Page 46 of He Doesn't Deserve You

Emily instinctively reached out to steady him. “You’re pathetic,” she muttered under her breath, seething at his lack of parental control.

Gabriel heard her and, in a sudden fit of rage, slapped her across the face. “Don’t you ever say that to me again,” he hissed.

Emily’s mouth dropped open in shock. She put a hand to her stinging cheek, tears welling up in her eyes.

Gabriel left the room without a trace of remorse.

After he was gone, a stunned Emily returned to the foyer, grabbed her purse, and headed to Ava’s room. Locking the door behind her, she climbed into bed with her daughter, seeking solace in her child’s presence.

24

Gabriel awoke to a throbbing headache and a wave of nausea churning in his stomach. Pressing a hand to his forehead, he let out a groan and then rolled over and reached for Emily, only to find the bed empty. The emptiness was a stark reminder of the events that had unfolded the previous night, causing his nausea to surge. Feeling as though he might be sick, he stumbled out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time.

He retched until there was nothing left to expel. Then, he stepped into the shower, hoping the hot water would cleanse away the remnants of the night. Realizing he was already late for work, he hurried to get ready as fast as he could in his condition.

Fifteen minutes later, Gabriel was dressed and hurrying down the hallway. As he passed Hunter’s bedroom, he reached for the doorknob to close the half-open door and was shocked to see Hunter still asleep in the bed. His eyes darted to the clock on the nightstand, hoping he had misread the time. It was 9:05 and their school had started an hour ago.

“Hunter!” Gabriel yelled. “Get up. You’re late!”

Hunter startled awake, jumping up in his bed. Gabriel quickly moved on to search for Hayden, only to find him still sound asleep.

“Get up!” he yelled at Hayden before reaching for his cell phone andheading downstairs for coffee. He dialed the office and then informed them he would be late for his 9:30 appointment. As he concluded the call and stepped into the kitchen, he found Emily and Ava eating eggs and bacon at the table. Emily refused to look at him as he entered the room.

“You should have woken us,” Gabriel mumbled as he made his way to the coffee pot. He poured himself a cup and took a seat at the table. He placed his hand over hers and said softly, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. It will never happen again.”

“You better believe it won’t,” Emily snapped, her voice loud and sharp. She picked up her plate and carried it over to the sink.

Gabriel’s eyes darted to Ava, who remained engrossed in the cartoons on her iPad, seemingly unaware of the tension.

Emily scraped the remnants of her meal into the garbage disposal, clanking the dishes loudly.

Gabriel had never seen her so angry. He rose from his seat, stood behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Please, Em. I love you. I’m so sorry. I had too much to drink, but it’s no excuse. I made a terrible mistake.”

Emily spun around to face him, eyes blazing. “Which mistake was that? Slapping me, cheating on me, hitting on your patients, or driving us into bankruptcy?”

Just then, Hayden and Hunter came into the kitchen. “Why didn’t you wake us?” Hunter asked, clearly annoyed with her.

“I’m not your mother,” Emily snapped, then walked over to Ava and held out her hand. “Come on, Ava. It’s time to get dressed.”

Ava took her mother’s hand and strolled out of the kitchen together, leaving Gabriel and Hunter shaking their heads in disbelief.

It was already past ten when Gabriel dropped the boys off at school. Because they were over an hour and a half late, he had to park the car and go inside to sign them in. Principal Grover, sitting in his office, saw Gabriel and the boys entering and stepped out to speak with him. “Dr. Anderson, could I have a word with you?” he asked.

Gabriel frowned, “I’m running late. Can we do this another time? I need to get to work.”

Principal Grover gently took Gabriel by the elbow, steering him into his office. “This will only take a minute,” he assured.

“Please have a seat,” Principal Grover said, shutting his door behind him.

Gabriel took a seat, impatient to get it over with, he said, “Look, I know what this is about,” he said hurriedly. “I’ll have a talk with the boys about their tardiness.”

Principal Grover walked over to a filing cabinet, opened a drawer, and pulled out a file. “I’m afraid we’re past talking,” he said, placing the folder on his desk and opening it before sitting down. He glanced at the first page in the folder and asked, “Do you have any idea how many times your boys have been tardy this year?”

“I have no idea,” Gabriel shrugged.

“Take a guess,” Principal Grover encouraged him.

“Ten?” Gabriel ventured.

---