Prompt: I was wondering if you can write a prompt of Jace's mom telling his dad off??
A.N.- Okay so this was super hard to write .__. So I'm really sorry if this wasn't what you were looking for D:
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The doorbell rang and Erica looked up curiously. She wasn’t expecting company, and Jace usually just came right in.
She set down the washcloth she had been using to clean the counter and wiped her hands on her jeans, heading down. She pulled open the front door- and froze.
Cameron Butler, the man she had married, who had fathered her son, who had walked away. Standing there like he had never left.
He had come back a few times before, sure. But she never got used to it. She thought- prayed- that each time he left, he would never come back.
She kept Jace in mind now as she straightened up, pushing the shock away, meeting Cameron’s eyes. Jace had been strong, and now it was her turn.
“Erica,” Cameron said.
“Cameron, what are you doing here?” she demanded.
“Where’s Jace?” he asked, looking over her shoulder as if he expected his son to be hiding behind her.
“Jace isn’t home,” she said flatly. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Is he with…ah shit…what were their names?” he said, as if she hadn’t tacked on that last bit. “Marion! Is he at their house? Shane and…Mike? No, Mitch!”
“They’re not friends anymore,” she lied. She knew Jace would tell his father off, but she also knew it was best if he never saw Cameron again. He was finally getting better, and if he saw Cameron now, he would fall apart again. She wasn’t going to let that happen. “They had a falling out last year and haven’t talked since. You would know that if you gave a damn about Jace’s life.”
“So where is he?” Cameron asked.
“He’s not home,” she said, blocking the path into the house so that he wouldn’t invite himself in to sit. “But he did leave a message for you.”
“For me?” Cameron asked in surprise. “But…How did he know I would be here?”
“He didn’t. But he told me that if you showed up and he wasn’t home, he wanted me to let you know that he said to leave and never come back. He’s done with you, and so am I,” Erica said, her voice cold and hard. “It took him 14 years to finally accept that you leaving wasn’t his fault. So leave, and stay gone. Jace and I don’t need you. We don’t want you.”
“You’re not wearing your wedding ring,” Cameron said, his eyes sliding to her hand.
“Because I don’t have a husband,” Erica said. Anger swelled up around her. “And I don’t even know why. Care to indulge me, Cameron? Why don’t I have a husband? Why doesn’t Jace have a father?”
He looked confused and a little afraid. “Erica…”
“No, shut the hell up unless you’re going to answer me. Why did you leave?” Erica demanded.
“I…I just…” Cameron stared at her, not having an answer.
“I know why you left. You left because you were too afraid to be a father,” Erica said, glaring at him. “You’re a coward, just like your father was. When I told you I was pregnant with Jace, you were shocked, and I thought it was because you couldn’t believe you were going to be a father. But now I know it’s because you never wanted Jace. You thought you wanted a child. We agreed to try for a baby. But when it became a reality, you realized too late that you didn’t actually want that.”
“Where is Jace?” Cameron repeated, this time his voice weaker.
“Oh no,” Erica snapped. “You’re not doing that to him. You can’t choose to be a father when you feel like it. You left him, and he doesn’t want you anymore. You didn’t want him, and now he doesn’t want you. Sucks to be on the receiving end of abandonment, huh? Get out of here. I love my son more than I could ever love you, you fucking coward. You can’t even admit why you left.”
“Erica, let me stay here until he comes home,” Cameron insisted.
“Are you a moron? I said to get out of here. You gave me my son, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything. But other than that, you were a mistake,” she said. “You think Jace was a mistake. But in reality, you were the mistake.”
Erica looked at him, and remembered the boy she had fallen in love with at college. She remembered the smiling young man who had proudly announced “I do” at their wedding. The man she had loved with her whole heart. The only man she had only loved.
But the man in front of her was not the same man. This man had closed himself off from the world. Had become so afraid of love that he had lost his capability for it. He wasn’t her husband and he certainly wasn’t Jace’s father.
“Tell me one thing, Cameron. How could you leave Jace? How could you leave that sweet little boy?” Erica asked, a slight shake in her voice as she pictured the happy, clingy, lovable little boy her son had been all those years ago.
“I…I’m here,” Cameron said, wetting his lips nervously.
“And you’ll leave again. You’ll play dad for a few days, and then you’ll realize that it isn’t what you want and you’ll walk out until you decide to give it another try. Well, you’re out of second chances, asshole. Jace is done playing your little game,” she said. “And by the way? You fucked yourself over. You could’ve had an amazing son, and you gave him up. Jace is wonderful. He’s smart, kind, loving…he’s the best damn son a parent could ask for. And you gave that up. But you’re the one who has to live without him, so that’s your loss.”
“Where is he?” Cameron snapped, finally losing his cool. “I didn’t come here for you. I came here for him.”
“And he doesn’t want you,” Erica said easily. “He’s moved on from you. It’s your turn to be hung up on someone who doesn’t want you. He won’t be home tonight. Maybe not for a few days. He spends a lot of time with his friends over the summer. So you might as well hop in your car, and drive off to whatever life you’ve been living since you walked out on an amazing wife and son who loved you. I’m done with you, and so is Jace. So drive away, and this time, don’t bother coming back.”
Cameron’s face flushed red. “You know what? You’re right. Jace was a mistake. You were a mistake,” he spat. Erica fought back a bitter laugh. Cameron had always been the kind of man who would say whatever what hurt the other person when he was angry.
She smiled at him pleasantly. “I used to wonder why you left, but now I get it. You’re a coward. It’s that simple. Well guess what Cameron? I’m happy to go on living my life with the only man I need in my life. My wonderful son. I don’t need a shitty husband. I’m happy with my life. Happier than I ever was living with you. So take Jace’s advice, and never come back. You lot out on the best things in your life.” Her smile widened and she slammed the door in his face. As she turned the lock on the door, she turned and walked away without a glance back at the door, moving on with her day and with her life.
