Homewrecker With A Heart Of Gold (Patrick Stump FanFic ft. Zack Merrick)

Chapter 18

-Zack's POV-

"Daddy, look at it!" Chase exclaimed from the backseat as he held up the baseball mitt one of the players had given him, me having scored him and me VIP access since one of the players was my friend. "It's like...a thousand times bigger than my hand!" I glanced back at Chase through the rear view mirror and smirked.

I laughed and returned my attention to the road in front of me. "A thousand times bigger, huh?"

"Okay, maybe like a hundred times bigger," He corrected himself, bringing the mitt down into his lap and picking up the baseball he'd also received that was sitting beside his car seat. I shook my head and continued my drive home. When I got there, I pulled into the driveway and parked beside a car that I learned to recognize was Patrick's. He must be here, I thought to myself, What's he still doing here? I thought he was supposed to take her away with him.

I shut the car off and sat back in my seat, my son fascinated by the two pieces of memorabilia he would probably display on his dresser after today, quickly getting bored with them.

Patrick's still here, My train of thought continued, That either means he's still trying to convince her or... My eyes widened, the breath I just took getting caught in my throat. No, this could work. This could really work. If I catch her in the act...

"It'll be perfect," I muttered under my breath, unbuckling my seat belt and getting out of the car. I walked around the vehicle and pulled the passenger side back door open, reaching in and undoing the straps on Chase's car seat. I picked him up in my arms and used my hip to close the door.

"Daddy, look! It's bigger than your face!" My son exclaimed, holding the mitt up to my face as I made my way up the walkway. I chuckled, kindly pushing it out of my line of vision as I stepped onto the porch.

"You know whose face it's probably also bigger than?" I mused as I extracted the car keys from my pocket and slipped them into the lock.

"Who?" He asked.

"Your mom's," I answered, pushing the door open and calling, "Honey, I'm home!" I closed the door behind me and looked up the staircase, keeping quiet to listen in on any sounds coming from upstairs, like footsteps...or moans. And just like I had predicted, there were, except it was the former rather than the latter.

"Gwen?" I called, taking the opportunity to go to them rather than waiting for them to come to me. I carried Chase up the stairs with me, feeling he would add to the affect walking in on Patrick and Gwen would have on my wife, but when I reached the top, I felt as though our son shouldn't see that. He was too young. So I set him down on the stairs and told him to stay in his room for a little bit until I came back for him. Unsuspecting of anything, he nodded his head in agreement and scurried into his room. I quickly closed the door behind him and walked to the next door over, adding one more, "Gwen, are you in there?" before pushing that door in. Standing in the middle of the room, missing his shirt and missing her pants, were Patrick and Gwen. I swallowed the lump in my throat and croaked, "Patrick?"

His eyes went wide. "Zack. I-I didn't-"

"I can explain," Gwen interrupted him, earning my attention. My eyebrows were furrowed together in pain, the corners of my lips curled down into a frown. I knew this was what I asked Patrick to do, but I couldn't help the pang of betrayal in my chest. After all, I still loved her. She was still my wife. I was only doing this because Alex thought I should, and I blindly agreed.

"Explain to me what?" I played along, not trying very hard to sound like I was hurt. I didn't need to, because I was. Seeing her with Patrick, and knowing what they did, it ignited a jealous fire inside of me. It was a small one, but it was enough to sell my reaction to walking in on the two of them. "Explain to me that he was showing you another one of his stupid new songs?"

My wife shook her head, shortening the distance between her and me and taking my hands in hers. "I promise it won't happen again, Zack," She remarked, forgetting about giving me an explanation. She knew it was pointless. There was nothing she could say to save herself, not this time.

"Why?" I muttered, doing my best to bring tears to my eyes, "Why do you keep doing this to me, Gwen? I thought you said you wanted things to change. I thought you said you just wanted to be with me."

"Zack, I'm sorry," She apologized.

"Don't be sorry," Patrick joined the conversation, attracting my gaze, "He's no good for you, Gwen. Can't you see? He's never home and he doesn't give a damn about you."

"What are you talking about?" I retorted, ripping my hands out of Gwen's and approaching the singer. We stared into each other's eyes, knowing that we didn't mean the things we said and the things we were about to say to one another, knowing that it was all an act. At least, it was an act on my part. "I love my wife. If I didn't, I wouldn't have married her, or had a kid with her."

He shook his head. "Don't lie to me, Zack. You couldn't care less about her, or your son. You abuse her night and day and I'm surprised it's been going on for so long. She deserves better. She deserves someone like me."

"Guys! Stop!" Gwen cried, stepping between the two of us and pushing us apart.

"You need to leave him, Gwen!" Patrick shouted at her, shooting his hand in my direction and holding it there for a moment before bringing it back in and poking his own chest, "I'm the one who loves you, Gwen, not him. I'll never lay a hand on you, I'll never cheat on you, I'll never leave your side. I'll be the man you've always wanted, unlike this douchebag."

I scoffed and looked to Gwen, seeing the confusion and agony in her eyes. "Are you seriously going to leave me for him?" I asked her, pointing at Patrick, "After all we've been through? All the years we've had together? All the times we've shared? Chase?"

I watched her gulp, the decision difficult for her to make.

"Come on, Gwen," The ex-Fall Out Boy member murmured, "You honestly can't be contemplating staying with him, with all the stuff you've told me he's done to you? Why on earth would you stay with him?"

Her head turned back and forth, looking at the two of us and biting her lip. I couldn't stop the butterflies churning in my stomach, or my racing heart rate. The closer and closer the decision came, the more nervous I became.

Did I really want this? Did I really want her to leave with Patrick? What was I thinking when I listened to Alex, when I agreed to go along with his plan?

He wasn't married to her, I was. And although she wanted me to choose her or the guys, I was sure if we talked about it, we could've come to a compromise. But instead, in my weakest moment, I decided to go through with Alex's crazy revenge plan, and now I was about to lose my wife and the mother of my child to the man she was cheating on me with.