Page 75 of Whatever You Want

She came to a stop when she saw me leaning against her white Toyota. I had to force myself to stand still. To not react. I’d done everything in my power to avoid this moment, but now my hands were tied, and I had no choice.

“This is a surprise,” she said, fetching her keys out of her purse. “What are you doing here?”

As usual, my ex-wife was stunning, but right now, I could barely stomach looking at her.

“I’m here to pay you a compliment.”

Keep it cool. Keep it cool, I reminded myself.

She smiled, completely oblivious to what I was about to unleash on her. “What for?”

I stood to my full height and crossed my arms. “You have some really nice handwriting when you use a can a spray paint.”

She smirked. Actually smirked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“Really? Oh, that reminds me.” I snapped my fingers, wishing I could snap something else instead. “The brick you wrote on was a nice touch. Next time though, you might want to go to Home Depot and buy one instead of using one off your back porch.”

One of the very bricks I laid with my bare hands.

She looked at me, trying to act innocent. “Where is this coming from?”

“I’m glad you asked.” I stepped toward her, unable to stop myself. “It came from Fairmount Park on States Drive. You know, where you smashed Ava’s window and fucked up her car.”

Her eyes skated across the parking lot. Probably thinking of all the different ways she could spin this. She’s certainly had plenty of time to come up with a list of excuses.

“What are you accusing me of exactly?” she asked with a hint of attitude in her tone.

I prepared myself for this on the drive over. I had a whole list of questions all planned out to ask her, but why waste words when all I’d get in return was lies.

“I’m not accusing you of anything.” I gritted my teeth. “I’m telling you that your fingerprints were all over that fucking brick.”

She sucked in a breath. “You ran my prints?”

No doubt, she never expected me to go that far. I noticed she didn’t deny it either.

“How stupid are you? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? There is over a thousand dollars’ worth of damage to Ava’s car. That’s a God damned felony.” I roughed a hand through the top of my hair. “That little stunt could cost you your job. You can go to jail. You can lose your daughter. And for what?”

“I did you a favor. That’s what! I did it for you!”

My eyes narrowed. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Ava is not good enough for you. None of the women you’ve dated are good enough.” She shook her head as if this all made perfect sense, and I was slow to catch on. “I’ve protected you, don’t you see that?”

My mouth dropped open. Was she serious? I stared at the stranger in front of me, searching for a glimmer of the woman I married. I barely recognized her anymore.

“Vanessa, I don’t know what fantasy land you’re living in, but I’m officially jumping off this crazy train.”

“You’re just going to abandon me again? Like you did before.”

Her tears were falling at a steady pace now, but all I could think about was the fear in Madison’s voice when she left me that message. And I’ll never forget the punch in the gut I felt when Ava suggested we slow things down.

I tilted my head up to the sky and dropped my gaze back to hers. “I did not abandon you. I left you. It’s called a divorce.”

This woman was so far removed from reality it was scary. I felt like a shitty cop. Shitty father. Shitty boyfriend. I should have picked up on her mental state before things spiraled so far out of control. But I tried to do what was best for my daughter. I tried to stay out of Vanessa’s way. I figured life was easier that way. Oh, how fucking wrong I was.

“How can you treat me like this? I’m not crazy.” I looked around, thankful that the parking lot was mostly empty. “I’m the mother of your child. Not someone you’re trying to hunt down on the streets.”

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