After grabbing the bottle of Motrin from the bathroom cabinet, I walked into the living room and straight to the bar. Shaking two pills into my hand, I popped them in my mouth and chased them down with a glass of scotch.
“Don’t you think it’s a little early to start drinking?” Denny said as he walked in the room and sat down in the leather chair.
“It’s never too early to start drinking. Would you like one?” I asked as I held up my glass.
With a wave of his hand, he politely declined. “Did you and Ellery have it out already?”
“Sort of.” I sighed.
“I told you she was going to find out that you knew Ashlyn was out of jail. Did she find out how you’ve been tracking her?”
“Yes,” I said as I sat down on the couch.
“I warned you, Connor. I told you that it wasn’t a good idea to keep secrets from her.”
“Like I had a choice. Look at what she did.”
“Exactly! She would’ve done it anyway. So wouldn’t it have been better to tell her from the start? Because if you ask me, the pain she’s feeling now is far worse.”
“Yeah, well, what about me and how I’m feeling, Denny? She lied to me. She lied about what she was doing and where she was going today.”
“You lied, she lied. You two are perfect for each other. Listen, Connor, I know why you did what you did, and I know why Ellery did what she did. The truth of the matter is that at the end of the day, regardless of all the bullshit that went on earlier, you two love each other more than you did yesterday. I’ll tell you something, though; you were one cold-hearted bastard to her in the limo and at the hospital.”
I got up from the couch, walked over to the bar, and poured another scotch. “Don’t start with that, Denny.” I sighed.
“Damn right I’ll start it. Your wife, the mother of your baby, is upstairs with stitches in her head because of that psycho girl you used to date, and instead of apologizing to her and comforting her, you’re down here, throwing back scotch.”
“And talking to you, may I add,” I said with irritation. “You know Ellery, and you know how she can be. She’s pissed off, and she told me to leave the bedroom because she needed space.”
Denny got up from the chair and started walking towards the elevator. He stopped, turned around, and shot me a look. “You’ll feel like an ass soon enough.” He smiled.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I yelled as the elevator doors shut.
As I sighed and walked over to the bar to set down my glass, I heard the elevator door open. At first, I thought it was Denny, but I was pleasantly surprised when I looked over and saw Mason and Julia.
“There’s my baby girl.” I smiled when I took her from Mason’s arms. “Did you have fun at the park?”
“We had a fabulous time. She has made the most amazing friends and all the mannies love her.”
I looked at Mason in confusion. “What?”
“Once a week, I meet the other mannies with their babies in the park. You wouldn’t believe the stories they tell me about the families they work for, and I just sit there and brag about you and Ellery. Speaking of Diva Girl, where is she?”
“She had a little accident earlier, and she’s upstairs lying down.”
“What?!” Mason exclaimed. “What happened?”
“She fell and hit her head and needed a few stitches. She’s okay.”
Mason put his hand over his mouth. “Did she fall here?”
“No. It’s a long story. She’ll tell you all about it tomorrow. She needs to rest.”
“Do you need me to take care of the princess for a while longer?” he asked.
“No. Consider yourself done for the day. Go home and relax.” I smiled.
“If you need me, just call.”
“Thanks, Mason. I will,” I said as the elevator door shut.
I looked at Julia and kissed the tip of her nose. “I love you, baby girl.”
I took Julia upstairs, changed her diaper, and then walked to my room. Ellery was still asleep across the bed. The bandage on her forehead started to bring back the memories of when I almost lost her. But it also reminded me of how close we became during that time. I smiled as I looked at her and then at Julia, who was also looking at her. My emotions were running deep from the events of the day. I was still so angry with her for lying to me and going to see Ashlyn. Julia started babbling, and Ellery opened her eyes. As she looked at Julia, she held out her hand. I walked over to the bed and sat down so Ellery could touch her.
“Hi, baby girl,” she said as she took ahold of Julia’s hand.
“How’s your head?” I asked her.
“It hurts,” she said as she looked down. “I’m still really angry with you.”
“And I’m still angry with you.”
Ellery sat up and held her arms out. I handed Julia over to her and she took her and hugged her tight. Then Ellery began to cry. It broke my heart to see her sitting there, holding Julia and crying.
“Baby, don’t,” I whispered.
“You weren’t there. You didn’t hear how that bitch threatened our daughter.”
I sighed as my phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket and saw it was Lou calling.
“Hello, Lou,” I answered as I got up from the bed. “Yeah, tonight will be fine; see you then.”
“What was that about?” Ellery asked.
“Lou’s coming over tonight to discuss the events of today.”
Ellery didn’t say anything. She laid Julia on the bed and got up and walked to the bathroom. After a few moments, I went in to check on her. She was standing in front of the sink, looking at herself in the mirror.
“I have no regrets for what I did today,” she said.
“I don’t want to discuss it any more right now,” I said as I stood in the doorway.
“That’s fine. I just wanted you to know that because, like you, I will not let anyone hurt or destroy my family,” she said as she pushed me out of the way and walked out of the bathroom.
She picked up Julia from the bed and took her downstairs. As I stood there, contemplating what to do next, a text message came through from Cassidy.
“Ellery’s studio is finished if you want to come take a look at it.”
“Thanks, Cassidy, we’ll be right down,” I replied.
Ellery was in the kitchen, heating up a bottle for Julia when I walked down to let her know about her art studio.
“Cassidy just texted me that your art studio is ready. I told her that we’d be right down.”
“Okay,” she said as she held Julia and grabbed her bottle.
We stepped onto the elevator and rode it down to the tenth floor. As we stepped off, Cassidy was standing there with the door open. She took one look at Ellery’s head and instantly became concerned.
“Ellery, what happened?” she asked sympathetically as Ellery handed Julia to her.
“I fell and hit my head. I’m okay.”
We walked inside the apartment, and it was finished to perfection. As Ellery smiled, I could tell she was pleased with the way it turned out.
“Thank you, Cassidy. I love it!” she exclaimed. “I can’t wait to start painting.”
I walked over to Cassidy and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, sis. It’s beautiful. You’ve really outdone yourself.”
“You’re welcome. Now, I have to get going. Ben and I are taking Camden out to dinner.”
“Have fun.” Ellery smiled as she gave her a hug.
I took Julia from her and continued to feed her as Cassidy left the apartment. Ellery stood in front of the easel that held a big blank canvas on it.
“I’ll start this painting tomorrow,” she said.
“Are you happy?”
She looked at me with an angry look and left the apartment without saying a word. I looked down at Julia and sighed.