𝑻 𝑯 𝑬 𝑵 𝑨 𝑵 𝑵 𝒀 (18+)

fifty-five

D O M I N I C

"Hi sweetheart, at this point I can tell that you're ignoring me and I guess I don't blame you. I just want to say that I'm sorry again. Things just sort of spun out of control before I could get a handle on it, your father has just been so hard to reason with lately. The last thing I ever wanted was to upset you or the kids. I've spoken to Amara and apologized, please call me back when you can or come visit. We should talk, love you."

The voice recording ended as I tossed my phone onto my nightstand. That had been the fifth time my mother had tried to reach out to me but I wasn't interested in anything she had to say, at least not yet. I couldn't place all of the blame on her, as much as she tried to intervene her husband was hard to talk down when he was worked up. I hadn't been any better. I let him get in my head and that was my fault. A mistake I wouldn't be making again.

Covering my eyes with my arm I groaned and shifted in my bed. The only sound in the room being the low hum of my air conditioner.

The silence—it wasn't so bad just yet.

                                         ♥

"Get in the car, Josh," I stood on the curb with my arms crossed and one foot kicked on the wheel of my car. He'd been standing outside of the school for the past ten minutes now and for the sake of not causing a scene, I let him throw his silent tantrum alone. It's been two weeks since Amara moved out and I didn't realize how different everything was until this moment. She was so much better at this than I was. I understood him and I wanted to give him the grace of working through his emotions without me interfering but he refused to talk to me. Half the time he couldn't even look at me and suddenly we were back in April when the only thing my son held for me was disdain.

Jamie poked his head out of the open window and waved at his brother, "Get in the car, Josh!"

I smiled to myself and shook my head. Jamie was taking all of this much better than his brother but that was because I wasn't sure he understood what was going on. He knew Amara left but he hadn't assumed that she wouldn't come back. She made him a promise and Amara never broke those, so he had no reason to worry.

Glancing at the time on my watch I groaned and walked over to the angry kid kicking rocks into the street. He looked at me and snatched his hand away before I could grab it and ran to the car.

"Everything alright Dom?" Gina came out the side door of the school with a bag in hand. I waved and met her halfway; I hadn't even realized anyone else was still there.

"I'm alright, just coming from a meeting with the guidance counselor. What are you still doing here?"

She laughed and looked down at the bag of crafts in her hand, "I'm helping with the fall festival this year. It gives me something to do, otherwise, I think I'd go back home and pull my hair out."

"I know the feeling," I smiled stiffly and stuffed my hands in my pockets.

"I heard you're looking for a new nanny. I can lend you my babysitter until you find a permanent replacement? Maybe we can talk about it more over drinks?"

I raised a brow and took an unnoticeable step back. Gina was a beautiful woman and she'd always been kind to me and my kids but I wasn't sure I wanted anything more from that. I enjoyed our friendship and to be honest, considering the circumstances I wasn't interested in making my love life more complicated than it already was.

"A drink sounds nice, I'll let you know when I'm free?" Still, I accepted because a drink with a friend was better than silence.

"Alright, great! I'll see you soon Dominic."