Brotherhood of Six
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Riki Leigh Bishop
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16
CHAPTER one
Book One: Jaxton
NICOLE
Curveball: a pitch with a strong downward spin, causing the ball to drop suddenly and veer to the side as it approaches home plate.
Life has a good way of throwing you a curveball. You just have to figure out how to get around it without striking out.
The thing with a curveball being thrown at you is you donât know itâs coming until the last possible second.
Thatâs what seemed to be the story of my life as of late. Six months ago, life decided to throw me a huge curveball.
I had just gotten off work and picked up my children from school. I had made a sale on a house that the clients had been going back and forth on for months, and I was ready to get home and celebrate with my family.
However, I wasnât ready for what my kids and I walked into.
There they wereâmy husband and my best friend, on my couch, doing the horizontal salsa. They couldnât even make it to the bedroom.
If they had, at least then my children wouldnât have had to see their fatherâs indiscretion.
I still remember that day like it was yesterday. At least he didnât try to explain it with the typical âItâs not what it looks likeâ excuse. He owned up to his actions.
I mean, he was caught red-handedâbut that doesnât mean he would have fessed up to his infidelity.
We tried to work it out. Counseling and all that jazz, and it was going great until she showed up one day claiming to be pregnant.
That was the last straw.
I could get past the cheating, but a baby? No. I couldnâtâand wouldnâtâget past that.
I wouldnât allow my children to go through that.
As always, my children are my first priority, and they always will be.
So, here I am, six months later, finalizing my divorce before moving back to my hometown with my children.
I waited so my children could finish their school year and come to terms with moving away. I didnât want them to start a new school in the middle of the year.
So I sucked it up and tried to avoid Eric as much as possible.
I had some things to finalize anyway, like selling the house we lived in as a family, finding a new house in a school district with all the sports and programs my children are involved in, and moving my real estate company.
Now that the school year is finished after today and everything is finalized, packed, and ready to go, thereâs one thing thatâs left to do.
Sign the damn divorce papers and get the hell out of Dodge. Of course, Eric would have to prolong the inevitable.
âIâm not signing these papers if you are moving with my children.â
I let out a long sigh. Weâd been over this countless times, but he doesnât want to let it go.
Heâs the one that made it hard to live in this town without hearing whispers wherever I go.
Iâve had the kids come home many times, telling me about what their friends were saying. They had to deal with the stares and whispers as well.
I never wanted that for them. I can handle it, but when my children have to endure it, itâs time to do something about it.
âOne, they are my children as well. Two, I am their mother and have custody. Three, you didnât seem to mind when you were knocking up my best friend.
âSo, yes, Eric, I am moving with our children. You get them every other weekend and during the summer when you come down, so they donât miss their games and other electives for school.
âI am not having this argument again. Sign the damn papers so you can get back to your new family,â I stated firmly.
I wasnât expecting what he said next.
âIf thatâs the case, then Iâll be moving as well. I will not be hours away from them.â
The whole reason I decided to move was so I could put some distance between him and me.
âIâll sign these papers, and Iâll see you when London and I get settled.â
He did sign the papers, but I wasnât happy with this new revelation. I wasnât going to fight him on it, though. I simply didnât have the energy or the time.
âAre we done here? I need to get my children from school and get on the road. My family is expecting us tonight,â I asked my lawyer. He nodded and said heâd get the papers filed right away.
I was a newly divorced mother of three with an ex-husband following me like a lost puppy.
I left the office and walked toward my car, Eric not far behind me. I really donât want to speak to him anymore, let alone see him right now.
Iâm pissed. I wanted to get away from the constant reminder of how he broke my heart, how he ruined my outlook on relationships.
He made the same vows as I did, and he was the one that broke them.
I kept walking, ignoring him as he yelled my name.
I dug my keys out of my purse and hit the unlock button to my car. I was just about to reach to open my door when he caught up to me.
âNicole, listen to me, please.â
I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath before turning to face him.
âI donât have time for this. I need to get the girls from school, and Bell is meeting me at the house so we can leave,â I told him, trying to keep calm.
âBellamine can pick up the girls. Iâm sorry, I really am. I know this is all on me, but I want us to be civil for our children.
âYes, I fucked up, but that doesnât mean you can take my kids away from me. I know youâre not happy with me moving to Indiana, but if youâre going to move my kids away, then I will be there.â
âYouâre damn right Iâm not happy about you moving.
âI decided to move so I wouldnât have to be constantly reminded of how you ruined our family. I decided to move back home so I wouldnât have to see you with her every time I turned around.
âWe made vows, and you broke them. This is on you, not me.
âIâm taking the kids, and weâre moving closer to my family. You decided on a whim that you were going to be moving too.
