She wasn’t wrong.
“What else you got?”
“I think I ruined everything with Elliott. Cat is moving out soon, and I’m in denial about that. I want to stick a chastity belt on her, wrap her in bubble wrap and never let her leave the house again.”
At that, Nova laughed. “I feel that on a deep and spiritual level.” She took another mouthful of soup. “But I’m told society frowns on that kind of thing. Can’t imagine why.”
“I bust my ass every damn day, and I just…” She burst into a flood of tears before covering her face with her hands. “I’m sorry. I don’t even know you. I’m just…”
“Overwhelmed? Lonely? Freaking out?”
“All of the above.”
“Let me guess. You’re blaming your relationship with dishy Coach Swift for everything falling down around your ears at home.”
Clare jerked her head up. “He told you?”
Nova waved her hand. “God, no. I’m sure he’s not the gossiping type. But I’ve been there. I’m a single mama who has kissed more than her fair share of frogs. You wouldn’t believe the amount of shit I’ve tried to blame on my boyfriends.”
“Like what?” Clare dragged her spoon through her soup and watched the rice swirl in its wake.
“Eat the soup before I lick my bowl clean then take yours and clear your bowl, too.”
She smiled and reluctantly took a bite.
When Nova seemed satisfied that Clare had eaten enough, she continued. “I blamed them for everything. Fights with my kid—newsflash, parents fight with their kids. All the damned time. It’s part of the job requirement.” She blew on a spoonful of soup before shoveling it into her mouth. “There’s a reason ‘no’ is one of the first words a child learns to say.”
“What’s that?”
“To torment us, I guess? I blamed them for my piling up laundry, for shit going to hell at work… You name it, I found a guy to blame it on.
“My point is, Cat isn’t growing up and moving out because of Elliott. Mason didn’t leave here to move in with his dad because of your relationship with Elliott. Or whatever else you’re blaming him for, for that matter.”
She picked up her bowl and carried it to the sink, holding it under the running water. “New relationships bring new challenges, for everyone. But they often aren’t the cause of all the world’s problems.”
Was Nova right? Had Elliott been an easy scapegoat to blame for pulling her attention away? Perhaps, but given their history, her fear of him leaving—yet again—well, he’d kind of gone and done everything she’d feared he would.
“Maybe the kid will see that the grass isn’t always greener and come back, you don’t know that. Kids will be kids. Hell, if my kid thought he could come here and live in Mason’s room for a while I’m sure he’d jump at the chance right off the bat. But it wouldn’t take him too long to realize that you have rules just like his own mom does.”
Clare’s phone buzzed on the table in front of her: work again. She’d told her outgoing boss she’d give them an answer on the promotion in a few days. Her gut still said no, but her heart held her back from cutting that cord just yet.
Silencing her phone she took another mouthful of soup—perhaps if she kept filling her mouth she wouldn’t have to say any of the self-loathing things fizzing at the back of her mind.
People wouldn’t leave her if she wasn’t awful, it was just that simple. If Elliott couldn’t handle her, her life, maybe it really was best for them not to be together.
That sent a pang into her chest which she rubbed aggressively. Ugh.
If he wasn’t meant to be with her, why the hell did it all feel so wrong each time he left?
Chapter 18
Elliott
“Elliott Swift would you stop your sulking and get your ass up off that couch before you start leaving butt prints in my sofa cushions?”
“Colorful, Dad. Real nice.” Elliott still stood though, the last thing he needed was for his aging father to throw his slipper at him—those suckers hurt.
With a stretch up tall, and another to touch his toes, he shook himself out. Dad was right. Elliott had been hiding out in his living room for days. Fuck, had it been weeks? It couldn’t have been weeks.
