Distraction

Bonus Chapter!

*** This is just for fun. A reader said they'd love to hear more of the other characters in Distraction, especially Robbie. :) In my original draft, I had Robbie's POV too, but I took it out to simplify things. Most scenes I could switch to Libby or Patrick's POV, but this was one I had to cut. It's one of my faves and I thought you might like it. It's where Vanessa admits to Robbie that she's having an affair. It would fit in before Ch13. ***  

The gentle breeze drifting in from the window did little to help him breathe as Robbie listened to Vanessa's footsteps coming down the stairs. The girls were in bed and Tallulah had buggered off to Chloe's leaving him no reason to delay this anymore.  

'Has Livvy been looking after the kids a lot?' Vanessa asked as she hovered in the doorway, her arms wrapped around herself. 

'She's picked them up once or twice.' He topped up their wine glasses and sat back in his chair as she sat at the other end of the table. As far as she can get from me. 

'They certainly like her. All I've heard about for the last twenty minutes is Livvy this, Livvy that.' 

'She's good with them. And her name's Libby.' 

Vanessa nodded, staring at her hands as they gently held the stem of her glass. 

'What's going on, Van?'  

He'd rehearsed the words for an hour while she was putting the girls to bed, hoping not to come across as angry or confrontational. Maybe he'd tried too hard, because he sounded resigned. Or was that how he felt, because the answer was inevitable? 

She didn't answer, or look up, but her fingers tightened, her knuckles whitening, as tears tumbled down her cheeks.  

And he finally knew.  

He'd suspected the worst when she'd bear-hugged the girls but barely managed to kiss his cheek, though he'd pushed it aside as paranoia. For three hours, they'd played happy family, the girls delighted to have her home, and he'd sat back, watching her. She'd kissed them, swearing she missed them, hugging them, promising she loved them more than ever, but she never smiled, not really.  

But the tears said it all. No more paranoia. 

'Tell me.' 

She pressed her lips together, the tears free-falling.  

'You're fucking him, aren't you?' 

She nodded.  

His chair tipped backwards as he stood, the crash echoing around the otherwise silent house. She stared at him, panic in her eyes. He hadn't pushed the chair on purpose, but at least it made her face him.  

'I'm sorry,' she whispered. 

Sorry? His world swirled for a moment as he leant on the table. She'd nodded. She'd fucked that... He closed his eyes but images of Jason Benoit, loose-haired and bare-chested, leaning over his naked wife filled his head.  

Fuck this. 

He threw open the door, struggling to breath. He strode from the house but Vanessa wasn't far behind. 

'Rob?' 

He paced the yard, his territory, running his hands through his hair. How the fuck was this happening? This was Vanessa, his beautiful wife, the nicest person in the world. How was she having an affair? How? How had it happened? He wanted to run, get the hell away but with a resilience he wasn't aware he possessed, he turned to her. 

'What now? Do you want a di...' He couldn't say it. We've been married for thirteen years.  

Vanessa stood in the middle of the yard, folding her arms as she prepared for the fight. He'd let her have her moment, to say what she needed, but he wouldn't face her. He couldn't. He leant over a half-door, watching Max pull at his hay net.