Page 20 of Broken Halo

The knob to the door starts to rattle and I turn for the bathroom, going straight for his vanity. I send his shit flying across the floor. Bottles breaking and tubes go flying—proof I was married to a high-maintenance man.

To say I’m done is an understatement. Stripping my clothes off, the need to finally wash Robert and everything he is from my life for good, is overwhelming. I flip on the water, not giving a shit about Jen, and the second my panties hit the marble, I step under the spray before the water warms.

My body thirsts to be cleansed.

Letting it pour over me, I also let it drown out the world.

Robert, his parents, CPS, the studio, being a single mom, and … Trig.

On top of everything else, I can’t handle being close to him knowing he hates me. I can’t control much right now, but that is one problem I can.

I lean into the corner and slide down to my ass, wrapping my arms around my knees. Breathing through the water, letting it wash the filth from me—from my past and from today.

“Ellie?”

I lift my head and find my sister standing there, wide-eyed, her gaze dancing between me and my attempt to divest my life of everything Robert. I hope she can’t see my tears through the water. I’m tired of crying, of not being in control.

“Tell me what happened,” Jen demands.

I push my wet hair out of my face and shake my head. “I was arrested for the possession of illegal substances that weren’t mine.” I look up at my sister. “I can’t lose Griffin, Jen. I can’t. He’s all I have.”

She shakes her head before moving to the linen closet and grabbing a towel. Tossing it on the tile outside the shower, she puts her hands on her hips. “Get up. Wash your hair and shave your legs. It’ll make you feel better. I’ll start bagging up…” she hesitates, about to utter Robert’s name aloud before rethinking it, “all this stuff. Then we’ll come up with a plan.”

She doesn’t wait to see if I follow her bossy orders and turns to leave. Pulling the double doors shut to the bathroom, she leaves me to drown in my own misery.

Whatever the plan might be, it better not include Trig Barrett. I need all the help I can get … but not from him.

I might be desperate but I’m not stupid.

* * *

I shouldn’t be surprised that by the time I get out of the shower, there are eight of the biggest trash bags I’ve ever seen stacked on the bed. I know I took my time but Jen is efficient at everything she does. She made quick work of the mess and at least now I won’t have to look at his clothes anymore.

When I turn the corner to the great room and kitchen, I find Jen and her fiancé. He’s sitting on a barstool at my island with an arm around her waist where she’s standing between his legs. There’s a slew of takeout containers on the counter and the house smells of barbecue.

“There’s my slumlord.” Eli smirks at me before putting his lips to Jen’s neck. She practically melts in his arms and I have to look away. I’m happy for her—for them—I really am, but that doesn’t mean I’m not human and that part of me boils with envy. For the past four months, the two of them have been a slap in the face, reminding me I never had what they have with the man I chose to marry. I might’ve pretended in the beginning, but it was never there. Not the happy, not the lust, and definitely not the love.

Happiness and lust will die off. I get that. If there’s no love to get you through all the other shit life throws at you, you’ll be screwed quicker than a low-dollar hooker.

I thought I had it once—what they have—but I was wrong.

“You hungry? Eli brought dinner. You should eat.” Jen pushes away from her husband-to-be and walks to the cabinet to grab plates. “Can I get you a glass of wine? A beer?”

“Water.”

Eli pops the top of his beer and turns to me as he dips a fry in ketchup. “I’ve been digging around.”

My eyes jump to him as Jen hands me a glass. I tuck my wet hair behind my ear. “What did you find? It has to be Robert’s parents who sent CPS back here today and someone put the drugs in my drawer. There’s no other way. They aren’t mine.”

He throws the fry into his mouth before going on. “I just got the names of the cops who were here today. I’ll run backgrounds on them tonight. But the CPS chick has a clean track record—at least at work. No complaints, no drama, no marks in her employment file.”

I exhale, not knowing what to do with that information and definitely don’t want to know how he learned all this in the matter of twenty-four hours.

He shrugs. “That doesn’t mean she’s not hardcore. She’s known for being tough as nails—especially on single moms. I found court documents where a couple judges had to warn her to back down since the goal is to keep families together, not break them up.”

All of a sudden, I’m not hungry. “Great. I guess I wouldn’t expect anything different right now.”

Jen puts her drink down and looks at me. “You’ve done nothing wrong and we’ll prove it. I called Trig while you were in the shower—”

---