Only One Night (Only One 3)

I nod at him. Another thing I can scratch off the list that came together so fast I didn’t think I would be able to work it out.

“I have to go,” I say, “but I wanted you to hear it from me.”

He slaps me on the shoulder and squeezes. “Whatever you need, brother, I’m there for you.”

“Thank you,” I say, a weight lifted off my shoulders.

I make my way to the house, knowing she must have left to get Jaxon at school. I also know that I only have a few more minutes before it’s showtime.

I’m sitting in the formal living room, the room with just the light coming in from outside. I look at my clock and see it’s three thirty. The last three hours have been a fucking blur.

My phone lights up, showing me that it’s Murielle. “Hello,” I answer, my voice as calm as a cucumber. Meanwhile, I’m burning inside.

“Where the fuck is Jaxon?” she hisses. “I came to get him at school, and they said you picked him up.”

“I did,” I say, picking up the glass of scotch that I had poured myself. “I am allowed. I’m his father.”

“Don’t fucking play games with me, Manning,” she hisses, and I laugh. This time, I’m in charge, and I’m the one calling the shots.

“I’m home right now. I don’t know what games you think I’m playing,” I say, setting the scotch down. I’m not lying. I am home.

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” she says and hangs up the phone.

I pick up my phone and call Candace, who answers after one ring. “Do it,” I say. When her voice goes low, my head starts to spin, and I know I don’t have time for this. Not now.

“Are you sure?” she asks again. She’s been asking me this every five minutes since I called her this afternoon.

“Candace,” I say, and she groans.

“Okay, fine, I just . . . I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’ll be fine,” I tell her. “In the end, we will all be fine.”

“Can you please call me when you leave there?” she says, and I tell her I will, then hang up the phone. I sit down and wait with my heart beating so fast in my chest. I want to get up and pace the room, but she can’t see me frazzled.

I refuse to let her see me frazzled. She doesn’t get that from me. The front door opens at the same time that my phone pings again and again. I look down quickly and see it’s from Candace.

Candace: Sent and it’s live already.

Then there is one from Nico.

Nico: Just hit my phone. Call me after. I’m here for you.

I swallow, knowing that all the pieces have been set for this one moment. I didn’t want to do it this way, but she left me no choice.

“Manning!” she yells. “Where the fuck are you?” I see her walk by the room toward the family room. The sound of her heels are clicking on the floor. “Manning!” She yells my name, and I hear her running up the steps before I talk.

“I’m in here!” I shout, and I hear her heels click on the floor. The sound gets louder and louder once she comes into the room.

“What the fuck? Why are you sitting in the dark like a freak?” she says, walking over to the light switch and turning it on. Her eyes go from me to the two black bags sitting on the floor in front of the doorway.

“Hello, Murielle,” I say to her and see her eyes move from the bags to me.

“What the fuck is this?” She puts her hands on her hips, and my phone pings again. “You’re leaving me,” she says in horror, and then she laughs. “Try it.”

“I have something you should see,” I tell her, leaning forward to put my phone on the table.

“What is that?” she says, coming into the room now, the carpet swallowing the sound of her heels. She reaches for the phone, and the color drains from her face. “I told you not to fuck with me.” I lean back on the sofa, picking up the scotch in my hand and taking another sip. “I warned you.” I put the glass down, and she looks back down at the phone, looking at the headline.

“All of this for that fucking whore,” she says.

“I’d tread carefully right now, Murielle,” I tell her, and she throws her head back and laughs.

“You want to leave me. For a fucking whore.” She yells the last word, and I want to choke her but me staying calm is the key to this. “Do it. Leave me.” She folds her arms over her chest, thinking she has the highest card in the deck, but little does she know I’m going to call her bluff. “You’ll never see Jaxon again.” Her phone starts ringing, and she ignores it. “Where is he?” She runs out of the room now and yells for Jaxon. She comes back into the room, her ponytail swinging back and forth. “Where the fuck is he? Where is he?”