𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 (𝘣𝘹𝘣)

thirty nine

"You went to his house? Why?"

Benjamin sighs as rolls over in the bed, on the phone with Gabi. "I honestly have no idea. I was not thinking straight."

"Quite literally," Gabi sits down. "What did you say to him?"

"Uh...I just yelled at him. Told him he doesn't deserve to be with Anna. Or to be a father to Nessa."

"Oh...Oh! How'd he take that? Not well I'm guessing?"

"Yeah, not well. I literally blocked his number last night. What if he tries to call me or something?"

"Honestly, blocking him might be the peace you need. He's a fucking psycho. And honestly? I'm kinda super fucking proud of you. I mean...What? Two years ago you would've never been able to do that."

"Thanks, Gabs. I just...I shouldn't have spoken on his family...I kinda want to apologize."

"For what?! You had every right to say those things. Maybe it'll be his wake-up call or something. Your dad is an asshole."

"I know...I know," Benjamin sighs again. "I feel like I'm going insane."

Gabi shakes her head. "You did nothing wrong. Trust me. Just, try not to think about it today, okay? What do you have planned?"

Benjamin hums. "I have to resubmit my files for work. Then I have therapy. What about you?"

"I have to meet with some people...Then I have a conference. Send out some important emails...Oh, and then dinner with Lexi and her friends."

"Damn. Your life is so productive." Benjamin says as he gets out of bed. Noah was still fast asleep next to him.

"That's just the Gabi way," She pauses before speaking again. "Hey, I have to take this call but, try and make today a good day, okay? I love you."

"I will. Love you too. We'll talk later."

*
Damien walks downstairs to see Anna cooking breakfast. Jade was out of the house for the night so it was just the three of them in the morning.

He glances at Nessa who was in her high chair, playing with one of her teddy bears. "You sleep down here last night?" Damien asks.

Anna turns around to face him. "I slept in Nessa's room." She turns back to the food she was cooking.

"Why would you do that? You're gonna confuse her."

Anna shakes her head. "It's fine."

Damien walks up to her. "Why are you being like this? Look at me."

Anna blinks a few times before looking to face Damien. Damien shakes his head. "There's not an issue here, right?"

Anna raises her eyebrows. "I don't know, is there? You won't tell me the truth, Damien. That's not a problem for you?"

"No."

"No?"

"No, because that's my son. You don't need to worry about him." Damien turns to grab a mug out of the cabinet.

"It's not about just that. You...Abused him. I don't know to what extent but I know for a fact that it wasn't just punishment."

"How would you know? You weren't in that fucking house, Anna. It doesn't concern you."

"We have a daughter, Damien!"

"I would never put my hands on Nessa!"

"But you did to Benjamin!" Anna sighs and sets her spatula down, setting her hands on the counter. "You won't even tell me what happened. You didn't allow me to go to court with you. Why not?"

"What happened with Benjamin was a mistake. A mistake I don't plan to make ever again."

"How do I know that?"

Damien scoffs. "Seriously? How about some fucking trust!" Damien throws the mug down on the counter for it to shatter. "I'm going to work early."

Anna gulps as she watches him storm off to gather his things. Quickly getting dressed, Damien storms out of the front door.

She looks down at her hand that had started to bleed, though she hadn't even noticed when he threw the mug.

Nessa watches as he walks out the front door and looks at her mom. "Bye-Bye, Daddy!" She yells.

**
Anna places her shaky hands against the warm mug that Olivia had given her. "Thank you for letting me come over."

Olivia smiles. "Of course." She looks over at Nessa. "Would you like some juice?"

Nessa smiles and looks over at her mom. Anna nods her head at her. "Say thank you."

"Tanks!" Nessa says as Olivia hands her a juice box. Olivia takes a seat across from Anna smiling. "So, what's going on? Are you okay?"

Anna nods her head. "Yeah, I...Damien and I kind of got into an argument...I-I know it's weird to come to you considering you're his ex-wife but I.."

Olivia frowns as she looks down at the cut on Anna's hand. "Are you okay?"

Anna takes her hands off the table, placing them in her lap. "Yeah, yeah...He just got a little angry. Uhm...Benjamin came by the house yesterday."

"He did? What did he say?"

"He was angry with his dad. He was talking about...Uhm, how Damien used to abuse him. And...He was really angry but...Almost more like...Exhausted, if that makes sense?"

Olivia nods her head. "I'm so sorry, Anna."

"No, it's okay. I'm not here for sympathy or anything. I just, I don't know if it's not my place to ask but...What happened to Benjamin? Damien won't ever tell me and gets so angry when I ask."

Olivia takes a deep breath.

**
Benjamin repeatedly knocks on Noah's front door, practically bouncing on the heels of his feet. "Noah! Open the door!"

Noah, who was in the middle of his midday nap, rushes to the door in worry. He swings the door open. "What? What happened? Are you okay!?"

Benjamin smiles widely at him and walks in. "I have really really good fucking news."

Noah shuts the door, leaning against it. He lets out a long drawn-out breath, placing his hand on his head. "Shit," He whispers before looking at Benjamin. "You scared the life outta me."

"Oops," Benjamin steps forward to grab Noah's hands. "I'm sorry, babe. Are you okay?"

Noah stands up tall and nods his head. "Yeah. What's the good news?"

Benjamin's wide smile returns to his face and he backs up. "Okay, so after therapy I got a call from my boss and I was so scared because he usually never calls me after hours, he'll just email and text me,"

"And I just resubmitted my files that I fucked up and was convinced I somehow managed to mess up even more. But, he called and told me that I did really well like, exceedingly good and he said that if I keep working at my level I could get promoted within a year!"

Noah raises his eyes brows before smiling. "Really?! Good job, bebesita!"

Benjamin smiles and begins bouncing on his heels again. "He like...Completely applauded my skill set and basically told me I could do a lot. Like, do you know how long it takes some people to get promoted? This is so fucking cool!"

Noah smiles and leans in to hug Benjamin, lifting him off his feet. Benjamin smiles and wraps his legs around Noah's waist. "Good fucking job, baby."

Noah pulls away and leans in to kiss him. Benjamin wraps his arms around Noah's neck as he kisses him back.

Noah pulls away, still smiling. "Super fucking proud of you."

**