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“Your dad’s here?”
I scratched my head, not liking the feeling in my gut that he being alone with Katie made. He seemed a decent enough guy, but there was something about him that unsettled me – I guessed it was the old green-eyed monster rearing its head, even though I knew they were never getting back together.
“Yeah, I’m surprised it’s taken him this long to be honest.” Isaac placed his cell face down on the arm of the chair. “Sophie threw him out over a week ago. I think Mum thought he’d be around before now too.”
“Hang on, back up a minute. Sophie threw him out of the house?” Isaac nodded and I felt my chest tighten. “And your mom knew about it?”
“She expected him to come around last week, but he’s been staying with my gran and grandad. He’s obviously had enough of them because he brought a bag with him.”
Isaac nodded toward Charlie and Savannah who were now engrossed in a game on the iPad.
“Mum doesn’t want him to know, he’ll worry,”
“Don’t know where he thinks he’s going to sleep,” Annie chipped in. “But he’s not having my bed.”
Yeah, I fucking wanted to know that too, although I had a good idea – well that wasn’t fucking happening.
“I’ll just be a minute,” I announced to no one in particular, moving quickly to the door to the hallway.
I had no idea what I was going to say to Carl, but it certainly wasn’t going to be ‘oh yeah, stay here with the woman you regret losing’.
As I reached the door to the kitchen, Katie’s tone caused me to halt in my step - she sounded angry, her voice cracking a little with emotion.
“Of course I don’t want to bring up another child, Carl. Of course I wish we’d never separated.”
Bile rose in my throat.
My fucking head imploded.
My fucking heart cracked open.
A cold sweat shivered over me.
As white noise took over my headspace, all that I could center on was Katie admitting she didn’t want Savannah. She didn’t want me. Her words were like stones being pelted at my body, each one causing pain as it hit me. I’d asked her more than once, was the package of me and Savannah what she wanted and she’d never wavered from her answer. That was until Carl came back. Until Carl left his wife and wanted back in the family.
How the hell could she do this to us?
We were fucking good together.
We were making a life together.
With my head buzzing with anger and feeling numb with rage and shock, I made my way back to the lounge. Maybe I should stay and fight for her, anyone who really wanted her would. Well I did want her, more than anything, but I’d be fucked if I was going to beg. I’d never given up on anything before, but there was no disguising how she felt in the tone of her words. I couldn’t compete with that or their history.
“Savannah, sweetness say goodbye to the guys, we’re going home.” How my voice remained steady, I had no fucking idea, because inside I was a raging ball of anger ready to explode.
Everyone looked up at me with surprise on their face, although Isaac’s looked more worried.
“What’s happened?” he asked. “Is something going on with Mum and Dad?”
“No buddy.” I shook my head, grabbing Savannah’s little pink Chuck’s from the floor with a shaky hand. “We just need to go.”
As Savannah stood, I picked her up, not wanting to wait around while she tried to put her shoes back on.
“My Elmo,” she cried, holding out an arm and pointing to the toy Charlie had given to her.
Charlie passed it to her and grinned up at me. “I’m playing a football match on Sunday, if you want to come and watch.”
I gave him a weak smile and nodded. “Maybe buddy, let me see what my plans are.”
