Dangerous Daydreams

Chapter 7- Rainy Days

When Ellie woke up the following morning, it was because of the rain. It was still nice and dark in her bedroom thanks to the clouds. She rolled over, almost still expecting to see her husband. But of course, he wasn’t there. She collapsed back onto the pillow, dreading seeing his hurt face again. Maybe he was already gone for the day… And then another thought hit her. What was she supposed to tell her children?

Pulling the comforter off of her tan legs, she stood up and walked to the dresser and mirror across the room where she pulled her hair up in a messy bun. Seventeen years later, and she could still rock the bun. Then, taking a deep breath she pulled open her bedroom door and braced herself for what was to come.

When she got downstairs, the pillow and blanket from Chase’s sleepover on the couch were nowhere to be found and Kennedy was in her pajamas, watching cartoons. Of course Ryder was still in bed. “Good morning, princess,” Ellie said, taking a seat beside her eight-year old.

“Good morning, mommy. Where’s dad?” she asked, not once taking her hazel eyes away from the flat screen. “He’s normally still here when I get up…” Kennedy didn’t sound too concerned, so Ellie just shrugged, not wanting to say anything before Ryder was awake and in a better mood.

For now, Ellie just pulled the blanket that was draped over the back of the couch over her legs and enjoyed the last few moments of peace… the last few moments of being Mrs. Taylor.

About two hours later a set of feet came down the stairs only to reveal a very groggy seventeen year old. “Good morning, Ryder,” Ellie said, the rain putting her into a permanent sleepy mood for the day.

“Morning…” he mumbled under his breath, walking over to give Ellie a kiss on the cheek and then ruffling Kennedy’s hair, earning a giggle.

Taking a deep breath, Ellie prepared to tell her kids the bad news. But a car door stopped her. She peered outside to see Chase’s SUV in the driveway. “Great,” she said in barely a whisper, causing both Kennedy and Ryder to look at her confused. She rolled her eyes. Before Chase could come barging through, she met him at the door.

“Uh, what are you doing?” Ellie asked Chase, refusing to let him move past the foyer. He didn’t expect her to just let him back inside, did he?

Now it was Chase’s turn to roll his eyes. “Jesus, Ellie. I just thought we could tell the kids together. If that’s okay with you, of course,” he said with a hint of sarcasm.

“Whatever,” she said, spinning around and heading to the dining room table. “Ryder! Kennedy! Can you please come here?” Ellie shouted into the living room.  She couldn’t tell by the look on Chase’s face if he was still upset or not. But by the way he laughed when she screamed for the kids and the way he rolled his eyes, she assumed he was trying to be brave, but it was coming off snarky and rude.

Ryder could almost sense something was up. Hell, maybe he had heard the argument last night. Thank goodness neither of the kids brought it up this morning. Ellie still didn’t know who had opened their bedroom door and heard.

As they sat down at the table, Ryder pulled his sister into his lap. That broke Ellie’s heart… She knew that this would be harder on Kennedy than Ryder. Kennedy had her face buried in Ryder’s shoulder and was sniffling… already. Neither of them said hello to their father.

“Can I guess what this is about?” the teenager asked, sounding more pissed off than sad. He looked down at the eight year old in his arms before saying anything else. “You guys are getting a divorce aren’t you?” he asked, not once breaking eye contact with his father.

All Ellie could do was nod, her eyes threatening to over flow with tears. Kennedy didn’t budge. Finally, Chase was the one that spoke up. “Yes, we are. But it’s for the better. And one day, when you guys can fully understand things- things that I’m still not fully aware of, you’ll understand this decision.” He sighed, his eyes flashing to Ellie. “Just know that your mother and I have issues with each other and there is no chance of trying to fix them.”

“But that’s not true, daddy,” Kennedy said, finally poking her head up. “You can fix your problems with mommy.”

Chase sniffled a little. “Not these problems, sweetheart. One day you’ll understand. I promise.” He paused for a minute before looking at his son. “And you Ryder, you have to promise me you’ll take care of them, okay? They’re both tiny and fragile and you’re now the man of the house…” But he didn’t get to finish. Ryder stood up and carried Kennedy out of the room, not giving his father a second glance. It was no surprise that he instantly sided with Ellie… he always did.

About an hour later, Chase came down the stairs with a few suitcases, only to find Ellie sitting on the living room couch, her eyes red and watery. She stood up instantly when she saw him. “I-I’m sorry things had to turn out this way,” she said, wrapping her arms around Chase just one final time. He hesitated before hugging back.

Then she pulled away and wiped off the tear running down her face. “Goodbye Chase. Just know one thing…” she paused.

“What thing, El?” Chase asked, edging closer and closer to the front door.

“I did love you. It wasn’t all a lie.”

He nodded.

Ellie locked the door and spun around only to be tackled by her children. “We love you mommy…” they both said in unison. And Ellie’s heart broke as she saw Chase standing in the pouring rain, watching his children take sides with the woman he thought loved him.

            “I love you guys too,” she said even though she knew that it should be Chase in here…. She was the bad guy this time. Just one more thing to add to her guilt list...