Not Us: Briggs & Jacqueline

Chapter 31: Epilogue

Odette's POV

We had just celebrated Archie turning three a few days ago and man oh man did that kid have a blast at his party?! It was all dinosaurs everywhere he looked. We even made dino footprints on the floor. I called Bodhi and asked if he wanted to help with the party, to which he said, "Fuck yeah! I never got to have them when I was little. I want to go all out for the boys." He was so fucking excited. Then he quickly backpedaled with a 'if that's cool with you' which made me smile and we of course got to planning. Bodhi rented giant lawn inflatable dinosaurs. He also rented out a really cool kid's play place near us that had an obstacle course, play place, tiny town, arcade, mini golf, and a room of bounce houses. It was every kid's dream. We invited all his friends he had from when his parents were still with us, plus all his cousins, and my friends and their kids.

This kid was showered with love. We'd been getting verbal RSVPs today for Asher's party from a lot of people too since their birthdays were just a few weeks apart. I was excited for Asher's birthday. We'd booked the same place because it had something for kids of all ages, and because we could bring in our own food. We were going to be bringing in basically a whole ass bakery], minus any cakes. Those were being specially made. Bodhi's wife did the cake for Archie's party and promised to do cakes for Asher and Sutton's parties too.

Mom and I were doing the laundry, sorting all the new clothes into the proper piles with the rest of the small mountain of clothes, when there was a knock at the door. Not just a knock. The kind of knock that says, 'You better fucking answer before I break it down'. Dad was outside in the backyard jumping in mud puddles with the kids, and Mom was in the laundry room helping me catch up since we just got all kinds of new clothes for Archie's birthday. Even Bodhi and his wife came out! It was wonderful. And she is so stinkin' nice! I wanted to keep her here. Maybe they'd consider moving.

As I'm walking up to the door to answer it, this sensation comes over me. It's one I was very familiar with. It was the sensation I got when a dream I'd had was about to come true. I just didn't know which one that would be. My dream journal was always full of him and the kids. I was also starting to dream of someone else. But I had to focus on the sensation I was getting because this one was bad. It was a sensation that said I shouldn't be alone when I answered the door. I picked up my phone and called my Dad.

"Sweetie?" He sounded confused. I knew he was probably looking at the house trying to see if he could see me in a window or something while keeping an eye on the kids.

"Dad, bring the kids inside. Now, please. Lock the back door." I said as seriously as I could without putting too much of my panic into my voice. I failed miserably. I knew I did. I could hear the fear spike in my voice when I told him, 'Now'.

"Feeling?" He asked, already sounding like he was moving into action.

"Yes." I stared at the door where the banging was getting louder. Then stop for a minute or two before starting again.

"I'll call your Mom." He hung up the phone and I soon heard the pitter-patter of Archie's new dino boots with spikes up the back of them courtesy of Bodhi. I stood there, staring at the door, waiting to open the damn thing. The knocking getting louder and more persistent. But I wouldn't subject the kids to this.

Bodhi. He's still here. I called him hoping for some backup, when I heard his phone ringing on the other side of my door. What the fuck was going on? I looked through the peephole, right as Mom came running out of the laundry room.

"Honey!" I spun around and looked at her. "Honey? Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." I nodded. My eyes wide, not sure what to say, or do.

"I need Daddy. Take the kids upstairs, please. Turn a movie on in the playroom."

Dad and the other two kids came in as soon as finished my request. She looked into my eyes and saw the confusion, hurt, rage, betrayal, but most of all, she saw the fear in my eyes. She saw that I was terrified of whatever was behind the door. She nodded and helped Dad get the kids out of the muddy clothes, leaving them there. She quietly told him the plan, and he helped get them to the stairs while Mom shuffled them up and into their playroom. He came and stood behind me. Ready to kick someone's ass.

Someone he's been waiting two years to meet. And probably break his nose. Dad had been taking boxing classes since he heard what I'd been through.

"Open the door. Let me meet this little bitch boy."

I flipped the lock and opened the door. He stormed in, immediately yelling about gold diggers and most grubbing, and something about possible mistreatment of Mack's kids, and not following through with the Will properly. All without fucking looking at who he was yelling at until he turned around in my foyer, ready to spit more venom at me. When he did finally turn around and looked at me, his mouth hung open, eyes wide.

Dad took the opportunity when it presented itself so perfectly, to punch him right in his stupid, handsome, stupid face. Briggs came running past me and laid into him next. He jumped on top of him and started wailing on his face. I heard a sickening crunch before he through Briggs off him.

"Fuck you, you pathetic mother fucker! Get the fuck out of here! You don't get to come back to her! Not after ghosting her for two fucking years!" Briggs shouted at him when he was thrown off. Fuck I hope Mom has the TV loud.

"I hit you once for what you did to my little girl, you massive sack of wasted space." Dad gave him the reason for his hit when he looked at my Dad. He hung his head, probably expecting the meeting to be different.

He's not the only one who saw that happening differently.

"Daddy. Briggs." They knew I didn't want him to know about Sutton. If he'd loved me or hell. If he'd even fucking cared, he could have reached out. I'm sure he had at least a few chances, probably more depending on when he got back from wherever to reach out. There was always when he got back from wherever. But...here we are. Still hadn't reached out.

Fuck. Him.

"Odette. I didn't know it was you. I just thought it was someone who was trying to take advantage—"

"That's not me," I cut him off with an icy stare and an equally cold voice. Not cold. Fucking frozen. It was like all I'd eaten for two years was frozen shit and now it was seeping out of me. "Get the fuck out of my house, set up an appointment with my lawyer, and if you ever scare my fucking kids again, I'll make sure your name is removed from any fucking custody paper. Got. It?"

He nodded. That was all. And got up and walked out of my home.

"I'm sorry, Odette. I tried to stop him the whole way here." I nodded.

"Not your fault. He's always been an action-first, questions-later kind of guy. Though, from what I can remember, he's also a 'disappears and never contacts you again til it suits him', kind of guy." I said it loud enough that I knew he'd hear it standing on the front porch. The door opened, talking lowly with Kai. I'd have them both know I wasn't going anywhere.

Bodhi walked out and joined the other two. He looked at me, the love and pain in his eyes made me want to hit him again. But that nose looks like it needs to be reset.

"Odette," I held my hand up. I tapped my finger on my chin for a minute, my other arm hugging me around the middle. I could feel my dad and Briggs behind me.

"Oh, that's right," I sounded all cheerful and smiled. Fake as fuck at him. He looked hopeful for a second. Just for a tiny second. Until I dropped my face into the ice glare again and slammed the door in his face.

Throwing the lock back in place.

Fuck you, Tex.