Chapter Twenty-Eight
ELLIOTT
I don’t know what Abel said to his daughter, but things were not as rough the next morning. They weren’t amazing either. But at least Mabel got out of bed and got dressed, and actually tried eating her scrambled eggs for breakfast without complaining.
Of course, she gagged and pushed the plate away, but I still consider it a small blessing she didn’t yell at me for making her eat the souls of unborn chickens again. It took almost a week for Ainsley to finally eat her favorite deviled eggs after that one.
That’s not to say there aren’t still nasty glares and lots of eye rolls. It’s irritating, but so much easier to ignore. She’s going to be delightful when she hits puberty. At least she’s learning to bite her tongue at a young age. I’ll have to focus on that.
A little sleeping in did us all some good this morning too. At least it did for me. I enjoy sitting in my jammies, sipping on a cup of coffee, no pressure to walk out the door on time. That’s part of why I got a late start on making lunch for the girls. I know it’s the weekend and I could let them graze as they want to, but then I have to try to get them back into the routine on Monday again. It’s not worth it. I’ll wait until summer break to let our hair down completely.
Ugh. Summer break. The thought of it already gives me hives.
“Girls! It’s time for lunch!” I finish putting half an apple on each of their plates. Three months ago, I would have gone for chips, but between Abel’s healthy eating and my lack of funds, we don’t have any. I never thought I’d see the day, but I also can’t say I hate it. Not only is it better for us, but I may have dropped a few pounds off my mid-section. Nothing wrong with that.
Realizing they never responded, I call out again. “Girls! I said its lunchtime! Let’s go!”
I hustle to put the plates on the table, knowing I’ll likely get run over if I don’t hurry, then head back into the kitchen for drinks. It’s not until both cups have juice in them that I realize the girls have ignored me twice. I know they can hear me. I’m loud enough, but I’m also standing by the vent. And where the heck is Abel? How many lightbulbs needed changing in this house?
Tamping down my frustration, I walk to the doorway and peer down the stairs. I can hear them roughhousing, which will probably not end well. Hopefully it will end quickly though when they hear how agitated I’m starting to become.
“Girls! This is the third time I’ve called you. Get your butts up here for lunch!”
The words are barely out of my mouth when I hear a weird thwack sound followed immediately by the sound that makes every mother’s blood run cold. It’s a primal shriek followed by a wail of pain and instinctively, I know my child is hurt.
Running down the stairs, my heart beating rapidly, I find Ainsley with her hand over her face, blood running down her arms and dripping to the floor.
Racing to her, I focus on staying calm and getting her to do the same. “Ainsley. It’s okay. Breath. What happened?”
“It wasn’t my fault!” Mabel yells, but I don’t have time to find out what happened. I need to focus on what needs to be done to fix it.
“Let me see, baby.” I gently pull her hands away from her face. Ainsley’s eyes are wide, and she resists the movement, but I see why as soon as her hands are far enough away. Her front tooth, her very first adult tooth, is completely knocked out.
Letting her hands go, I shush her before she starts crying again, trying to get as much information as I can. “Did you swallow your tooth?” She shakes her head in response just as I hear Abel come racing down the stairs.
“What happened? Is everyone okay?” His eyes look as wide as Ainsley’s are. Good to see I’m the only one who stays in control during a crisis.
“It wasn’t my fault! She stepped in front of my foot!” Mabel yells again, but we all ignore her.
“Ainsley’s tooth got knocked out. See if you can find it,” I instruct and go back to keeping Ainsley calm.
Within seconds, Abel calls out, “I found it! Be right back!” and runs up the stairs.
“Mabel, honey,” I say calmly, keeping my eyes focused on my daughter, who looks like she’s about to pass out. “Can you please get me a couple of rags?”
“I didn’t do it, Elliott. She stepped in front of my foot.”
