Love You Hello (bk2)

Chapter Fifteen

Nic's POV
"Well, well, well, look who actually showed up." Elise teased while bouncing Ben in her arms.
I rolled my eyes. "Sorry your daughter decided to throw her book out the window in the middle of traffic and then cried until I went back to get it. Besides, I had to make sure she was good before I left the house."
"Who's watching her?"
"Josie."
Elise stopped bouncing Benny and grabbed my arm. "What?"
I gave her a look, "What what?"
"Josie? Really?"
"Watch out, El. The media might think you're jealous and want me back."
She huffed and gave me a look, "That's not funny, Nic."
"Well, what's the problem then?"
"Don't you think it's a little soon for Josie to be with her alone?"
I shook my head. "No. Addie trusts her."
"How do you know?"
"Honestly, El? This is what gets you upset? Ya know, maybe if you just moved to Dublin with your husband, you'd get a little bit more say in things involving Addie. I am her primary caregiver which means whatever I say goes."
"Just answer my question, Nic."
"You don't want to hear the answer, El. Trust me. It's better left unsaid."
"Nic." She pressed.
"Elise. Your daughter trusts the damn babysitter! What's the big deal?"
"So now she's just a babysitter."
"No. Of course not. Don't put words in my mouth, Elise. She's my girlfriend, so back off and let me handle her and our daughter please."
El huffed, "Fine. But if Addie comes crying to me don't be surprised when I say I told you so."
"It won't happen so how about you just back off!"
Just then a door opened and a woman about forty stepped into the hallway. "Parents of Addison James?"
"That's us." We both replied.
"Alright. Right this way."

"Wait, so you're saying that we can't let our daughter attend this school because there's too much about her in the media?"
"That's precisely what we're saying, Mr. James."
Elise huffed, "That's absurd!"
"Mrs. James, we assure you this is for the safety of our other students."
"Okay, first off, I'm Mrs. Hughes or Ms. Austin, and second, we have a binding contract with the media that says they can't follow our daughter onto private property; private being, this private school that we carefully chose from a folder with five others in the area. We have put a lot of time and money into this school already and we'd appreciate if you would reconsider."
"Mrs. Hughes, Addison has been here for a day. It is still acceptable for her to switch schools and you will be fully refunded."
"Okay, the money is not the issue here, ma'am. The issue is that you're teaching her that it's okay to discriminate because of her mother's occupation! She's six years old and she's very smart. She will catch on and it's just not right anyway!"
"So what do you suggest that I do when other parents come to me with concerns of having such a high-profile child in our school?"
"High-profile child?! Are you fucking kidding me?!" Nic snapped. "She's fucking six years old! She's a child in need of an education! I have a job! I can't just keep her home because schools won't accept her! Home-schooling is not a fucking option!"
"Mr. James, please keep your voice down."
"No. Do not tell me what to do when you're judging my child because her mother is well-known! I can guarantee that Addie has never even used her mother's career as a way into anything! I raised her to appreciate what she has and to never brag about anything! She was raised to respect everyone in their place in this world, just as I was! Like her mother said, she is six years old! Let her be a six year old and attend your school! Don't do anything you might regret when you sued!"
"Are you threatening me, Mr. James?"
"Oh, you mean like you just threatened to kick my child out of your school if I don't voluntarily remove her?"
The principal sat shocked in her seat, unable to speak for a few moments.
"Mr. James, Mrs. Hughes, I will give you a ninety-day period. If even one thing happens that we are unable to control regarding your daughter and your high-class profile, we'll have to ask you to leave."
I sighed. "Fine."
Nic mumbled, "Fine. Thank you."
"Of course."
Nic was quick to get up and leave the office. I got up and followed him out to his car.
"Nic! Wait!"
He turned around quickly, "This is your fault, Elise! This is entirely your fault! You came back and begged me to let you into Addie's life and now look where she is! She's being rejected from a great school because your name is in every other fucking article! She's six! Six years old and is being discriminated against because of you! Do me a favor and let me have her this weekend! I now have to explain to my child that it's crucial she doesn't even mention your name to anyone!"
He turned his back to me and walked away again.
"That's not fair, Nic! You can't keep her from me! Not when I'm making an effort!"
Nic turned again, "You want to know what's not fair, El? This." He motioned to the space in between us. "This crap that we keep putting each other through to try and give our daughter what she deserves! I have been very kind to you these last couple of years, but just over the last couple of weeks, you have run my patience thin! You're fighting with your husband and you're living alone in a massive house with your son! You bring Addie into it every weekend and for some reason she returns to me on Sunday evenings exhausted because she's barely slept!"
My patience with him was running even thinner, "You want to know why she doesn't sleep, Nic?" I walked towards him. Benny squirming in my arms. "She won't go to sleep until she knows that everything in the world is right! She won't go to sleep until I convince her that her daddy is okay. She won't close her eyes until she's ready to accept that she has to fall asleep without seeing you first! She's so attached to you, Nic, and you're too blind to see it! I sit up with her every night and talk to her until she falls into a deep sleep and sometimes that take hours. She's such a daddy's girl that she can't trust that her mother is just as good."
"She doesn't do that. You're lying."
"You think I'm lying? Hah! I'll prove it next time she comes over! I'll videotape it if that's what gets you to believe me!"
"Addie doesn't do that with my parents or my brother's wife."
"She doesn't have to! They're family! Yes she calls me mummy but I don't think she believes that I'm family! You've somehow convinced her that I'm the devil!"
"I have not! I tell her that you love her every night before she falls asleep! We openly talk about you, El! I wouldn't keep you from her life not that you've been here! Stop making up these damn excuses for everything that goes wrong! Fix your life so that it doesn't affect my daughter's life so much!"
"You're cruel, Nicholas!"
"No, I just know how to protect my daughter, Elise! Figure it out!"
He got into his car and left.
Why do we always end days like this?