“Yes, I’m about to go and have it with him now.”
“Good. I’ll be over in about an hour or so.”
“Thanks, Addy.”
“Always.”
We ended the call and I gathered all the strength I could find to go and talk to Linc. I found him alone in the garage, cleaning rubbish out of his car.
“We need to talk,” I said when he glanced up at me.
He came my way. “You okay, baby?”
“Linc, you can’t call me that anymore. I’ve told you that before.”
He hit me with a confused look. “I thought we were working on something here.”
I wasn’t convinced I was up for this conversation. Not while anxiety and worry had me in their grips. My emotions were all over the place, and that wasn’t a good starting point when dealing with my ex. Linc had a way of twisting my words to suit himself, and a way of muddling my thinking. I’d known him for sixteen years. We’d been together for most of those years. He knew my triggers, and he wasn’t afraid to push them to get what he wanted. I’d had to learn how to manage my boundaries with him, and that usually required me being completely on my game. Today was not that kind of day.
“I appreciate everything you’ve done to help me through this, but I never once said we were working on something. I’m sorry if I gave you that impression.” I really didn’t think I had, though. But people often took what they wanted from an interaction, and miscommunications had always been a big part of our relationship.
He stayed silent for a good few moments and then his face twisted into an ugly expression. “Is this because that asshole showed up last night?”
Before I knew what was happening, a strong desire to defend King rushed up from deep inside. It was immediate and it was fierce. And I had no idea why the heck it forced itself on me, because defending him was the last thing I wanted to do after he’d hurt me. But hearing Linc say nasty things about him drew out my protective side.
“Don’t call him that. And no, this has nothing to do with King.”
His brows lifted. “If you’re standing up for him, that says something, don’t you think? Fuck, Lil, doesn’t our marriage count for something? All those years we worked towards building—”
“You really wanna go down that path? Because if you do, I’ve got a whole heap of stuff to get off my chest concerning the work we were doing on our marriage. And none of it has anything to do with King, so let’s just leave him out of this, okay?”
“No, let’s fucking not. He hasn’t been here for you the last few days. Not like I have been. So I have no clue why you’d even look at him, let alone wanna be with him. And what about the fact you just stood by while I told him we were together? Are you playing both of us?”
He had my blood boiling now. It was as if all the sadness and worry I felt collided with my frustration and irritation, causing the perfect storm of anger. “Have I ever played you, Linc?” I yelled. “Have I ever been anything but supportive of you? God, you make me so freaking mad some days I could scream at you for hours. I’m sorry you got the wrong end of the stick about us, but I honestly didn’t say anything to make you assume I wanted you back. For the record, I will never take you back. You broke my heart when you cheated on me, and I could never trust you enough again to be with you. And as for King, what I do with him is none of your business.”
His lip pulled up in a snarl. “It is if it affects my kids.”
My eyes widened and I went at him with a ferocity I didn’t know I had in me. “Do not threaten me. You will not like the outcome if you do. I’ve worked hard to keep our relationship civil. You wanna threaten me? I won’t give a fuck about civil.”
He leaned closer to me and yelled, “Fuck you, Lily. You think you’re above me, but you aren’t. Just because you went and got yourself an education while I stayed home with the kids doesn’t mean you’re any fucking better than me.”
This was an old argument of ours. Linc had never moved past the insecurities he had over me earning more than him. And while I’d studied for my degree, he’d spent most of the time bitching about me being away from the family. If it had been any other day, I would have walked away at this point, but it wasn’t. It was today, and he’d pushed me too far. “I’ve never thought I was better than you. That’s your hang-up, not mine. I don’t care what people do for a living or whether they’ve got an education. All I’m interested in is whether they care about those they love, and you proved that you don’t. You can stand there and tell me you
love me and that you wanna be together again, but your actions speak a lot louder than your words. I don’t care about words or promises anymore, Linc. I don’t even hear them. I hear actions.”
Steam practically billowed from him he was that angry. Huffing out a shitty breath, he backed away and snapped, “Fine, you wanna be like that, I’m done here. I’m out. You can fucking sort your own shit out.” He stared at me for a few beats, like he was waiting for me to change my mind. When I said nothing, he shook his head angrily at me and stalked inside.
I took a minute. He had me all worked up that I shook with the adrenaline coursing through me. Sagging against the wall, I got my breathing under control while I thought about our argument. It struck me how easily he turned on me. He turned mean. That definitely wasn’t a characteristic I wanted in a man I gave my heart to.
Following him back inside, I found him telling Holly he would drive them to school this morning but he wouldn’t be here when they got home this afternoon.
Robbie and Zara were in their bedrooms so I went back to mine. The less time around Linc, the better. My phone sounded with a text as I walked through the bedroom door.
Skylar: Hey Lily. Just checking in on you to see how you are. I’m thinking of you.
My heart sped up as I read the message. I couldn’t think of Skylar without thinking of King.
Me: Thanks babe. I’m okay.