Happily Divorced

(20) Ex-wife

Chassie George

I carefully arranged Ethan's art tools in his backpack. He's having a sleepover at his daddy's house. I was invited, but I had the slightest, tiniest hunch I might increase the possible awkward encounter with Sydney Williams. I knew her from way back, although point zero on the friendship scale, it's safe to say that we were acquaintances... who see each other more than on a few occasions.

It was a typical semi-cold, semi-warm acknowledgement to each other's existence. I was indifferent to her because she hovers around Nathan wayyy too much. It doesn't help that they are two years my senior either.

Firstly, she got where she was not because her parents knew some people. She got there through a scholarship. She doesn't have a drop of blue blood in her and she honors herself for it. And the reason why she was around Nathan so much is because they can "pick each other's brain" on just about anything.

Sydney Williams used to say they are intellectually compatible. Which to me translated to, "Chassie George is too dumb for Nathan." Call it presumptuous or women's instinct, but I knew, in my teenage mind, there was something more than the "intellectual compatibility." And I later confirmed it when Nathan and I got together because, in the end, she wasn't pleased about it.

"Can you keep Ethan company tomorrow night?" I glance over my shoulder where I could see Nathan looking down at me from where he's sitting on the sofa after playing Tag with Ethan all afternoon. He was finally left to catch his breath when my parents had tea in the garden.

"Why?"

"Well, guess who's going on a date?" I beamed.

He shot me a puzzled look. "You're going on a date with whom?"

"You remember Hunter Anderson?"

"The stalkery guy?"

I scrunched my nose. "Yeah, I thought he was. But turns out, he's a nice guy."

"I thought you're going to be done with this after what happened to your hand the other night." His voice dripped with what sound like mild exasperation.

"Guess I'll never learn." I could feel his gaze on my back while I zipped up Ethan's backpack.

"Chassie."

I sighed and turn around to face another round of his lecture.

"Chassie, I'm serious. This is another bad idea."

"You always say that I have a bad idea," I muttered stubbornly.

"Because it is," he countered, his tone abrupt.

I tried not to flinch. My chin tilted up to hide the hurt. I forced a laugh. "You do realize I don't need your permission to date a guy who has potential to be my boyfriend, right?"

It was supposed to be a joke, but the way Nathan's blue eyes flick away, I regret every single word.

"Right," he murmurs, raising from his seat.

My tongue felt stale inside my mouth. I couldn't find words to stop him from walking away. I swipe my hand over my face in frustration. I gaped at the doorway until he was no longer in my line of sight, bewildered at how the conversation escalated to an unexpressed fight.

Neither one of us has spoken a word when it was time for them to go. Ethan kissed my cheek and holds his daddy's hand who shunned eye contact with me. They left, my chest heavy. I stayed in my room, the laptop as company. I was too distracted to write anything though. So, I paced in my bedroom restlessly. Nathan and I never had a fight like this in years. Let alone a cold war.

I look out my window, groaning when I realized it's dark already and I might have spent the rest of the afternoon contemplating how I'm going to apologize. I stare at my phone on the nightstand. I walked toward it like some kind of magnet reeling me in.

I flounced myself on the bed, the phone in my hand. Biting my lip, I ring his number. There's no way I can have a good night's sleep with the last conversation we had. My breath spilled through my teeth as he answered on the second ring.

"Hello, mommy." The knot in my stomach twisted further when I hear my son's voice on the other line instead.

"Hi, baby. Where's your daddy?"

"He's making dinner with Aunt Syd."

Something foreign reigned over me. It's strange to hear his name and Sydney's together. Especially not from Ethan who sounded perfectly happy with it. I didn't even know he calls her Aunt 'Syd.'

"Mommy?"

I blink. "I'm still here."

"Do you want me to call daddy?"

"No, baby. I was just checking on you."

Ethan chuckles on the other line. "I'll be fine. I'm with daddy. And Aunt Syd is hanging out with us tonight."

I stiffened. "Oh, um. Don't stay up late, okay?"

"I won't. Good night, mommy."

"Good night."

He hung up. And even when he did, I was still holding my phone to my ear. I'm bothered with the thought of Sydney Williams making my son a decent meal when I can't even manage a proper omelet. Nathan must be relieved someone else is using his kitchen without having to worry about having it burned down.

Here I thought I can clear my head if I call him. I never knew it will very much likely to keep me up all night instead. There was the slightest gash across my gut. This would probably clear up the vague "labels" between Nathan and Sydney which Summer, Andrei and France were debating about. 

Book 3

Audrey Danler swore to forget that one drunken wedding hookup she had with Vren Parkinson. It was definitely doable. Except that one mistake resulted to a positive pregnancy test. And now she's stuck with a man she would've never bat an eye at when she's sober. It was supposed to be just a mistake. Not a commitment.