Lawyer Up

ADA

I sat on my parents’ patio, admiring their perfectly manicured lawn and listening to the low hum of their voices dancing together while my dad grilled.

They were talking about me—I already knew it, even though I was barely paying attention. I was barely even awake.

The hushed voices stopped when my mom slipped through the French doors, and if I had to take a guess, I would have bet she would arrive with a pitcher of lemonade in hand.

Boy was I mistaken.

The lemonade made an appearance, but my mother wasn’t the one who brought it out.

No, it seemed she was focused on something a little different.

“Ada.”

My heart dropped when I heard Trey’s voice. I turned to see his beautiful green eyes. The ones that used to drive me wild—and if I was being honest, sort of still did.

Which made me sick.

What did that say about me?

Was I really that weak?

Was I truly that pathetic?

I tore my eyes from his and looked at my dad. He shook his head and tightened his grip on the grill handle. I thought for a second he might try and rip it off and beat Trey with it.

That’d be a sight to see.

Instead, he marched into the house. To give my mom his two cents, no doubt.

I turned my attention back to Trey.

“What are you doing here?”

He pulled out a chair and sat down right next to me, never taking his eyes off of mine.

I noticed how red they were. He looked… Tired. I almost reached out to stroke his face. Then I remembered that I couldn’t do that anymore. But I still wanted to.

Weak.

Pathetic.

“I needed to see you. I have to explain this to you… And your mom—”

It had to be a sick joke.

“Explain what, exactly? Explain why you had sex with someone other than your wife? Explain why you filed for divorce, then tried to take it back? Explain why you’re speaking to my mom?”

I couldn’t wait to hear it.

He tried to grab my hands, but I pulled them away and rested them on my stomach, then quickly moved them to my lap. But it was too late—he had already noticed.

He hung his head, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Sorry, it’s a reflex,” I told him.

I could hardly believe I was apologizing.

Weak.

Pathetic.

Before I could stop him, he slipped his large hand onto my stomach and closed his eyes.

“I wanted him too, you know?” he whispered.

I can’t do this.

Not now.

Not ever.

It hurt too much, and I was afraid it always would.

I felt tears prick my eyes, but I pushed them away as I stood up and made my way out of the side gate, thanking God that I had worn a dress with pockets.

My keys were safely tucked away, making my quick escape so much easier.

Trey caught me before I even made it to the front yard. His fingers stung when they made contact with my wrist.

“Please listen, I’m begging you,” he said as he spun me around.

I didn’t say anything. Because I couldn’t.

“It meant nothing.” He shook his head before he continued.

“I promise you. I was upset about… I was upset. And I got trashed—it just happened. But it didn’t mean anything, baby. You’re all I care about.”

Could’ve fooled me.

I’d heard all of this before, but it didn’t hurt me any less. I still felt it just as strongly as I did then.

When a high school friend had sent me a picture of my husband making out with some girl at a bar, I hadn’t wanted to believe it. I had refused to believe it, actually.

That sort of stuff only happened to people who already had issues within their marriage. We were happy.

When he came home and I confronted him about it, he denied it, but I saw an emotion cross his face that I had never seen before—guilt.

It was the same look he was wearing now.

“So why file for divorce, then beg me not to go through with it? It makes no sense.” I sigh, completely drained.

“I know that. I was just so angry when you left. I was angry at myself, but I put it off on you. I’m so sorry, Ada.”

He brought his palm to my face, and idiotically, I let him. It just felt so good, so comforting.

Even if it should’ve been all wrong.

“Can I hug you?” he whispered.

I closed my eyes and nodded.

So stupid.

Everything about Trey felt right. He was a part of me, no matter how I felt toward him.

Would he always be?

Would I ever feel comforted by anyone else?

He began to rub my back slowly, and I melted into him.

I heard the side door slide open.

“I think it’s time for you to leave, son.”

My dad was a patient man, but I feared for the person who made him angry. And the quickest way to make my dad angry was to break his daughter’s heart.

And my heart had been shattered.

Trey dropped his arms and stepped back.

His eyes lingered on my face, then scanned down to my stomach. I wanted to cover it with my hands, but I didn’t want my dad to notice.

My parents didn’t know I had been pregnant, and now I was glad that they didn’t.

No point in torturing anyone else.

Instead, I stood there and let the tears run down my cheeks. Trey lifted his hand to wipe them away but thought better of it.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and disappeared into the front yard toward his car.

My dad walked toward me and I held my hands up. I had a feeling he hadn’t been in charge of this ambush, but I had to make sure first.

“I didn’t know, honey,” he said before pulling me into a hug. I cried on his shoulder until my mom just couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

“You could’ve let them finish their talk first, Keith,” she said.

“Ada can decide for herself if she wants to speak to him,” he spat back.

My daddy. Always in my corner.

My mom sighed and went back into the house.

She knew she was wrong—she had to know.

“You know I love your mother, Ada. I’d step in front of a bullet for her. But sometimes I don’t understand her train of thought at all.”

I snorted. I wasn’t sure that I’d ever understood my mom.

“He must be insane to come here. I can’t believe you didn’t punch him.” I laughed.

“Trust me, I wanted to. But he’s not insane honey. He’s desperate.”

I looked at my dad. He had always seemed larger-than-life to me. But something about the sadness in his eyes brought him down to my level, and I didn’t care for it.

I knew his sadness was for me, and I knew that he’d continue to feel it until he no longer saw it oozing from me.

I needed to get it together.

My marriage was over, whether Trey wanted to accept it or not. We had both signed the papers.

I had signed them because the second Trey had betrayed me I was broken. Done.

He signed because he had filed out of anger, and because he knew he wasn’t going to get through to me.

Although it seemed that he wasn’t through trying to break down the wall.

Too bad for him that my wall was indestructible—everlasting even.

Not only to Trey, but to everyone.

No one would ever have control over my heart again.