“Give me time,” he said sharply. “Right now, all I want is to see my daughter.”

“Then, let’s go get her,” I said. “When next weekend rolls around, you can let me know your decision about whether or not you want to do this together or else things are going to get difficult.”

He gave no response.

The look on my mother’s face when I walked in with Joey was priceless. She looked back and forth between us, her mouth hanging open in surprise. It was a rare thing to strike my mother speechless, and I enjoyed every second of it.

“Joey’s here to get Amelia,” I said, not giving her a chance to say something that would make things worse for Joey or me. “Where is she?”

“Asleep in your room,” my mother said, a frown appearing on her face.

“Come on,” I told Joey.

I turned and headed to my room, Joey following behind me. He knew my mother well enough to know that he didn’t want to be alone with her, especially now. He’d used every excuse he could think of over the years to avoid spending time here. I was sure that he was now more uncomfortable than ever.

When we made it to my room, Joey closed the door behind us. “How’s living with your mom going?”

“As expected,” I grumbled. “You know how she is when I’m around.”

“I remember,” he replied.

I caught the faintest trace of a smile on his lips. Ass.

He was enjoying the fact that I was stuck in the house with my mom.

“Dad is loaning me money, so I can put a deposit on another place. I won’t be here for much longer. Thank God.”

“You could always stay at the apartment,” he said.

When I gave him a disbelieving look, he shrugged. “What? I’m not there five out of seven days a week. It’s not like you’d be living with me.”

I shook my head. There was no way I could go back to the apartment. It would be like taking two steps back. I was free, and I wasn’t going to give that up.

“It’s not a good idea.”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

We walked over to Amelia’s crib. She was sleeping soundly with a thin blanket over her. I carefully picked her up so not to wake her and handed her to Joey. She stirred as she was passed from my arms to his, but she didn’t wake up.

“I’ll bring her back on Sunday night,” he promised.

“I know you will. Have fun with her. If you need something, just call me,” I said.

I opened the door for him and watched as he walked past. He turned once to look at me before disappearing down the hallway. When he was out of sight, I closed the door again and walked over to my bed. I sat down on it and buried my face in my hands.

I knew leaving him was the right thing to do. In my heart, it felt right. But that didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt.

The way Joey had acted today…well, that was how he had been in the beginning. Seeing him that way made me miss the boy he’d once been and the life we’d once had. That last little piece of myself that clung to those memories was killing me.

That time was gone though. I knew it, and most of me had accepted it. I was terrified of what the future held for me, but somehow, I would make it through.

I looked up as someone knocked on my door.

It opened, and my mother stepped inside. “Have you two sorted out your differences?”

I fought not to give her a smart retort. “No, Mom, we haven’t. We aren’t going to.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Caley. If you can talk to him and bring him here to get Amelia, then you can sort things out.”

“No, we can’t,” I said.

“Why are you being so difficult? Doesn’t your marriage matter to you at all?” she demanded.

“Of course it mattered!” I said, jumping to my feet. “It mattered so much that I wasted the last few years of my life being miserable. I hated our life together, and I know he did, too. Nothing you say or do will change the outcome of this, Mom, so leave it be!”

She took a step forward.

I shook my head. “Just stop. I’m leaving.” I stomped across the room, going around her, to the door.

“Where do you think you’re going to go?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll drive around and look for a new place to stay.”

She replied, but I hadn’t heard whatever it was she had to say. I was already hurrying down the hallway, determined to get away from her as fast as I could. I didn’t stop until I reached my car. Once I was inside, I started it and tore down their driveway, leaving my mother and her words behind me.

I drove straight to Ethan’s. He was, as always, my escape from the shit that constantly troubled me. When I was around him, I didn’t feel as if I were drowning in all my sorrows.

I had texted him before coming over, and when I pulled into the driveway, he was waiting for me, sitting on the front step of his porch, a cigarette in his hand. I climbed out of my car and headed straight over to him. Without needing to be asked, he pulled a cigarette out of his pack and handed it to me along with his lighter.

I lit the cigarette and sat down beside him on the step. “Thanks.”

He took his lighter and pack of cigarettes back, tossing them on the ground next to his shoe. “No problem. Want to tell me why you were in such a hurry to leave work today?”

I chuckled. “I figured you’d noticed.”

“How could I not? You practically grew wings and flew out of there.”

“I was on a mission,” I said evasively.

“Are you going to tell me what you were up to, or do I have to start guessing on my own?”

“I planned to go to the apartment to see Joey.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And did you?”

“Yeah, I did. It didn’t go anything like I’d expected. There was almost no shouting at all. He still won’t give me an answer on the divorce papers though. I told him he had until next weekend to decide if he wanted to do this together or if I would have to file on my own. It was just strange to have a decent conversation with him. It kind of threw me off balance for a minute.”

“You know he’s only being nice, so you’ll change your mind, right?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah, I know. I’m not going to fall for it, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“I never thought you would. I just wanted to make sure you understood what he was trying.”

“I do. Trust me. I know the score. One or two decent conversations won’t change how I feel about him. I’ve wasted enough time being miserable with him. I just…I don’t know. I guess I’m hoping we can still walk away from this as friends. Being on speaking terms with one another would make things so much easier on Amelia when she’s older.”

“I get that.” He took a hit off his cigarette. “So, how do you feel after seeing him?”

I shrugged as I took a hit of my own. “I don’t know. I guess I’m relieved that it didn’t turn into a fight, but I’m still worried about the divorce papers. If he doesn’t work with me, I’ll be pretty much trapped. There’s no way I can afford a divorce attorney.”

He nudged me with his shoulder. “Hey, don’t stress over it just yet, okay? You have no idea what’s going to happen.”

“I know.” I finished my cigarette. “So, what were your plans for the day before I decided to show up?”

He chuckled. “I had an exciting day of mowing planned, but it can wait since you’re here. We can go do something fun if you want.”

I shook my head. “Nah, go mow your grass. I’ll sit here and encourage you from afar.”

“Or you could get up off your butt and help me,” he retorted.

“Pfft, I’m a lady. We don’t mow the grass. That’s a guy’s job.”

He laughed outright. “Bullshit. But I guess since you’re too lazy to help, I’ll go do it myself.”