Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
“Look, I’m sorry about how everything went down when you were younger. I’m sorry we haven’t had a relationship. Maybe I should have tried harder, but I was trying to respect your wishes. And your wish was for me to stay away, so I did,” I say. “But our history has nothing to do with Elodie or how you treated her. That’s all a choice you made. And those choices led to your relationship with her going sideways. That’s not my fault. It’s yours. But hey, go ahead and blame me. You seem to do that with everything, anyway. I’m telling you, though, it’s time that you grow up and start accepting responsibility for your own actions.”
He scoffs and glares at me balefully. “You done?”
“I am. And so are you,” I tell him. “Get in your car, get out of here, and don’t come back. Ever. And if I ever hear of you harassing Elodie or setting foot on Mrs. Carter’s property again, you are going to be in for a world of hurt, Ben. I promise you that.”
He cuts another glance at Elodie and turns back to me with a cruel little twist to his lips.
“You know she’s going to have to come back to LA at some point,” he says. “And when she does, I’m going to make sure she regrets doing this to me.”
“You’re not going to do anything of the sort,” I tell him.
“No?”
“No.”
“And what the fuck do you think you can do living all the way out here in the fucking sticks, old man?” he sneers.
“I’ve still got a lot of friends in LA who will set you straight.”
“You’d actually send them after your own son?”
“If my son behaves like an abusive monster, you bet your ass.”
“Unbelievable.”
“Ben, I don’t want things to be like this. You’re my son and I want to have a relationship with you. But I’m not going to turn a blind eye when you do something so wrong. I wouldn’t be doing my duty as a father if I let what you did and are doing slide.”
He clenches his jaw and looks like he wants to tear my head off with his bare hands. “Ethan, you’ve never done your duty as a father. Ever.”
“Again, that was your choice.”
“Fuck you.”
“It’s time for you to go. Now.”
Ben stares at me like he’s thinking about testing me. His hands are balled into fists at his sides, and for a moment, I actually think he’s going to make me put him down. But he seems to realize his anger can only carry him so far in a fight, especially against somebody bigger and better trained than he is, so he backs down.
“I feel sorry for you, old man,” he says. “I really do.”
“I’m not the one you should be wasting your pity on. Try looking in the mirror,” I tell him. “Unless you start learning how to not act like an asshole and treat a woman the way she deserves to be treated, you’re going to be living a long, lonely life, son.”
“Stop calling me son. I’m not your son.”
His words hurt me, but I manage to keep from letting it show. Some small part of me has always wanted to believe that one day, Ben and I would reconcile. I can see now that’s never going to happen. And to be honest, with the way he’s comfortable acting, especially toward a woman, I can’t say I’m too broken up about it.
“Time for you to go,” I say again.
“You’re a real asshole, you know that?”
“You’re not the first person who said so.”
“I’m sure I won’t be the last, either.”
“Probably not,” I say. “Now, go back to LA and forget you ever knew Elodie. Move on with your life as she is managing to do.”
Huffing and puffing, he walks to his car and climbs in. Ben slams the door, starts the engine, and revs it loudly before hitting the gas and screeching away, leaving a trail of rubber behind him. I watch him go, feeling a stab of guilt and anger knowing any chance I might have had to repair my relationship with my son has evaporated like a puddle of rain on the sidewalk on a warm spring day. I watch him go until his car is out of sight then turn back to Elodie, who remains standing on the porch of her grandmother’s house, hugging herself tightly.
Clearly, I’ve got more damage control to do.
15
ELODIE
“Your son. Wow,” I say. “That’s … unbelievable.”
“Tell me about it,” he says.
Mam has made herself scarce, giving Ethan and me some time to process everything that just happened. We’re sitting in the breakfast nook Mam and I had been sitting enjoying lunch just minutes ago, staring at the untouched glasses of iced tea in front of us. Shellshocked isn’t even the right word to use. It doesn’t even come close to accurately describing what I’m feeling right now. And judging by the look on Ethan’s face, he’s feeling much the same way I am. It feels like the entire world has been turned upside down.