she saw me. My instinct was to drop to my knees and plead until she took me back, but I would wait until later—if she gave me a chance, a chance I had no right to.
“All right, boys. Let’s try to not eat enough junk to make you throw up.” My pulse jumped at Bianca’s voice, knowing Ellie would be right next to her. I took a deep breath and turned to see her, Dylan, and Jack . . . but no Ellie.
“Hey, guys.” I crept over to where they sat. Dylan gave me a big smile, but Jack turned away from me. My heart sank twice. Ellie was nowhere to be found, and her son wouldn’t look at me. The colossal way I fucked up with both was painfully evident.
I crouched behind where Jack sat and laid my hand on his shoulder.
“Where’s your mom?”
“Sick,” Jack whispered, still not picking up his head. Jack had never known his dad. There was no competition with him. I was the man he looked up to, the one he attached himself to early in the year when he was looking for a father figure. I didn’t have to fight a specter from the past to be number one in his eyes—because I already was. The disappointment etched on his face gutted me.
“She caught the school stomach virus from hell,” Bianca added. “It’s spread through the students and faculty like wildfire. She didn’t want Jack to miss the party, so I told her I’d take him and he could sleep over tonight. She’s been sick all week.” Bianca grimaced as she set down plates of food in front of the boys.
My chest deflated with a tiny bit of relief. She didn’t bail out of tonight because she didn’t want to see me. I planned to head right to her house after the party was over, but right now, I had someone else to grovel to.
“Listen, Jack. I’m sorry I haven’t been around lately.”
“Mommy said you were working a lot. But you usually call when you’re working. It’s okay that you don’t like us anymore,” Jack mumbled as he shrugged. “I just miss being your friend.”
I clutched his shoulders and turned his body to face me. I’d never felt smaller, or more like shit than I did at that moment.
“That isnottrue. I’m always your friend. I could never not like you and your mom. I love you, in fact, both of you. What's going on is silly adult stuff that we’re going to work out tonight. But never, ever think that. Got it?”
Jack nodded and furrowed his brow. “Is that why she cries at night?”
Fuck.I grimaced before I could hide it. I was two seconds away from shutting everything down and throwing everyone out so I could sprint to Ellie’s house now. “She does?”
“Well, she did until she got sick. Now, she just throws up all night.”
“Yeah, this virus is a killer,” Bianca noted as she took a seat next to Dylan. “Take a bath in bleach the second you leave here tonight.”
I drifted around the room, making small chat with the other parents. At the end of the two hours, I said a quick goodnight before cleaning and locking up.
The talk I had with my grandmother earlier today had more resonance than ever. I didn’t care about technicalities or who lived where. I just needed my girl back, and maybe she needed me too.
I rang the bell for almost ten minutes. Ellie’s car was in the driveway, and the living room lights were on. I was about to reach into my pocket to call her when the door swung open. Kate stood before me instead of Ellie.
She glowered as a frown turned down her lips. “Can I help you?”
I exhaled a long breath. She obviously knew all about my hasty departure and scowled at me as if she wanted to set me on fire. I couldn’t say I blamed her.
“I heard Ellie was sick. I came to see if she’s okay.”
“Thank God. Finally, one of you made a move.” Kate moved aside and let me in the house. “Maybe you can talk some sense into her. This isn’t just a passing virus. She hasn’t eaten in days and now she can’t even stand up.”
I followed Kate into Ellie’s room. The bed was almost stripped, and her moans of agony drifted from the bathroom. When I opened the door, Ellie was crumpled up in a ball in front of the toilet. She was pale and gaunt, and from only one glance I could tell this wasn’t a regular stomach virus.
“Kate,” Ellie croaked out with one side of her face resting against the floor. “Can you help me sit up?”
Kate raised her eyebrows. Ellie was in bad shape.
