Cheat [MxM] (Carter Brothers Book 1)

Chapter 15

EZRA ▪︎ POV

Ollie toddled around the bathroom naked, collecting the bath toys he had decided he would take with him into the water one after the other. While he was distracted, I fixed the water temperature and added his lavender, night time bath creme to the mix, making bubbles swirl where the stream left the tap and met the now scented water. 

My phone was on the counter beside the sink, but not even the nursery rhymes I had playing for Ollie at a decent volume could drown out the constant vibration of messages coming through to my phone. 

'When are you coming home? Why won't you answer your phone?'

'It's been two days, you said you'd be gone for the night, not that you'd be gone for days, Ezra.' 

'Stop being a child and answer me, damn it! I know I made a mistake but that doesn't mean you can just take Ollie and disappear!'

I know you're still with Evan. I'll come round and get you both - I'll even bring your mom. 

Ezra!

Vrrr. Vrrr. Vrrr. 

Renee hadn't let up all day yesterday and throughout today. I'd been ignoring her calls and my mother's calls - for no other reason than the fact that I didn't want to deal with them and I couldn't give them a straight answer as to when I'd be home. Not that I needed to explain myself to anyone - I was a grown man in my thirties, if I decided to spend a few nights at my brother's home, I was perfectly allowed to do so on my own account. 

Ollie was perfectly fine with his father and as much of a pain Renee could be, she knew that her son was also perfectly fine around Evan. She just didn't like the fact that we were together without her, or together away from her. Renee had to be involved, she had to have control, otherwise, all hell broke loose. But that was exactly why I was avoiding her calls and going back home. 

That and the fact that I didn't want to return to another raging argument, not only with Renee, but also with my parents. I'd been ignoring their calls too, even from my father and it was rare for him to call about anything other than business - mom probably put him up to it. Evan had been nice enough to answer his own phone and throw water on the fire by assuring them that I was perfectly fine and taking some time to sort out my thoughts before answering the phone. But that wouldn't last for long, I knew they'd show up at the condo door at some point, the longer I let this go on.

"Swim," Ollie tugged on my arm, breaking me away from my inner thoughts and I smiled at him, taking the plastic scuba diver he held out for me. Evan, ever the amazing uncle, kept everything  Ollie needed at his house for whenever we visited. Everything from bath toys and diapers to toddler snacks and pacifiers. 

I remember him telling me that my kid had once cock blocked a one night stand he'd brought home who had been horrified to find a child's belongings in his apartment and thought he had immediate family of his own.  The man had walked out, refusing to believe Evan kept all of these necessities for his nephew and was not in fact, cheating on an imaginary husband. It was laughable and really, the guy lost out big time because Evan's generosity made him a catch. 

Ollie bared his teeth at me, giggling when the next nursery rhyme that echoed around the dark tiled bathroom was the insanely annoying baby shark song. He wiggled his butt and growled, because apparently sharks growled now and I laughed at his adorable nature, ruffling his curls.

He'd been in a nasty mood yesterday, still some what shaken up by the incident with his mother, and picking up on my stressed temperament. He hadn't spoken a word, instead resulting to crying as his means of communication. On top of that, he'd been clingy and I hadn't been able to put him down all day which in turn had me exhausted and frustrated. But Ollie had perked up when he woke up this morning and I was both relieved and glad to see him acting like his usual self.