Page 96 of Takeover

“Yeah, and I don’t know what she said to him, but he hasn’t been the same since. I left him at Evan’s for a few minutes, but he’s been asking for you.”

“Don’t bring him up here.”

“Of course, I’m not bringing him to this place. It looks like a damn war zone. What happened? Did you guys get into a fight?” She comes and takes a seat on the edge of my desk, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder.

“She left. She walked out on me.” I lean back in the chair, the burden of my words too heavy for me to bear.

“Oh, Ethan. I’m sorry. What could have happened that’s so bad? And are you sure she walked out? Maybe she just needs some space.” She rubs my shoulder. “I know she loves you.”

I scoff at her right before I start laughing like a lunatic. “That’s funny coming from you, Lizzie. You tried to convince me to go back to Lindsay, remember that? And Tara overheard. No wonder she couldn’t get out of here fast enough.”

“Are you really going to blame me for this?” she asks, waving her hand around the office. “I’ll continue apologizing to her until she accepts, okay. Now, tell me what happened.”

Too drunk to hide pertinent details, I tell Elizabeth the entire thing. From the events at the park involving Lindsay, to the fight we had when I got home, right down to the awful words I said.

“Oh, Ethan,” she says, rubbing my shoulder some more. “Let me get you some cold water, okay. Let’s go to the kitchen.” She stands up, takes my hands and pulls me from the chair. She puts an arm around my waist and walks us back to the kitchen. Once I’m seated with a cold bottle of water, she makes coffee and pulls out the broom.

“First of all, it was a fight. An ugly fight, but all couples have them. And you guys are a blended family, so you need to take that into account. She’ll be back and calmer heads will prevail. You’ll apologize for being a jerk, because that’s what you were, and she’ll forgive you.”

“I told her if she walked away, not to bother coming back, Lizzie.” I can still see Tara’s eyes as the doors to the elevator closed. The fire that I fell in love with was gone. The only thing I saw was emptiness.

“Well, go find her after you’ve sobered up, and tell her you were stupid. Listen,” she says, taking the seat next to me, “this doesn’t have to be the end. She loves you, and she loves Vincent. It would be easy for her to say fuck Lindsay, but she wants the best for him. She’ll forgive your dumb ass. I’m going to clean up this mess and get you some food. Get some sleep and be ready to go to war for your woman when you finally sober up.” She kisses my forehead and leaves with the broom.

53

“I’m afraid she’s not processing this. She’s supposed to be in Montauk right now, but she slept in, went to yoga, and took me and Alan to breakfast.”

“Did she eat everything on the menu?” I hear my dad ask. Unlike Vickie, he has the decency to lower his voice, but not low enough, obviously.

“No. Regular sized portions, and she even turned down extra French toast,” Alan says.

“I can hear you guys,” I tell them from right outside the kitchen, but nobody cares about me overhearing because they continue with their conversation.

“Oh, boy. This is bad,” Cheryl says. I turn the corner just in time to see her wringing her hands. “This is the calm before the storm. Shit’s about to hit the fan, family.”

“Um, hello. I’m fine.” I step inside the kitchen, open the fridge, and pull out a handful of green grapes.

“Tarabelle, you’re not fine. You said you and Ethan broke up. You were living with the man and his kid. Don’t tell me you’re fine. Let it out, darling.” She takes me in her arms and starts to pat my back, but all I do is stand stiff with both arms hanging down my side. I catch Vickie’s eye, roll my own eyes, and mouth help.

“I warned that bastard not to mess with my daughter,” my dad says as he paces the kitchen. “What does he do? He does the exact opposite of what I told him. How dare he say those things to you? Just wait until he shows up here. I’m going to knock him on his ass.”

“And when he gets back up, I’m gonna knock him on his ass again. Right before I punch him in his face,” says Alan.

This time it’s Vickie who rolls her eyes at me. “Twin, please,” she says, smirking. “Then he’ll hit you back and then I’m gonna have to grab him by the nuts and twist because nobody lays a hand on my twin.”

Alan makes a face at that and grabs his own package. “Ouch,” he says.

“Family,” I say, finally breaking out of the evil one’s suffocating hug. “I’m fine. Dad, your evil wife is only trying to choke me. First, Ethan’s not going to show up here. He told me if I left, that was it. That’s right after he told me to mind my own business when it comes tohisson. Everyone, stand down. You two,” I say pointing to my dad and stepmom, “go! You were supposed to be on the road by now. Vickie, you too. Alan, you didn’t have to drop everything for me, but I’m glad you came. I can’t remember the last time I had you all to myself. Oh, I might have to stay here since I already rented out my place. Remind me again why I was so stupid as to leave my own place and move in with a man I wasn’t married to? A man I only knew for a few months?”

Dad grumbles something under his breath about the evils of shacking up, and Cheryl shushes him.

Everyone else stares at each other as they mull how to answer the question, but I hold my hands up and leave the kitchen, suddenly disgusted with myself. Tara Taylor never goes so crazy over a man that she drops everything. I was with Michael for almost two years, and I would never have dropped everything for him. If he had asked me to move to Denver, I know I wouldn’t have done it.

Hell, I wouldn’t even consider the long-distance thing, but this man flashes a smile and I turned into an idiot. Only to be used, humiliated, and discarded. Enough.

The family follows me around the house, all of them looking at each other.

“We canceled our plans. We can barbecue here, just the five of us,” Cheryl says.

---