Page 13 of The Life We Left Behind

“When are you going to see that this is all just a silly mistake?” She stumbled forward and even though I was starting to think that I might actually hate this woman, I was still concerned about her falling into the glass.

I wasn’t a complete monster.

“Chelsea, my mistake was marrying you. It was letting our marriage go on way past the point where I should have had the courage to stand up and call it over. The best thing you ever did for me was trying to climb into bed with Dex and showing me exactly what you thought of our marriage. You never did tell me how many other men there were, Chels. One? Two? Ten? How long did you wait after saying our vows before you started crawling between someone else’s sheets?”

She screeched at me then, and I knew I’d pushed her a step too far. When I flinched at the sound, she laughed, no doubt knowing exactly what thought had crossed my mind.

“Maybe I was desperate for a real man, Trace.”

“Then by all means,for the love of God, please go and find him and leave me the hell alone.”

I stepped out of the doorway to the kitchen, careful not to step on the broken glass, and swept a hand toward the front door. “And don’t forget to leave the key before you leave,” I added coldly.

“Oh baby, you know I didn’t mean that.” She pouted, moving closer, and I checked both her hands were empty, learning from my past mistakes.

“It doesn’t matter, Chelsea. Don’t you see that? We’re not married anymore. You have no place in my life. You don’t live here, and I’m tired of you breaking in every time you think you can con your way back into my life. You need to leave, and if you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to call the police.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” she seethed. “What would mummy say if you dared to tarnish your family image?”

She was right. It was the only thing that had held me back from calling the cops on her before. I was so tired of this. So tired of still living my life looking over my shoulder when she wasn’t supposed to be in it anymore. Divorcing Chelsea hadn’t been easy. It had caused a massive blow-up in the family. But foronce, I’d put myself first. And if I had to do it again, then I would. My mother was the next person I needed to eject from my life. Not that I’d ever probably get the balls to pull that cord.

“It’s her, isn’t it? You’ve got someone else. You’re leaving me to be with that whore!”

I should have known she wasn’t trying to make her way to me, but I realized my mistake too late as she reached for one of the remaining glasses and threw it in my direction. She was drunk enough that I didn’t even bother to duck. There was no way she could hit me, not even from as close as she was. She could barely stay on her feet.

But as the glass hit the wall and shattered to join the rest of the broken glass on the floor, I felt the sting lash across my temple as one of the shards flew in my direction.

This time I didn’t flinch. This was a pain I was all too familiar with. In fact, I think I was just about numb to it after all this time.

Instead, with a sigh, I turned and started to walk away. Locking the door to my office, I headed to the front door, grabbing my coat and briefcase from where I’d left them in the hallway. Chelsea’s screams of outrage followed me as she ranted about the woman I was leaving her for. She needed professional help. Unfortunately for me, there was no one left in her life to care enough to get it for her. I was starting to think I’d be haunted by Chelsea for the rest of my life despite the legal papers that confirmed she was no longer my responsibility.

Chelsea didn’t follow me out of the house, but the sounds of more glass smashing on the tiles did. I didn’t have it in me to care anymore. Instead, I leaned against the driver’s door of my car and made the phone call I should have made years ago.

“Ethan, it’s Trace. Can you get a car over to my house? Chelsea’s broken in and is currently smashing up my kitchen.”

I heard his sigh of resignation. He must have known this was coming sooner or later. Chelsea’s behavior around town over the last couple of months had been steadily getting worse and worse.

“I’m just about to head in for the day. I can swing by on my way past. But Trace? How far do you want this to go? I know how far I think you should take it, but I don’t much fancy getting chewed out by your mother this early in the morning for making a scene.”

I could hear the anxiety in his voice, and as much as I wanted to laugh at his discomfort, I didn’t. I was in a privileged position to be a Farrington, and even if I was subjected to my mother’s impossibly high standards for the family, it was nothing compared to what someone in a position like Ethan’s would be subjected to. After all, enough Farrington family money ran through this town that my mother was convinced the only person the police chief had to answer to was her. Well, him and just about everyone else. Like I said, she was a problem I really needed to find the balls to deal with another day.

“Ethan, she needs help, and if getting arrested and sitting her in front of a judge is how she gets it then that’s what needs to happen. We’ve all tiptoed around her enough. It’s time she took responsibility for what she’s been doing.”

It wasn’t as difficult to say as I’d have thought it would be. The world hadn’t collapsed around me, and my mother hadn’t leaped out of a bush to berate me for being the constant disappointment she’d always known I was.

Instead, all I heard was Ethan’s sigh of relief. “It’s about time, Trace,” he said quietly.

I was almost certain he didn’t know about what had been happening inside that house before I’d finally had enough. But as I felt the sticky warmth of blood slowly run down the side of my face, I knew he must have. It would have been impossible to completely cover it up, and Ethan had seen this in more thanone home with his job. He’d never said a word to me about it, though, and I couldn’t help but wonder now if that had something to do with my mother as well.

“Yeah, I know. Just…she needs help, man.”

I unlocked the car and climbed inside, dropping the fob into my pocket as I pressed the ignition button.

“I’ll see what I can do. I take it from the sound of that engine that you’re getting somewhere safe?”

“Yeah. I’m going to head over to Book’s house for an hour before heading into the office. She’s somehow got a key to my house, and I’d be grateful if you could make sure she hands it over to you. The front door will lock itself when you pull it shut. It’s open right now.”

“Don’t worry about the house. I’ll make sure it’s secure before I leave, and I’ll find that key for you. I’m going to need a statement from you later as well. You want to swing by the station or am I coming to you?”

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