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She takes my hand and starts guiding me to her room when a little voice calls to her.
“Mommy?” Davi cries from the end of the hallway. “Mommy, where are you?”
“Baby, I’m here.” She turns to me. “You should go.” Sadness fills her beautiful features. “I’ve got this.”
I say nothing while following her to my son’s room.
I don’t care if tonight doesn’t have the happy ending I was hoping for. If they need me, there isn’t another place for me to be.
This is where I belong.
Chapter Nine
Melanie
“I need Derik’s phone number,” I tell my sister over the phone the next morning.
After the scene in my kitchen, David and I went to Davi’s room until he stopped crying and went to sleep again. David spent the night slumbering on the floor, and I walked to my own bedroom with shaky legs and wet panties.
David left before I woke up. My guess is he didn’t have a good night of sleep. Neither did I. My dreams were plagued with images of him finishing the job. At some point, the idea of taking care of myself with my friend, the rabbit, was front and center in my brain, demanding I do something. But I knew, even with his impressive qualities, B.O.B. wouldn’t solve my problems.
“What happened?” Melissa asks.
“David came last night for dinner. After I finished tidying up the entire house and was too tired to cook.”
“So?” I don’t have to see her to know she’s rolling her eyes.
“He cooked for us….” I sigh. “Mexican food.”
“Delicious food? How did he dare?” My sister’s voice is full of amusement. “Tell me he did the dishes too.”
A groan left my dry throat. “He did.”
Through the line, I hear my sister chuckling. “Now tell me he has a tiny pecker; no man has the right to be this perfect.”
Melissa is my sister, and I love her to death, but that information isn’t shareable.
“And you said you were part of my team, Lissa.” I drop the back of my head against the wall. “What happened with the speech about keeping my legs closed and–”
“I’m always by your side, Ella,” my sister stops me. “But this is so much fun. You’re so easy to nag.”
She got me there. This is what happens when someone knows you too well.
“Anyway, do you have Derik’s phone or not?” With my walls up and my thoughts in order, I’m ready to make decisions. Important decisions for my future and my son’s.
She makes a musing sound. “I don’t,” she says. “But I’m sure if I call John right now, you will get a call from Derik within fifteen minutes.”
I can’t help but groan. “I don’t want to sound desperate.” Mostly because I’m not. Well, not for him.
“He’s the one who has been asking you for a date, Ella,” my sister reminds me. “The man will be thrilled to go out with you.”
Good for him. Meanwhile, I’m considering if I should shave my legs. The idea of going on a date with another man doesn’t appeal me in the sightless. But you gotta do what you gotta do. This is worse than the homecoming ball. As if I didn’t want to go alone and was looking for a pity date.
“Derik Michaels is a good man, Ella,” my sister says. “You’re doing the right thing.”
So why does it feel so wrong? And why am I doing it? Because he lives three hours away, and I don’t believe in long-distance relationships. Because I don’t want my son to get hurt. Because I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t want to fall in love and get the rug pulled out from under me. It’s better to get involved with someone who won’t break my heart.
“David is Davi’s father.” Facts are facts. Just in case, she needs a reminder. Maybe I’m wrong about him. Maybe it would work.
