One Last Time(13)

“Good. I’ll see you Monday?” she asks.

“Bright and early.” I give her a hug and promise to call if I need anything.

Off to my date with the Devil.

The kids fill me in on their day, and Aubrey is going a mile a minute. The ride to my house—old house—is a few blocks, but I drive extremely slowly. I want to delay this as much as possible. Knowing that I’m going to see the home I once loved has my stomach doing somersaults.

We pull into the driveway, and I fight back my discomfort. The kids need to see me as a pillar of strength.

Scott opens the red door and heads down the walkway. He’s wearing his black suit pants I had pressed last month, the blue shirt I bought, and his smile is effortless. I could almost believe he’s happy to see me.

But when I exit the car, his smile shifts to a look of disappointment. I realize he’s still the same miserable person, but I’ve changed and no longer care if he’s happy.

I walk toward him, wanting to be polite. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

Silence.

We stand in front of the home where we shared our lives and can’t even look at each other.

“Are the kids ready?” Scott asks.

Okay then. “Yes, they’re—”

“Daddy!” Aubrey screams as she spots him, cutting off this extremely uncomfortable exchange. “Daddy! Daddy!”

“Princess!” Scott calls back and rushes to her side door. He has her in his arms immediately.

She squeezes him and kisses his cheek. “I missed you so much, Daddy! So much!”

I move to the trunk so I can grab their bags.

“I missed you more. You got so big! Hi, Finn! How are you, buddy?”

Finn doesn’t respond. He just puts the headphones back over his ears.

“I never want to leave you, Daddy.” Aubrey giggles and wraps her little arms around him again.

My heart breaks, leaving nothing but tiny bits remaining. I can’t stop the tears this time. I shift to put my back to them and wipe away the moisture before anyone sees. I hate this so much.

I draw in a deep breath and pull my shoulders back. Time to be the bigger person again. I carry the bags to the sidewalk before heading to Finn’s side.

“Come on, dude. It’s time to go see your dad.”

“I’d rather stay with you.” He glares at his father and then his eyes turn pleading. “Please, Mom.”

Please, God, help me through this.

I touch the side of his face, mustering every last bit of strength I have. “You should spend some time with Daddy. He probably missed you, and I’m sure he hasn’t been able to get to the next level in Overwatch.”

My eyes meet Scott’s, and I see appreciation for the first time.

Scott clears his throat, drawing Finn’s attention. “I’ve been trying, but you know I can’t capture the objective without my sidekick.”

Finn’s chin drops, and he unbuckles his seatbelt. “Fine, it’s not that hard anyway.”

“Why don’t you guys head inside so I can talk to your mom. I got some new stuff for your rooms.” Scott gestures to the front door, but before the kids can run inside, I stop them.

“Come give me hugs.”

The kids each wrap their arms around me, and I hold them tight. This is going to be the hardest thing I do. Dropping them off every other weekend will never be something I look forward to. I love these kids and would keep them with me every day.

“Bye, Mom!”

“Bye, guys!”

They run off, leaving me with Scott. Hopefully, this time he can actually say more than a few words to me.

I rock back on my heels and slip my hands deep into my pockets. “So?”

“So, where do you want to meet on Sunday?”

He isn’t seriously asking me that, is he? Not after the whole fight on the phone. There is no way he can possibly believe I’m going to come get them. No. I don’t believe it.

“Excuse me?” I keep my voice calm.

“I figure we can meet at the McDonald’s between our houses.” Scott cracks his neck.

He’s fucking for real.

“For the last time, I’m not meeting you, Scott. You will bring Finn and Aubrey to my house at the time we agreed on through the lawyers.”

His eyes turn hard, and he makes a low growling noise in his throat.

Good. Be pissed. I don’t give a shit. This is absolutely ridiculous considering it was his stupid agreement.

“I don’t see why you can’t just meet me!” He bellows. “Fucking hell, it’s like you never change!”

I’m not going to stand here and allow him to yell at me. It’s why I’m living in my best friend’s house to begin with.

“You’re living in the house because you asked to stay, even though it was more of a goddamn upheaval on our kids, but you didn’t care. I moved us out without any help from you. You don’t want a wife anymore, so I’m not going to act like one.” I rip open my car door and get in, my chest heaving in anger as I jam the key into the ignition. The old Kristin would’ve met him because she wanted him to be happy.

The new Kristin doesn’t give a shit how he feels.

Scott stares at me in disbelief as I back the car up. I’m done making everyone else happy. It’s time for me to enjoy life a little.