Take Over || (n.j.) || Sequel to Closer

Chapter One

Chapter One--
"How was school today baby?" I ask my four year old daughter as I'm driving us home after picking her up from school.

"I drawed a fwower today mommy!" Eliza squeals from the backseat, bouncing in her car seat excitedly.

"That's great baby! Now, I'm gonna drop you off at daddy's house then Aunt Krissy will pick you up from there on Wednesday after daddy gets you from school." I tell her, looking in the rearview mirror as I drive through an intersection.

"Okay mommy! I'm so excited to see daddy! And I really like his friend Olivia." My breath hitched at my throat as she said this. I turned up the radio for Eliza and got lost in my thoughts. I suppose I should fill you in on things that happened between Nick and I. About half a year after we were married, we tried for a baby. Eliza came into the world on November 20th at 9:32 PM, and she was 5lbs and 7oz. When Eliza was a year old, almost two, I had found out that Nick was having an affair with someone he met on the set of a movie, Olivia Culpo. One of his cast mates brought her in with them so Olivia could see what filming and acting was all about. Apparently, Nick and Olivia met up a couple of times as friends, then it turned into something much more. Nick admitted it to me that he had been seeing Olivia for a few months, and that's where I ended it.

I moved to another town in Texas that was about an hour away from Nick's house. According to the media, after Nick and I got our divorce him and Olivia became pretty serious and there were lots of rumors and hate about their affair. Eventually though, the rumors died down and now they are just viewed as a new celebrity couple.

"Mommy, can we go home so I can get some toys?" Eliza asks from the backseat. I turn the radio down and answer 'yes' even though we were already about halfway to Nick's house. When we arrived at my house, I helped my daughter out of her car seat and she ran to the front door, impatiently waiting for me to unlock it. I unlocked the door and Eliza and I were greeted by our dog, Sammy. Sammy is a golden retriever collie mix, and is about three years old. I bought him not too long ago from the local animal shelter because I just loved having a dog around. Eliza just loves him and they're best friends.

"Go get your things sweetie. Mommy will wait for you out here." My daughter nods and runs to her room. Our house is a one story house and it's in a secluded part of town. There's a spacious backyard and the house has three bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, and a large living room. I sit on the couch while waiting for my daughter, petting Sammy. He looked a little bit like Elvis, Nick's dog, so I'd have to look past that.

"I'm ready mommy." Eliza comes out of her bedroom, her My Little Pony backpack from school on her back, full of toys.

"Honey, that bag is for school. Let me get you a different bag to put all your toys in." I chuckle at my daughter, taking the bag off her back and walking to her bedroom. Eliza's room is a pastel pink color, Disney Princess stickers everywhere on the wall. There were also sparkles on all the walls. She had a canopy bed, which was also Princess themed. I go to my daughter's closet, grabbing a different bag off the shelf. I took the toys from her backpack, putting them in that bag.

"Here you go baby." I skipped her backpack on her shoulders, then took the other bag for her. Eliza followed me out, calling to our dog.

"You want Sammy to come with?" I asked, running a couple fingers through her dark, curly hair.

"Yes!" She screamed. I laughed and got his leash off the counter, hooking it on his collar. Whenever I dropped her off on Wednesdays, the dog usually came with. We all piled in the car and were on our way to my ex husband's house.

"I can come with you honey." I tell Eliza as we park in Nick's driveway. I unbuckle myself from my seat, get out of the car, and get my daughter from her seat.

"Here you go sweetheart." I hand her the other bag and close the car door. We walk up to the front door of the mini mansion, knocking on it. It opens not long after, revealing Nick in just shorts. His hair is messed up too.

"Really?" I hiss at him, covering our daughter's ears.

"What?" He scoffs at me, glancing at Eliza.

"She's here?"

"What do you care?" Nick asks me, his tone getting harsher.

"Nick. I don't want Eliza to think that she's her mother. Or Olivia to put things in her head about me......," I pause for a second," or you." His gaze catches mine and Nick's voice is gentle when he speaks.

"She's fine. Olivia loves her, and doesn't have a problem with you." Nick confirms, his arms crossed.

"I trust you Nick. Just bring her to school Wednesday and Kristen will pick her up." I take my hands from Eliza's ears and bend down to give her a hug goodbye.

"I love you mommy." Eliza says, Nick looking down at us.

"I love you baby girl. You be good for daddy, okay? And Olivia, do you understand me?" I ask, my finger under her chin so she'll look at me.

"Yes mommy. I love you." With that, she runs past Nick into the house, petting Elvis. I stand up and look at my ex husband.

"So, she really likes Olivia doesn't she?" I ask him.

"Yeah, she does." He leans against the doorframe, breathing out.

"Nick?" I hear Olivia's voice inside the house.

"I-" He starts out.

"You gotta go. See ya Nick." Nick waves to me as I turn around and walk back to my car. Sammy is waiting for me, sitting in the front seat. I get in the car and start it up, taking one more look around the house. There are memories I can pick out here and there. Tears sting at my eyes, my heart yearning for me to be in Nick's arms again. I shake my head and start to drive home in complete silence.

"You hungry boy?" I ask my dog once we've been home for a little bit and I've showered. Sammy barks, as if answering me, and so I get him food and put it in his bowl that's in the kitchen. When I do that, I make myself dinner. I'll admit, it is a bit lonely when Eliza is at her father's house, but I've gotten used to it. I eat my dinner, watching some movie on tv with Sammy begging for food.

"No. You just ate." I sternly say to him, shooing him away. After I eat, I go to my room, Sammy following me. I climb into bed, feeling the relief of laying down. My dog comes and jump by me, laying down. I pet his head and still feel the emptiness of Nick not beside me. We've been divorced for about two years now, but the hurt is still there. I feel like I shouldn't fully blame him for our divorce, but I do all the time. He was the one who cheated, even though he admitted it to me. That still didn't make it any better. I thought that I could just turn to a knife, but realized that Nick had convinced me to throw my pocketknife away right before we had Eliza. I didn't let that stop me. I got up from my bed, going into the kitchen. I grabbed a knife from the block and pierced the skin on my wrist over the sink. It hurt so bad, considering I had no reason to do this in a long time. I was happy as can be, until I got my divorce. Cutting had totally slipped my mind at the time though.

Once I had made a line that was about an inch long on my wrist, I washed the knife thoroughly then put it back in the block. Silently, I walked back to my room, my whole body numb with pain.