Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
“Check on the girls, then grab your phone and meet me outside, yeah?” Telling Leigh to stay inside would add fuel to the fire, and something tells me she needs to be present for this shit.
29
ROSALEIGH
“Isn’t this cute. She files for divorce to make a new family with my best friend,” is what I’m greeted with when I walk out the front door, hitting the pound button on the keypad to lock the girls inside in case their own father decides to try anything. Nix was afraid David would make an appearance at some point. Given my penchant for not locking windows or doors, he replaced the front door and back door locks. I thought it was overkill, but it clearly wasn’t. It turned out to be a necessity. Even the damn annoying locks on the windows; they couldn’t even be opened except an inch, and even then, Nix made sure all of the windows were closed and locked as well as the doors each night as he shut down the house.
“Ex-best friend. We ain’t been friends since the day you fucked Leigh over. If you have something to say, say it. If not, I’ll give you a minute before I’m calling the cops. I don’t want your girls to witness their father being arrested, but I’ll be damned if you’re gonna come to their house and start shit.” I walk down the front porch steps, phone in hand, realizing too late that I forgot my jacket and I’m wearing my good house shoes when I know they’ll get ruined. My mind wasn’t on anything else except making sure my girls were none the wiser, I had my phone, and to get to Nix before it was him I’d be bailing out of jail tonight.
“Funny. I’m pretty sure those girls you’re talking about are mine. It wasn’t you who got with Rosa. You didn’t have enough balls to go after what you wanted. That was all me. How do my leftovers taste, knowing it was me who took her away from you?” Nix doesn’t say a word. He lets David ramble on and on as I make my way closer to the man who truly has my whole heart. The minute my hand slides into Phoenix’s, some of the tension leaves his body.
“Why are you here, David? You left our girls when I was at work, left me to deal with the aftermath, and our girls with it, too. Do you know the hell we were put through? Or your parents? My God. Your parents aged twenty years overnight when we were told that the man we loved was a dirty cop, in bed with the cartel.” How a small-town cop even figured out how to associate with some cartel in the northern part of the state, I have no idea, and believe me, I tried to work the puzzle out multiple times in my head. A piece of you thinks there’s a reason for a person to do this. Was it you? Was it the life you created? Were you not good enough? If I were that woman who had a shopping problem or had to dress or look a certain way, sure. That’s not who I am, though. This small-town life is all I’ve ever wanted. A sense of community with the family you love, it’s all anyone like myself could ever want. Especially when you had a childhood as rocky as mine.
“I’m not staying. Not on your life. I knew Phoenix would swoop in and save the day. It was only a matter of time. You see, I knew he wanted you all the way back then, but he wasn’t man enough to make his move. It didn’t take much to weasel my way in, poke a few holes in the condom and getting you pregnant,” David boasts. My mouth is hanging open, and a gasp leaves my mouth. And Nix, well, Nix has a grumble leaving him, a cross between a growl and an ‘I’m going to kick your nose into the back of your skull.’ I’m pretty sure if I weren’t by his side and the girls weren’t in the house, Phoenix would let loose. David would lose, too. Phoenix works out. He’s not a gym type of guy, but he’ll lift weights in his garage and runs a couple of miles a day. An activity Rory took up even though she abhors the thought of waking up earlier than she has to. Neither of them talk, they both run with their earbuds in, music blasting. Rory comes back home happier, and Nix comes back ready to take me as soon as the house clears out. The same can’t be said for David. He once kept himself in shape, but now his hair is a greasy mess, his cheeks are ruddy in the type of way that you know his health isn’t what it was, and he’s got a paunch around his waist. He’s not the same man, obviously, especially after spewing what he did to us.