I don’t have the time or the desire to have this discussion with Mabel. What I need is her help so I can get Ainsley to the dentist quickly. I’ve never dealt with something like this before, but I know enough to know we have a certain time limit before Ainsley will lose that tooth forever.
“I’m not talking about any of that right now, Mabel. I need help cleaning some of this blood up. Go grab me a rag, will you?”
As if she is finally realizing what is going on, Mabel steps forward, takes one look at the blood dripping down Ainsley’s arms, grimaces and says, “Eeeeeewwwwwwwww.”
“Mabel!” I snap. “This is an emergency. Please go get me some rags. And for heaven’s sake, where is your father?”
“Right here.” Abel comes ambling back down the stairs, supplies in hand. “Her tooth is in milk upstairs, so hopefully that’ll help. Here’s a couple of rags. What is her dentist listed under in your phone?”
Handing me the towels, he swipes open my phone.
“Dr. White.”
While Abel calls the dentist, hoping to get an emergency appointment on a Saturday afternoon, I wipe as much blood off Ainsley as I can. She’s still whimpering, with a few tears falling every now and then. But the initial adrenaline has definitely worn off. I take this time to figure out what happened.
“Girls, I need to be able to tell the dentist how Ainsley’s tooth got knocked out so he can figure out how to fix it, okay?” Ainsley nods. Mabel might also, but she’s still behind me so I can’t see. “Tell me exactly what was going on.”
“I told you,” Mabel says briskly, “Ainsley stepped in front of my foot.”
“I know that part. But I’m trying to figure out why her face was on the floor in the first place.” I know my answer is snarky and kind of rude, but I can’t seem to get any answers from her. Ainsley can’t talk without blowing air across exposed nerves, so I’ve only got one option and she’s not being very helpful.
“We, um… we were playing kickboxing.”
“You were what?” Abel bellows. I guess he’s off the phone.
I turn to see Mabel’s eyes fill with tears. “We were playing, Daddy. And Elliott called us for lunch and Ainsley ran right in front of my foot.”
“You guys were told not to play that game, remember?”
“I know, but Ainsley really wanted to play.”
I look back over at Ainsley whose eyes have gotten wider, if that’s even possible, and is shaking her head back and forth vigorously.
“Regardless, you should have told her no,” Abel says, and Mabel bursts into tears.
I can feel my anger level start to rise, but more than that, I can feel my panic start to set in. I know we need to get to the dentist as soon as possible.
“Can we discuss this part later?” I demand, and they both stop and look at me. “We need an Uber or taxi or something here now.”
“Already ordered. They should be here in less than five minutes.”
“Okay then. Ainsley, let’s head upstairs, okay?”
Carefully, I guide her up the stairs into the living room by the door. It’s still chilly outside, but I don’t dare make her move her hands. Now that she’s biting down on a rag, the blood part is relatively contained, but draping her jacket over her shoulders still seems like the best idea.
Not all of us are full of good ideas right now, though. For whatever reason, Abel seems to think badgering Mabel is going to get us somewhere. The only thing it’s doing, though, is frustrating me even more.
“Mabel, do you have anything to say to Ainsley before they leave?”
“Um… I hope you feel better?”
I won’t give her an A for effort on that one,
but I wouldn’t call it an F either.
“No, Mabel,” he chides. “Maybe you need to apologize.”
“For what?” she demands angrily.
“For knocking her tooth out, that’s what.”
“But she stepped in front of my foot! I didn’t do anything!”
Fortunately, a car drives up before I’m forced to hear any more of their fighting. I’m praying it’s the Uber and not a random delivery person. Or someone going to the neighbor’s house. Or a serial killer. Because at this point, I’ll take my chances.
“Come on, baby.” I put my arm around Ainsley’s shoulder and guide her to the car.
“Call me when you know anything,” Abel calls after us. I appreciate his concern and all, but right now, I’m all too happy to be out of that house to even care.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
ABEL
Five hours. It’s been five hours since Elliott climbed into that car with Ainsley without so much as a goodbye. Five hours of wondering what’s going on and how Ainsley is doing.
