“I mean, he’s fucking pissed, but I think a lot of men would be even more pissed. Plus, we discovered that when I kept trying to call him to tell him, right before I went into labor, it was when he was in jail.” Then I pause and look at him. “I told him that if he doesn’t want to, I don’t expect him to be a part of his life.” I see his face turn and I look at him. “And if that’s what he decides to do, I expect everyone to respect his decision. I decided without him to keep Jag.” I whisper and watch as he slowly nods his head. “I just wanted to come and give you guys a heads up before you showed up and here’s this kid.” He laughs.
“Thank you.” He tells me as I push past him and follow Billie and Jag up to see Liv. “Marcella,” Dax calls out to me and at the sound of him calling me by my full name, I stop and look at him. I’m not sure he’s ever called me that before.
“I’m sorry.” Sighing, I look up at him and shrug.
“We can’t change anything that’s happened. And you did nothing.” I tell him.
“I did though.” He pauses. “Ash knows me well enough. All I had to do was give him a look, and it set him off.”
“Dax, if we’re all going to survive this, we have to move past everything that’s already happened. We can’t change it. So, let’s just move from this moment. We’ve all made mistakes with this. We all have to figure out a way to heal and move on.” I shrug before going to find Billie.
When Ella and Jag come back over, she laughs as she looks at me. “No punching would have happened.” She tells me as I smile.
Jag runs with the twins in the backyard, calling for Ella to follow them. Caroline and Ash come out the door. Caroline glares at Ash quickly, telling him to stop whatever he’s doing, but the shitty smirk on his face tells me he’s messing with her somehow, and then she turns and looks at me. “Axe, you are more than welcome to stay here while you guys are figuring everything out.”
“Care, I’m literally like a thousand feet from here.”
“I know. But it’s kind of different when you are living with them.” She shrugs. Before the twins call for their mom to come out and play with them. Ash laughs as he shakes his head and walks over to the grill, hands me a beer, and nods over to the girls.
“Fuck,” he mumbles out and I look over, laughing as we watch Ella doing literal backflips as the boys all stare in awe. “Seriously though, crash here. It is different being able to wake up and go to sleep with them close.”
“What, not worried that we’re going to sneak around again?” I can’t help but laugh.
“Man, that’s between the two of you. I’m staying out of it this time.” He holds his hands up, causing me to laugh. He then looks back over. “She was right last time when she said that she was an adult. She was. I think she had been an adult for just as long as I had. We shouldn’t have treated her like she wasn’t, and we should have listened to her about you. We know you. We should have trusted you.”
“I don’t like it when you get all sentimental.” It causes him to laugh.
“Where’s the fucking food!” I hear Fury shout from the other side of the fence. “Grasshopper!” He continues to shout as the fence shakes as he obnoxiously shakes on it. Ash groans, rolling his eyes, and nods for me to come over to the side of the fence and help open it. As we unlock it and push it open, Fury helps, as does Eliza, which is fucking adorable. She doesn’t move it at all, but we always like for her to believe that she has.
Catching Khan as he approaches me out of the corner of my eye, I just shake my head. “Do not fucking start it.” He laughs out, turning and looking to where the kids are playing. “I cannot take one more, I'm sorry…”
“Fair enough, but um, incoming.” He mumbles so only I can hear as he nods across the yard to the fence.
“Fuck,” muttering under my breath as I see Chloe walking through the entrance. Glancing across the yard as Ella stands, talking with Billie. Almost as if she can feel me looking at her, she locks eyes with mine nearly instantly. Sighing, I break the gaze as I move across the yard out the side of the fence where Chloe is walking up.
“Hey baby.” She smiles at me, instantly reaching up and pulling me to her. I can still feel Ella’s eyes on me as Chloe leans up and kisses me.
Fuck
Pulling away from her, I look down. “What are you doing here?” I can see the hurt in her eyes as I ask her, but I simply look back. Not seeing Ella in the backyard anymore, “Shit.” I mumble as I push past Chloe and go inside looking for her.
Pushing into the backdoor I see Caroline standing in the kitchen looking at me. Ella’s standing against the island with her back to me as the wineglass in her hand reaches her mouth.
Nodding to the door for Care to understand that I need a minute with her, she presses her lips together before reaching over and touching Ella on the arm, then she walks to the door.
“El,” her name comes out in a whisper as I walk up to her. “I don’t know why she’s here.”
“It’s fine.” She turns to look at me, but I can see that hurt that’s still buried in her eyes.
“El,”
“Axe, stop. I’m fine.” She tells me again as I shake my head slightly, laughing.
“You think if you say that enough times, it’ll come true?”
“Eat a dick.” She snaps back, causing me to laugh out. “Shut up.” Smacking me in the stomach and I laugh slightly harder. “I am fine.” Cocking my eyebrow at her, she groans as she downs the rest of her wine. “Fine. Did I come in here because I didn’t want to see it? Yes. Are you happy now?”
“No.” I offer nothing else to the statement.
