Everything & More (Book 1 in the E.C.N Series)

Chapter 22-Martha

We had about 10 mins before Ryan would be here. The three of us had developed a routine of hanging out, as Lori would constantly remind me, "You may be a mom but you are not your abuela yet." I remembered her words as I stared at my outfit choices for the night. Every time I did this I was expanding my comfort zone more and more. Tonight was a black sweetheart neckline dress that stops mid thigh with an open back. Feeling a bit exposed I opted for a leather jacket. For makeup I chose a light pink lip, with nude eyeshadow paired with winged eyeliner and mascara. Instead of my curly hair I decided on straightening it for the night. Staring at myself, I felt good.

Leaving the bathroom, I found Lori sitting on the bed scrolling through her phone. Her outfit choices never ceased to amaze me. Tonight she was wearing a white tube top and a skin tight black skirt that stopped mid thigh paired with black pumps. Her hair was gelled down giving her a sleek look with her pixie hair. She had medium silver hoop earrings and completed her look with a striking red lip and mascara. She looked up from her phone and began to tease, "Ooo, I see someone took my advice on the makeup this time."

"Shut up" I said, rolling my eyes as I put on some stud earrings.

"And the advice on the hair."

"Would you stop it?" waving my hand at her.

"Hey," She put up her hands in defense, "do you remember when we first went out, this is a huge upgrade. Every time we go out your outfit gets more and more risqué and I'm all for it."

I chuckled at her excitement, "It's a confidence builder. I'm gonna need all the confidence I can get, especially since Jonathan has been begging me to show up to the second session."

"Are you going?" Her question was more in disbelief that I would even consider it.

I shrugged not looking at her through the mirror as I focused on putting in my stud earrings, "I don't have a legitimate reason not to."

"Um yes you do," she said in protest as she stood coming closer to me, "it's called motherfucker lied."

"Well apparently therapy is supposed to help with that."

"How about you not being in love with him anymore?" My movements paused, all this time I was spending my time being angry and hurt that I had no idea how I truly felt about the man. "Well if you have to think about it-" She nudged.

I turned my body fully towards her, "No, it's different. I have to think about it because he hurt me. I never really gave it much thought."

"Well then answer me this, If Jonathan and 'tits for brains' were fucking for an entire year while you were none the wiser, was he coming home to you, still madly in love with you and the affair was just all about sex? Or did it go on for so long because he actually felt something for this bitch?" The thing that bothered me was that she wasn't wrong.

There were questions I needed answers to and I knew I was only going to get them if I went to the therapy sessions. Not having the capacity to push this conversation forward, something else came to mind, "Tits for brains? Really?"

"Oh I'm sorry, did you have another suggestion? I got puta but I thought that summed it up too quickly. There's thot, trollop, tramp, floozy, hoochie."

My eyes were wide in surprise that she just had an arsenal in her back pocket. Even I didn't get as creative as these, every time anger coursed through me about it I called her a bitch. "What do you got, these names filed away or something?"

"Maybe..." she said slowly before she moved on, "either way she belongs to the streets plain and simple." We both started laughing, I moved towards the bed and sat down to put on my 4 inch heels. The straps on the sides were giving me a hard time, but thankfully it was only a few minutes before I successfully had them on. Lori stayed by my dresser messing with some of the jewelry before she huffed "Why is Ryan always late, he lives right down the road."

I looked down at my watch, "Relax, it's exactly 8."

"Exactly, remember what I always say about men and dates, early is on time, on time is late, and late is inexcusable." The doorbell rang immediately after she spoke.

Gesturing out the bedroom door, "Well speak of the devil and I guess it's a good thing this isn't a date." I started walking out of the room and down the stairs.

"Not yet." she mumbled. I don't think she meant for me to hear that so I pretended like I didn't.

Suddenly the doorbell rang again. "I'm coming, I'm coming." I shout over the click clack of our heels descending the staircase.

"Someone's impatient." Lori chuckles.

I shook my head and opened the door to reveal Jonathan standing in front of me with bouquet flowers in his hand. Both Lori and I's eyes went wide but I quickly recovered. Though Lori remained looking like a deer in headlights as she watched.

"Hey." Jonathan spoke first with his shoulders slumped, looking very nervous. "These are for you. I just -"

"You just assumed I wouldn't have any plans so this would be the perfect time to ambush me in my house." I said cutting him off feeling slightly annoyed. When I looked down at the bouquet I couldn't help but want to sneer at them. Crossing my arms over my chest, I shot a glare his way.

Jonathan realized I wasn't taking the flowers and brought them back to his side. He stood there, silent and nervous. When he glanced down he did a double take, his eyes taking in my outfit. He cleared his throat and decided to take a step through the door, "Martha please."

Shocked by his actions, Lori and I stepped back letting him in, much to my dismay. The door was being held open with my back as I still had my arms crossed. Lori stood to the side watching us with amusement dancing on her face. I let out a heavy sigh, "Jonathan, you can't do this."

"Why not, you're my wife." Pain and anger slashed through me. Is he serious right now?

Before I could speak, footsteps coming up to the door caught our attention, "Hey, sorry I'm late, ready to go?" Ryan said as he popped in. Silence... that's all that followed when those two noticed each other. The awkwardness and tension continued to build between all four of us. I looked from Ryan to Jonathan noticing their faces. Ryan was expressionless giving nothing away about how he was feeling seeing Jonathan here. Though the same couldn't be said for Jonathan. His jaw was clenched and the grip he had on the flowers in his hand made me think he was about to snap.