Five hours of thinking long and hard about how Mabel responded to my suggestion of her apologizing. I didn’t like it.
I’ve left a couple of voicemails for Elliott and have gotten no response. I switched to texting, thinking maybe it was too hard to answer the phone at an emergency dental visit. There are “no cell phone use” signs all over my dentist office, so maybe it’s the same at theirs? That was my hope, but texts have gone unanswered too. Either Elliott is really busy right now or she’s ignoring me.
Five hours is enough time to know that most likely she’s ignoring me.
Once I cleaned up the blood downstairs and tried in vain, again, to talk to Mabel about her behavior, I started pacing. I’ve been at it for so long now, the carpet might have a worn path. I can’t get rid of this antsy feeling running through my whole body. I want them to come home. I want them to be here so I can make sure Ainsley is okay and see what I need to do to make Elliott okay as well. It’s too quiet in this house without them. It’s too empty.
When they moved in, I didn’t anticipate they would become this part of my life that just fit, but that’s exactly what happened. They slid into this empty spot I didn’t know was there. But now I know what I was missing, and that part feels empty again. And I’m terrified it’s going to stay empty permanently.
Somewhere along the way, despite our best intentions at keeping solid boundaries, they became my family. The thought of losing them is terrifying. Even more so than when May left. That was nothing compared to losing them. To losing Elliott. The woman who is no doubt the best friend I’ve ever had.
I can’t think like that. I have to focus on reality—Elliott and Ainsley live here. They pay rent. All their stuff is here. Even if they decided to move out, they have to come back. And legally, the only person who can actually break a lease agreement is Elliott, so she can’t send her mother over to do her dirty work. Not that if it’s what she really wanted, I wouldn’t give it to her. I’d give her anything.
Knowing my thoughts are starting to spiral into dangerous territory, likely because this feels similar to when my marriage suddenly dropped dead, I force myself to stop assuming the worst. Instead, I take a chance and call Elliott again.
It rings three times and I can feel myself starting to give up, the moment of anticipation turning into deflation. I’m about to hang up instead of being sent to voicemail again when she finally answers.
“Hey.”
Relieved to hear her voice, I lose my footing and quickly sit down on the couch behind me.
“Hey, how’s Ainsley?”
“Good. Better. Dr. White was able to save her tooth, so that’s good news, anyway.”
I let out a deep breath and allow my body to finally relax a bit. “I’m so relieved to hear that. And it’s not going to change color or anything?”
“It shouldn’t. He said we got here fast enough and did everything right, so the tooth never died. The only thing we could have done better is to actually push her tooth back into the socket.”
I shudder at the thought. “I’m kind of glad I didn’t know that was an option.”
“I said the same thing to Dr. White.” Elliott laughs softly. Hearing the sound makes me feel better. Like she’s exhausted, but the worst is over.
“Is Ainsley in a lot of pain?” In my mind, I’m taking inventory of how much children’s pain reliever we have, and if I can open that bag of peas to make smaller bags for Ainsley to put on her mouth.
“It’s hard to tell. I think her tooth feels better, but she still bursts into tears every once in a while.” Hearing that my tiny dancer keeps crying breaks my heart. “But I’m not sure if it’s from physical pain or because she’s grounded from the Wii for the next month.”
Wait, what?
“Um, she’s grounded from the Wii?”
A combination of guilt and confusion flood my mind. Guilt because I’m listening to the sounds of WipeOut wafting up my basement stairs as Ainsley cries over the pain in her mouth. Confusion because, hasn’t she already been punished enough?
“I don’t want to question your parenting, but I don’t understand why she’s grounded from the Wii. Don’t you think what happened today was natural consequences?”
Considering our heated discussion the other day about our differences in parenting, I expect Elliott to get angry. Sometimes I forget she’s actually one of the most level-headed people I know. I should give her more credit.
