“What?” I’m confused between my thoughts of sex and her sudden outburst.
Her eyes water and she mutters, “I'm so sorry, Jax. I don't–”
Suddenly, the words she said slam into me and I back five feet away from her. “You cheated on me?” I question with disbelief. That can't be what she said. Things have been bad, but... “When? Who? Why would you do this to us?” Her lips part, but the anger hits me. “I've spent all day with you, trying to show you that I'm willing to push my job to the side and be there for you because you're my wife,” my words rise as I continue to rant, “and you fucked someone else?” Turning my back on her, I go to the living room to sit down. I can't believe this.
Avery follows me, her voice pleading. “Jax, please let me explain. I don’t think you understand.”
“What’s there to explain, Avery? You cheated on me. How many times, Avery? Who is it? I can’t believe you let me spend all day with you.”
“Jax, it’s not like that. It was one time. I swear it. It was last night. I was in the bar, and this guy came up and treated me like a beautiful woman, and not a fucking roommate or an accountant. I had been drinking and Jasmine left. I don’t know what happened. We kissed and then…” A sob tears through her, shaking her shoulders as the tears flow down her cheeks. “Jax, I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you like this. I swear it. I love you more than anything.”
I shake my head at the craziness. “So, this is all my fault? Because I was trying to do what you wanted and wait until you got home? Not being a good husband is a fucking terrible excuse for you to cheat on me!”
“You don’t know how I feel! Day in and out, I’m here, alone. You have treated me like shit for the past six months. Yes, this is partly my fault, but would it have killed you to at least tell me that you still love me or that I looked nice? It’s the small things, Jax. I bet every time you’re on the ice, you tell the rookies ‘good job’. What about me? What about your wife?” The fury in her voice pisses me off.
“I’m not a mind reader, Avery! I know you pretty well, but I don’t know you that damn well. I told you today I didn’t even realize how much I was putting you second until you said something, but I knew something was wrong. You barely talked to me when I was here and I knew I needed to do better, like I should have been all along, but…” I shake my head again. “I love you, but I don’t know how to fix this. I don’t know if it can even be fixed.”
“You’re so one sided, Jax. All we’ve ever talked about was your endorsement deals, hockey schedule, and how many reps you did in the gym. Let’s not forget how hard your slap shot was. Did you ever take me out when I got my promotion? What about some flowers? I’m not asking for you to buy diamonds or fancy cars, but a hug and a congrats would have meant more than anything.” She pauses and I try to remember what happened when she got her promotion. “I’m sorry, Jax. I’ve have betrayed you in the worst way imaginable, and I didn’t want that. But it was nice to see that a male still thought I was attractive, and I didn’t have to force him.”
I clench my jaw. “I know every wrong thing I’ve done for the past six months because it’s all I thought about while you were gone. I wanted you to come home, so I could spend the day with you and start changing those things.” I look away from the spot on the coffee table I’ve been staring at and face her. “I would never cheat on you, Avery. Never. Not just because we took vows that were supposed to fucking mean something, but because there's not another woman on the earth that I want. There's not another woman who is worth the risk of losing you.”
All I've been able to do is shake my head at the absurdity of it all. “How is this supposed to help our marriage, Avery? Or was that your way of ensuring it doesn't last because you're that unhappy?” The images of another man touching her blast through my mind. “I can't be here with you. I don't want to be near you.”
Without another word, I grab my keys from the table by the door where I tossed them and head to the door. Avery hurries after me, reaching out to touch my arm.
“Jax, please, don't go. This isn't want I want. I made a mistake…”
“A big fucking mistake.” I don't wait to hear her protest as I walk out, slamming the door on the way.
“Jax!”
Reluctantly, I turn. “You made a choice, Avery. When you slept with him, you made a choice that our marriage and I don’t mean enough to you, that it wasn’t worth sticking through the bad to get back to the good. Call it a mistake all you want, but you made a fucking choice. Now, I'm the one who needs space.” I start walking backwards towards my car. “Don't worry. Unlike you, I'm not going to cheat on you while I'm gone.”
I slam the door to my Mustang after I get in and I hit the road without looking back. There’s nowhere I want to go, so I plan to just drive. After about five minutes, I can’t take it anymore. The silence in my car is getting to me and the radio is pissing me off for no good reason. I reach into my pocket and call Ashton.
“Hey, Uncle Jax!” Reed answers.
My shoulders relax a little. “Hey, where’s your dad? I need to talk to him.”
“Okay. Dad!” he hollers. “Uncle Jax wants to talk to you!”
A few moments later, I hear him say something to Reed about answering his phone before he goes, “Hey, Jax. What’s going on?”
“Are you busy?” There’s no point in telling him if he can’t really talk.
“Um, just at the house with Lexie and the kids for a playdate. Hold on.” I hear him talking to Lexie, his girlfriend, before he returns and says, “Okay, I’m away from everyone. What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
My hand grips the steering wheel tighter. How am I supposed to admit that I couldn’t keep my wife satisfied? Dissatisfied enough that she slept with someone else?
“Jax?”
“Avery went on vacation,” is all I manage to say.
“Yeah, I know. She came back today, right?”
“Yeah.” I swallow hard and decide to blurt it out as she did when she told me. “She cheated on me while she was gone. I spent the day with her, we come home, and she tells me. After we went back and forth, I just walked out.”
Ashton doesn’t say anything right away. “I…” he starts, but stops. “What all did she say about it? What are you going to do? I know you said y’all were having issues, but…”