Page 79 of The One I Love
Paul shakes his head. “She doesn’t. I don’t need permission to take my kids. Mel can deal with it.”
I stand up and walk a few steps, so I’m now toe-to-toe with him. “You don’t. But I find it comical that you’re deciding to evoke visitation that you’ve never taken before. And as a surprise? I’m sure that’s going to go over well.”
“Why the fuck do you care? Oh, that’s right. You don’t have a relationship or a family, so you like to pretend my family is yours. Well, guess what, asshole? They aren’t. They’re mine, and as much as you want them, they will never be yours.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” I lean in a little closer, making sure he hears every word I’m about to say. “Where were you when Mariah fell off her bike and needed stitches? Where were you when Luke was learning to drive? Where have you been for every Christmas and birthday over the past ten years? You’ve neveronceseen Luke play a down of football. Your daughter won a track meet this year, and you know whoshe ran to? Me. Not you. She didn’t even care that you weren’t there. You’re not a fucking father. You for sure weren’t a fucking husband. You’re barely a man. You make me sick.”
“You fucking watch it,” Paul says as he pushes me, but I see it coming and plant my feet. I don’t move an inch, which makes his eyes go wide.
“I will fucking watch it,” I say, taking a step back toward him. In my periphery, I see Wes and Simon stand up. Porter moves so now they’re circling us. I know they’re prepping for backup, but lucky for them I won’t need it. This is my fight. “I’ll fucking watch your kids fade out of your life. No vacation is going to fix that. I’ll watch as the woman you threw away falls even more in love with me.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Shit. I don’t know what I was thinking when I just said that. Correction. I wasn’t thinking. But I’m in it now. And like hell I’m going to take those words back. Especially in front of him.
“You heard what I said. She loves me. And I love her. One day I’ll watch her walk down the aisle toward me. I’ll continue being the father to your kids that you’ve never been. The best part? We won’t even think of you. Because you mean nothing to us. Nothing.”
You can hear a pin drop right now. I don’t look over at Wes or Simon, but I can only imagine their faces. If I had to guess, it’s either shock or confusion. Probably both. I don’t look to see. Like hell if I’m going to be the one to break the stare down I’m having with Paul.
“You love Mel? I mean, I’ve known that for years. But she loves you back? Oh, Shane, when are you going to get it through that thick skull of yours that she’s never going to feel that way about you?”
“It’s true.”
All eyes turn to Porter. Shit, I almost forgot he knew.
“Oh, Porter,” Paul says. “You don’t need to cover for them.”
“They were making out in the back hallway a few weeks ago. I’m pretty sure you know the spot, since you frequented it while you were married to Amelia.”
He narrows his eyes at Porter. “Stay the fuck out of this.”
“Why? He’s not lying.” This is coming from Wes. “They’ve been together for months. Happier than I’ve ever seen them. The wedding is going to be epic.”
I look over to him, wondering if he’s just going along with what he thinks is an act or if he actually knows. Who cares? I could kiss him right now.
“Wedding?” Paul asks. “Mel isn’t getting married. I’d know.”
“Would you?” Simon jumps in. Okay, now I know these guys are just playing along. But I’m grateful they are. “I mean, we’d know because we’re all best friends. You’re a gnat that we can’t ever seem to get rid of. I’m so excited for it. I got ordained to officiate. I’ll make sure to emphasize that this is Amelia’s first real wedding.”
“Fuck off, Simon. This is all bullshit.”
“Is it?” Porter asks. “They’ve been friends for years. Makes sense for them to take this jump. You should have been here when the town found out. It was all the buzz. If you were around more, you probably would’ve heard about it. But hey, you have your new girlfriend, so what should you care?”
Paul’s eyes go wide and looks to each of us, all now with smug looks on our faces.
“What?” I ask. “Cat got your tongue?”
“Fuck all of you,” Paul says as he turns and storms out of the bar.
“Holy shit!” Wes yells as he pats me on the back. “I didn’t know you could lie like that.”
Porter laughs. “Oh, he wasn’t lying. Let me go get us a round of shots.”
Wes looks to Porter then back to me. “What does he mean that you weren’t lying?”
Simon and Wes just stare at me. Like with the kids, this isn’t how I planned on doing it, but here we are.
“How about we sit down?”