“Well, she definitely understands why we had banned that game in the first place. So yeah, there are some natural consequences. But they also disobeyed us, Abel. We’ve told them more than once not to play it. I don’t think we have to worry about them kickboxing anymore, but maybe she’ll think twice before not listening to me next time.”
I rub my head, thinking about how different our thought processes are. It’s not that she’s wrong. She’s not. But in a way, I’m not either. How do we get on the same page with the girls if we’re so far apart in our thinking? Regardless, we can’t sort it out if they aren’t here.
“When are you guys coming home? I want to make sure we have enough medicine for her. I know I have ingredients for a few different smoothies while her tooth heals. I assume she has to be careful for a few days?”
The long pause on the other end of the phone makes my heart sink and my anxiety spike. Before she says it, I know, I know what’s coming. I want to hang up the phone and go back to pretending she’s still stuck at the dentist, so I don’t have to feel this kind of pain and rejection.
“We’re gonna stay at my mom’s house for a few days.”
My head drops and I breathe out, “Shit, Elliott.”
“I need to sort some things out, Abel.”
“What things, Elliott? That I’m a shitty parent who doesn’t know how to discipline my kid? How are we supposed to learn how to navigate through things if you’re not here?”
On top of all the other emotions I’m feeling, now I’m angry too. Angry that the person I’m closest to in the world hates my child. My daughter. The love of my life who I would do anything for. And even worse, Elliott hates her so much, so much she’s willing to toss us aside.
“You knew I was a package deal when we started dating, like you are. I know you don’t like Mabel right now, but you’re going to cut and run when things get really hard?”
“Derrick is threatening to file for custody, Abel,” Elliott interrupts and all the anger I was feeling disappears into a cloud of disbelief.
“What?” I breathe.
“Yeah. He’s talking about filing a change of circumstance, saying Ainsley is in harm’s way living there.”
I’m stunned. I knew Derrick was a douche, but it never occurred to me he’d go this far. “But… he can’t do that, can he? He can’t just claim Mabel is dangerous and that’s it, right?”
“I don’t know. But the burden of proof is mine. Which means I have to find the money for an attorney if he pursues this.
I can’t risk it.” I feel like my breathing has stopped thinking about the mess Elliott is now in. “Look, I love you, Abel. And I love living there, even when Mabel is obnoxious and I want to stuff a wet sock in her mouth, but I can’t risk losing custody of my daughter. I won’t.”
As much as I hate to admit it, I understand exactly what Elliott is saying. Even worse, I agree with her.
“No. No, you can’t lose her. She’s the most important thing here.”
We sit in silence for a few seconds, each lost in our thoughts. Thoughts that probably mirror each other’s in wondering how everything went to shit so quickly and how long it will take to fix.
Clearing my throat, I try to push past my own shock and support Elliott as much as I can from a distance.
“Um, are you going to need help paying for an attorney? You know I can take on a few extra clients, or maybe pick up a part-time job for a while if you need. I don’t need much sleep. The coffee maker’s got it covered.” I try to take some of the heaviness away from the situation with some of our normal humor, but she’s too upset now.
“No, Abel. You don’t need to do that. It’s not your responsibility.”
“I know it’s not my responsibility,” I lie, knowing I’m responsible for this. It’s one thing for Mabel to be snotty and disrespectful. But now her behavior has affected someone we love in a very real and scary way. That’s on me. “But we’re a team, Elliott. I want to help you any way I can.”
She pauses again, and I know about to experience another rejection from her.
“We can’t be a team right now, Abel.” I suck in a breath, willing the stabbing pain in my chest to stop. “Let me sort this out, okay?”
I nod, even though she can’t see me. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. I understand. But, Elliott, please let me know if you need anything, okay? I love you.”
Cutie and the Beast: A Roommates to Lovers Single Dad Romance (Cipher Office Book 3) Page 22
