A plan formed in my mind. He would be home tomorrow morning. If I waited until he was there and showed up, unannounced, I could hopefully catch him. I knew I would be able to get in whether he wanted me to or not. I was sure our meeting wouldn’t go well, but I had to make him see that this would be the best thing for both of us.

He had to understand. He just had to.

The next day, I waited impatiently for the shop to close down. I didn’t dare let Ethan or my dad know that I planned to confront Joey on my own. I knew both of them would have the same response, thinking it was a bad idea. I knew it was a bad idea too, but that didn’t mean that I was going to let them stop me.

When the shop finally closed down, I hightailed it out of there without so much as a good-bye to anyone. I was sure that would make Ethan suspicious, but it was better than standing around, making idle chitchat, as I tried to find a way to escape.

I pulled into our apartment building’s lot just a short time later. I scanned the lot, relieved to see Joey’s truck parked in his normal spot. I parked next to him and headed inside, the envelope with the divorce papers clutched in my hand. I didn’t bother to knock when I reached our door. Instead, I stuck my key in and unlocked it. I silently slipped inside and locked the door behind me.

Joey was nowhere to be seen in the entryway or living room. I peeked into the kitchen, only to find it empty as well. Our bathroom door was open with the light off, so I knew he wouldn’t be in there either. That left our bedroom.

I sighed as I headed toward it, hoping that Joey wasn’t asleep. He was grumpy on a good day. In the mornings, he would be pure evil when I had to wake him up. If he were asleep, I might as well forget trying to talk to him about anything at all.

The door was open just a crack, enough that the light spilled through. I peeked in and was relieved to see Joey sitting up in bed, his eyes focused on the television we had on our dresser. I pushed the door open, and his head jerked up in surprise. That surprise quickly turned to anger as his eyes met mine.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded.

I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. I rested my back against it, too afraid to step any closer to Joey.

In his worst moments, he had shoved me around like a rag doll. He’d never hit me, but there was always a first time for everything. I didn’t want that to happen now.

“We need to talk,” I stated the obvious.

“Like hell we do,” he growled. “I think you said enough the other day to last us both a lifetime. Get out of here—now.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not leaving until we talk this out.” I held up the manila envelope so that he could see it. “I brought this with me. I thought maybe we could fill out the paperwork together. There’s stuff we need to try to do together, things that apply to Amelia.”

“What is that?” he asked, his eyes glued on the packet.

“I think you know what it is.”

“Divorce papers.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.

“Yeah, divorce papers.” I took a hesitant step toward the bed and then another.

When he didn’t jump up and start tossing things at me, I decided it was safe to approach him.

“I don’t want us to hate each other by the end of this,” I said as I pulled his set of forms out. I’d put his papers in a folder for him before I left for work this morning. I handed the folder to him and sat down next to him on the bed. “We can still come out of this as friends. Please help me do that.”

He looked over at me, and it was then I noticed the tears in his eyes. I had never, not even once, seen this man cry. It shocked me into silence. Without thinking, I reached over and put my hand over his. He put the folder on the bed and placed his other hand over mine.

He gently squeezed my hand. “Do you really want to end us?” he asked.

The pain I felt in that moment was indescribable as I said the word I knew would only hurt him, “Yes.”

He looked as if I’d punched him in the gut and then kicked him while he was down. “How can you say that?”

“Because…look at us. We don’t love each other, Joey, not the way we should. Clearly, we still care about each other, but that’s it. Together, we’re toxic for each other, nothing but poison.”

“This doesn’t feel like poison,” he said as he squeezed my hand.

“No, but these past few years, almost every other moment of our lives has been. You and I both know it.” I pulled my hand away from his. “The only good that has come from us is Amelia. She’s still good, Joey. She won’t remember our fights or my crying. She won’t remember both of us being miserable. I don’t want out just for me. I want out for her, too. She deserves better than this.”

“And what about me? What do I deserve?” he asked, a roughness in his voice, warning me that I’d need to tread carefully.

“You deserve to find happiness, too. There’s a woman out there for you, one who will love you in a way I can’t.” I reached over and picked up the folder. I opened it and pulled out the papers inside. “We can fill these out together. It’ll make it better for everyone, especially Amelia.”

He shook his head and scooted away from me until he was on the other side of the bed. He stood and started pacing, his eyes glued on the papers in my hand. “I can’t do this right now, Caley. I’m not ready to let you go.”

“You can’t keep me,” I said softly.

“I can sure as hell try.”

I fought not to let my anger rise to the surface. “Fine. You have one week to think this over. Either we can do this together, or I’ll file for myself, and you’ll have to deal with the consequences of that.”

He seemed taken aback by my words. “You would really do that, wouldn’t you?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I would.” I just hope I don’t have to.

I didn’t dare tell him the predicament it would put both of us in if he tried to fight me. If he knew, he would refuse just to spite me.

“You’ve been changing, Caley. You might not see it, but I do,” he said after a moment.

I gave him a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

“You’re not the same person you were when we met. Hell, you’re not even the same woman you were six months ago. Something inside of you has been changing. I’ve noticed it here and there over the last few months, but in this moment, I can see it now more than ever. You’re stronger. You used to be scared of your own shadow. Now, you’re standing up to me, demanding a divorce you never even thought about before.”

I shrugged. “Maybe change is a good thing.”

“It can be.” He studied me for a moment. “I just wish I knew what had caused it.”

Ethan. I knew without a doubt that it was him.

His support had made me feel stronger. Without doing anything more than listening, he had given me the chance to start things over again. I didn’t dare tell Joey that though.

“I guess I finally grew up. Maybe I’m seeing value in myself for the first time.”

He didn’t say anything for a minute, clearly at a loss for words. Finally, he cleared his throat. “I want to see Amelia.”

“You can see her anytime. I never said you couldn’t. All you have to do is ask,” I told him.

“Can I have her today and tomorrow? I’ll bring her back to your parents’ house tomorrow night.”

“Of course. She’ll be glad to see you.” I smiled. “I left some of her things here for you.”

“Thanks.” He seemed surprised that I wasn’t fighting him over Amelia.

“You know, my intention was never to keep her from you. I hope you know that.” I motioned to the folder lying on the bed. “There are forms that we have to fill out regarding custody. I really hope you’ll allow us to do those together. It’d be much easier than going to court over it.”