Page 11

Chapter 10

Scuba

I woke up, and it dawned on me that my home didn’t feel like my home anymore. I slammed my head back onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Maybe moving Annie and Eric into my house was a terrible idea.

But I wanted to know my kid, and Eric was freaking awesome. He wasn’t the problem.

It was Annie who was making things awkward. No, it wasn’t really her. She was so damn timid, and if anything, she made herself as small as possible, but it didn’t help.

She fucking lied to me and told me that Eric died in her womb. Not only that, but she dropped out of my life to protect the lies.

Plus, I still had the moral quagmire that was Annie, Eric, and her parents. Up until two weeks ago, I had nothing but good feelings for Mr. Diaz. I felt so bad that Annie dropped out of his life a couple of years ago, thanks to his disapproval of her ex. However, after seeing how her ex had nearly beaten Annie nearly to death, it was clear Ted was right to disapprove of the relationship. So I’d promised I would let him know if I found her.

But he also lied to me for years. He had so many opportunities to let me know I had a kid, but he never told me. Instead, he let me grieve the death of my child.

The season just started, and we needed to get off to a good start, which meant I needed to not let my home life get to me.

I reached over to my nightstand and put on a meditation podcast. Scrolling through the options, I settled on one with a focus on ten-minute healing, but the one for cleansing your space was also super enticing. If I was still unsettled, I would do that one after. I sat up and let the podcast do its magic.

When I finally let my eyes flutter open, I felt better.

I got up and threw on a T-shirt, then opened my bedroom door and realized I should cover up my boxers, so I threw on a pair of joggers.

Then, I went downstairs.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

I hoped I didn’t miss my little man.

When I entered the kitchen space, I realized Eric was outside with his hockey stick. I was tempted to skip breakfast and just spend time with him, but I needed to fuel my body.

The room was awkward and quiet as I poured myself some coffee.

Suddenly, Annie got up from the kitchen table and went to the fridge. “What should I make for your breakfast?”

I groaned and crossed the kitchen. “I don’t need you to make me breakfast. I can do it myself.”

Besides, I had everything for my morning meals prepped. She must have seen the containers in my fridge.

“But I want to make things nice for us. I’m so thankful you’re letting us live here. I can’t give you money, but I can make meals for you.”

I squeezed by her and grabbed one of the meals. I didn’t even look to see what it was. I read the lid but stayed silent.

Annie sighed. “I’m trying, Terry. I really am.”

I hated my first name, yet she always called me Terry, even when no one else did. Everyone called me Scuba, aside from her. If she weren’t such a scared little mouse, I would ask her to call me Scuba now that we weren’t close anymore.

There was a part of me that wanted to slam my fist on the counter, but she was easily startled. “I know. But I’m still pissed about how you lied to me, and it won’t change overnight. I appreciate the fact that you’re trying to make things better, but quite frankly, I don’t trust you fully.”

“If you want, we can leave,” Annie murmured.

That was completely unacceptable.

“No. I love having Eric here. If you leave, it would only force me to do a custody battle.”

Her shoulders slumped so much when I said the last bit. I never meant to be a complete asshole, and I really wouldn’t do that. But if she left, I would. I already missed too much of his life.

But I wasn’t the asshole.

No. I was hurt, but I wasn’t like her ex. I was already too much of an ass for threatening her.

“I’m sorry. You don’t need to leave. I need Eric in my life as much as you do. On top of that, I know you don’t have the money to leave this house or to fight a custody battle. We can work through this. It’s just that, some days, I might be in my feelings. But I’m not that different from our old days. I will forgive you, and it will be forgotten. We’re just not there yet.”

I chugged my coffee and went outside to watch Eric play and to get away from the heaviness of the fight with Annie. I just hoped she didn’t try to follow me.