Page 11 of Good Intentions, Vol. 2

Chapter Four

Nick

I rush in the kitchen, anxious to get out since today I’ll finally see Heather.

I can feel how my shoulders are tense and no matter what I try I can’t relax.

I’m too pumped to do anything but rush to the office and when I see Claire sitting at the round table trying to get Ben to eat his breakfast, I all but groan because I know this is just another tactic of hers to get something out of me.

After the video call the last couple of days have been pure torture and I got borderline stalkerish with my texts and calls.

I even begged her to come back sooner, but she said she had some things to take care of first, some people to see.

At my demand to tell me who it is, she said nothing important. That was the moment my demons got out, and I called her.

“Who the fuck are you seeing, pretty girl?” I all but growled into the phone.

“Hello to you too, Nick,” her voice came out in a rush. She was breathing hard, like she was running somewhere.

“Answer me Heather,” the fear that the same thing was happening to me again, that the woman I love was pushing me away, was pumping through my system.

“And why would I do that?” If I was thinking rationally, I would hear the teasing note in her question. As it was, I didn’t.

“Stop fucking around and answer the goddamm question!” I roared.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the call before she said in a stern voice. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are. But you need to cool down, Nick. I won’t tolerate this.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but from the complete shock I couldn’t.

She never talked to me like that before, never stood up for herself. She always did as I asked.

And fuck me, but this new version of her she showed me, turned me on like nothing before in my life did.

“You don’t deserve this information, but I was visiting my Dad,” she went on. “Now, I need some time to think, so leave me alone.” With that she hung up.

She didn’t answer her phone all day after. And when I finally got to hear her soft voice saying, “Nick,” as she answered the remains of her anger from the day before still clung to her voice. Hearing it, all I could say was, “I’m sorry.”

That’s all it took to bring her back to me, and today I’ll get to see her in person.

I don’t break my stride, I don’t even acknowledge Claire sitting there, just go straight to Ben.

I bend down, my face going straight to his neck and I inhale deeply. He’s growing up so fast, that baby scent almost completely gone now. Still, the sweet smell of his skin is my favorite, and every morning I do the same exact thing. Blowing out the breath right into his sensitive skin, making him giggle, I whisper softly, “Good morning, buddy.”

I don’t know what I would do without him in my life. Everything that I lived through this last year was with Ben in my mind.

“Daddy,” Ben screams in greeting, his high pitched voice bouncing off white walls. I kiss his cheek, half tempted to stay in and spend the day with him.

“Nick,” Claire’s call manages to vanquish that.

Not even looking at her, I stand straight, brush Ben’s hair, then go to the island to pick up my keys that I threw there last night after coming back to the dark apartment.

“Don’t start, Claire,” I say focusing on the dark veins in the white marble. “I have to go, I need to be in my office,” I don’t brother to elaborate any further. We’ve crossed the line where I need to tell her why I have to go. Besides, I don’t want to lie to her outright, even though what I’m doing behind her back is way worse.

Claire sighs, I can feel her eyes drilling in my back, before she whispers, “Okay, Ben, let’s give you a bath before we start with our day.” I have to give it her. No matter how ugly it became between us, she never was outright mean to me in front of Ben.

Fully expecting her to yell for Marina, Ben’s nanny, I’m surprised and can’t help but turn around to watch when I hear her laugh and say, “Did any of that get to go in your belly?”

She’s standing by the table now, watching Ben. He doesn’t answer her, just gives her a big smile while oatmeal drips from his hair and is smeared all over his face and PJs.