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I chuckle as I think about the good old days, when we played soccer together, back when my kids were babies. Well, at least we had played until he got banned for punching an umpire in the face.
“I just wanted him to stop taking it out on you,” I mutter, wiping my lip, which is already beginning to swell. “I just thought if he roughed me up a little, he might feel better and calm down.”
I smile gratefully at Kayla, who appears out of nowhere to hand me a bag of ice. I place it on my lip and glance around, embarrassed that everyone is watching this, including my kids. When I see the worry in my daughter’s eyes, my heart breaks. What the fuck am I doing? What kind of father would let their kids see something like that?
Which is exactly how Dan probably feels.
“He’ll take it out on both of us because we both lied to him,” Anna says. “This isn’t your mess, Nick. It’s ours.”
“Okay, you're right. I was wrong. Can we just move on now?” I growl. Anna frowns, and I immediately feel bad taking my frustration out on her. “I’m sorry,” I say to her. “I’m just annoyed at the situation. Not you.”
“Holy shit, this is better than an episode of Jerry Springer,” Kayla mutters from behind us. We both turn around and glare at her. She holds her hands up defensively. “What? Sorry, I was just making a comment.”
“So, what do we do now?” Anna asks me, still upset.
I shrug. “I wish I knew the answer to that. We’re supposed to be on this boat for another four nights, but if that happens, Dan and I might just kill each other.”
“I don’t think I can handle another four nights on this boat,” Anna mumbles.
“The best thing might be to just go home.” I glance over at where my kids are still standing with Mandy. “But first, I’m going to take them somewhere and talk to them.”
Anna nods. “Do you want me to come?” she asks.
“Thanks, but I think I need to speak to them first,” I say. I considered saying yes, but then I decided that this needed to come from me. “Maybe when we get back, we can all go out for dinner, or something?” I suggest.
“I’d like that.” Anna smiles. She looks relieved. “I was worried that this was it. That we were over.”
“Because your Dad found out?” I ask. She nods, looking embarrassed. “Do you want this to end?” I ask her, my heart racing. I’d respect it if that was what she wanted, but even just the thought of not having her in my life makes me sick.
“No,” she says softly.
“Then we will work through this.” I shrug. “I told your dad that I’m not sorry about what we did. Not even the tiniest bit. I’m only sorry that we weren’t upfront with him from the beginning.”
“Me too,” she says, managing a smile. If it weren’t for everyone watching us, I’d be kissing her right now. But they are, so I settle for a squeeze of her hand. She steps forward, reaching up to run her finger gently over my eye. “It’s so bruised,” she murmurs. “You’re going to have one hell of a black eye.”
I nod. I got the feeling I was going to wake up very sore tomorrow.
“I’ll find you after I’ve spoken to the kids, okay?” I murmur.
She nods. “Good luck.”I take Max and Milly upstairs, onto the roof. We find a place to sit where we can talk. I’ve got no idea what to say, or even how much they already know, but I guess I’m about to find out. They’re smart kids. I was stupid to think they wouldn’t have figured out any of this on their own already.
“Why was Dan hitting you?” Milly asks with a frown. She can’t look at me for very long without tearing up, probably because I’ve got two black eyes and a swollen lip. God, it even hurts to talk.
“Because I lied to him,” I answer honestly. Whatever they ask me, I’m going to tell them the truth.
“What about?”
“About what Anna and I are to each other,” I say.
“Lovers?” Milly supplies. I frown at my eight-year-old and wonder how the hell she came to that conclusion. Max laughs at my reaction.
“Come on, Dad. You think we didn’t already know that you’re seeing her? She’s at our house all the time. Like, All. The. Time. Like even more than me, and I live there.”
“She was helping me out with you guys,” I retort.
“She was there like an hour tops before we went to bed. You think we didn’t notice how late she was leaving, or when she stayed over?” Max laughs.
Milly nods in agreement. “We see Ev-Ery-Thing,” she sounds out. “And then there’s the way you look at each other all kissy-kissy,” Milly adds, making smooching sounds. I groan, which makes her giggle more.