âDid you ever stop to think how that would affect me? Did you ever stop to use your fucking brain as to why I was moving? No! You just did things without thinking, once again.â
I pause to let that sink in while I take a deep breath to calm myself down.
âTell me, how does your new fiancĂ©e feel about this move?â I ask. âYou broke me, Eric, and you donât understand how much this kills me. I loved you so fucking much!
âI was the one that was worried about you while you were deployed. I was the one that raised our son at sixteen while you were off at basic training.
âI was the one that raised our children every single time you were deployed! I was the one that was by your side through your PTSD.
âNot London. Me! It was supposed to be forever, and yet that seemed too much for you.
âI have to go. The kids will be out of school soon.â
It felt good to get that off my chest. However, I was a blubbering mess by the time I finished my rant. I couldnât hold it in anymore. I just couldnât. He ruined me.
âNic, Iâm so fucking sorry. It just happened! Youâre right. I didnât stop to think about how this would affect you or the kids. I thought with my dick, and look where that got me.
âI lost the one woman who will always hold my heart.
âNo, I didnât talk to London about this. I decided while we were in there. I want to be close to the kids. I understand why youâre moving, but Iâm not going to budge on this.
âIf she doesnât want to come with me, then weâll figure something out with the new baby.
âIâm going where my children go, and thatâs final. You can hate it all you want, but quite frankly, you have no right to care. They are mine just as much as they are yours. I have every right to be close to them.â
âI have to go, Eric,â I say. âYou do what you feel is best. Maybe one day I can forgive you, but until then, I will be civil for my children. You are their father, and that doesnât change just because I move.
âYou do whatever it is you feel you need to, and Iâll do the same. Now, if youâll excuse me, I have to get the twins.â I opened my door and climbed into my car, taking off toward the school.
The nerve of that man. It just happened! How in the hell does it just happen?
Fucking asshole.
Might as well get it out now because I will not be the parent who talks bad about the other parent.
I was there for him through his hard times. He was off at basic training when I went into labor with Bellamine. He barely made it for the birth of Nora and Elena. After the girls were born, he didnât reenlist.
I was there during the time his PTSD was so strong he couldnât eat or sleep or be around our children because he was afraid he would lash out and hurt them.
I was there raising two newborns and a two-year-old, all while he was working on his issues.
What do I get in return? The sight of my best friend and husband banging on my couch with my children beside me.
It hit Bell the hardest. He was close to his fatherâhim seeing that, it ended up doing damage to their relationship.
Iâve talked to him and explained that the actions of his father didnât need to ruin their relationship. He says that heâs just mad because of it hurting me and tearing our family apart.
Thatâs one of the reasons I tried to work it out with Eric. I wanted our family to stay togetherâfor our children. I know that it doesnât always work that way, but I still tried.
I tried everything in order to get my family to stay together. It just wasnât enough in the end.
I couldnât be with him knowing he fathered another child by cheating with another woman. It was the proverbial straw that broke the camelâs back.
Once I get to the school, the girls are waiting for me with their friends. I pull into a parking spot and wait for them to say their goodbyes to their friends.
The girls are close, but they run in different circles. Nora is the girly-girl. Sheâs a cheerleader, in the drama club, and a volleyball player. Sheâs the popular one.
All of my children are popular but in different ways. Iâve never had to worry about them being bullied or bullying anyone.
Elena is the tomboy with a bit of girly-girl inside. She is our softball player. She plays basketball and runs track and field as well, but her passion is softball.
Bellamine is our football, basketball, and baseball player. All my children are athletic. They always have been. Iâm pretty sure they got it from their father, but Iâll never tell him that.
Iâm brought out of my thoughts to the sound of the doors opening. âHey, Mom,â Nora and Elena say at the same time.
âHello, my loves. How was your last day of school?â I ask as I pull out of the parking lot.
âIt wasnât bad. Same as usual, although there was a lot of crying since we wonât be back for junior year. It sucks that we have to move. Making new friends and practically starting at the bottom just sucks,â Nora said.
âMy day wasnât super bad. Winston broke up with me because he couldnât do the âlong distanceâ thing. I knew it was going to happen, but it still hurts. Dad ruined everything,â Elena said.
âOh, honey, Iâm so sorry that happened. I know itâs hard on all of you, but itâs for the best.
âIt wonât be so bad starting over anew. This school isnât as big as the one youâve known. Itâll all work out. I promise.
âI know how heartbreaking it is leaving friends and losing someone you care about, and Iâm sorry that this is happening.
âYour dad just did something that wasnât right, and it turned things in a different direction. But just think of it as a new adventure.â
I hate that my daughter is going through this heartache. I wish I could change everything, but I canât. âLetâs head to the house and meet your brother and aunt so we can head out.â
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