I woke up feeling groggy and irritable. A moment later, my alarm rang and I smacked it off the nightstand in annoyance.

“Fuck you, Natalia,” I growled to myself.

My ex was becoming a problem. She kept coming to my place every morning. It had gotten to the point that I worried about Sophia staying in the house, at least while Natalia was in town, so she’d moved to my mom’s for the past few days.

I got out of bed and went to grab a quick shower, then got dressed. I paused outside my daughter’s door, who I’d barely gotten to see, then went on my way downstairs. My foot touched the floor, just in time for the doorbell to ring. I groaned, already knowing who I would see when I opened the door.

I did it anyway.

“Natalia,” I growled. I’d given up on being civil after the past couple days.

She pouted at me, and I hated how she looked a lot like Sophia when she did it. Her green eyes were the same as my little girl, though her dark hair was a different shade from Sophia’s, at least.

“Oh, come on, Ross. Why wouldn’t I come here? I used to live here.”

I rolled my eyes. “Exactly. Used to, until you decided you wanted to skip town, and you wanted to do it on your own.”

She scowled and folded her arms over her chest. “I would have taken Sophia with me, but I left her with you because I knew you wouldn’t like it.”

I growled at the mere thought of her taking Sophia and leaving. I would have fought her tooth and nail. Knowing her, she would have tried to take her anyway, and I would have involved the police, even if it got her arrested.

Natalia sighed. “There’s no need for things to go that far. I’ve already told you, Ross, I’m here to stay. A girl deserves to get to know her mother, doesn’t she? Have you even told her anything about me?”

“Of course I have,” I snapped.

But her words had struck home, and the guilt was back.

It was utterly ridiculous, why was I feeling guilty? I knew Natalia. No matter what she said, she would get sick of staying in town again, and she would leave as easily as she had before. Sophia would be devastated, and I would be furious.

But she brought out a lot of good points, as well. Both my mom and Jessica had made me realize that Sophia needed a mother, and she would probably like it if it was the woman that gave birth to her. I didn’t want to get back together with Natalia. I’d loved her. And even though Sophia wasn’t planned for, I loved her, too. Natalia leaving the both of us had felt like a fucking betrayal, and it had hurt.

I never considered dating again, until Jessica came back to town.

And now, here she was, back and claiming it was to stay, if only I took her back and let her into her daughter’s life.

But I didn’t want to do that because I didn’t think I could act as if nothing had happened and we were picking up where we left off.

“Look, Natalia,” I said, suddenly feeling very exhausted. “I’m not feeling up to a chat today. I’d like to politely ask you to please leave.”

She frowned. “Are you ever going to let me see my daughter, Ross? She’s ours, you know. Not just yours.”

I sneered at her. “Like I could forget. Mom’s the one that won’t let it happen, so take your argument to her.”

“You know your mom never liked me, Ross.”

“That’s a lie. She liked you just fine until you left.”

She pursed her lips angrily, but I was just so sick of her. I didn’t even wait for her to say anything. I just slammed the door in her face. There was silence, then the sound of a short scream, then stomping feet.

I don’t want to be with her, I reiterated to myself. Being with her didn’t automatically mean it would be good for Sophia.

But I still had doubts.

After a few minutes, I cautiously moved back to the door. I opened it and stepped out, just in time to see my mom driving up. She must have seen I was exhausted before she even left the car, because, when she came to stand in front of me, it was with eyes narrowed in anger.

“She was here again, wasn’t she?”

All I did was nod.

Mom muttered an expletive, rare for her, and walked inside the house, and I followed behind her.

“Did you drop Sophia at the school?”

“Yes,” she said curtly. Then she suddenly whirled around and fixed me with a glare intense enough to make me flinch. “Why haven’t you sent her packing already?”

I hesitated. Why, indeed.

“You know I can't just do that. She is, legally, Sophia’s mother.”

She shook her head, sharply enough that her gray hair whipped around her face. Her expression changed, and I winced as I felt more guilt piercing my chest.

“She’s starting to wonder why I won’t let her home, Ross. You need to do something quickly.”

“I know, just…”

She held up a hand, cutting me off. “No, Ross. If you want reasons why never to take her back, then here’s one; Natalia was a fucking bitch. I know you loved her, but I wasn’t surprised when she wanted to leave. Fuck, I was happy. She wasn’t good for you. When you were with her, I thought my son was lost to me, and I only got you back after that bitch was gone. Just look at what she’s done to you in a few days!”

I hadn't looked in a mirror, but I knew I looked bad because of how I felt. I gave Mom a helpless look, and she replied with a shaky smile.

“I got my son back, Ross. I’m not losing you to her again. I’ve given you all you need to make up your mind. The moment she comes back here, tell her to back the fuck off and leave.”

I huffed a laugh, smiling a little at all the swearing she’d done in the past few minutes. But I was no longer undecided.