Till Death Do Us Part

Ch. 16 - Fill Your Guts and Spill Your Guts

**I realize I left ya'll hanging on an iffy chapter, so here's an update. Enjoy!! Please comment and let me know what you think!**

Roxie's POV

It was pretty late by the time the three of us got settled in, so our options for food were somewhat limited.

"Pizza?" I asked, having already gone through every other genre of food except for Italian.

"Mmm, that sounds good. From where, though?" Khloe asked while peering over my shoulder at the various menus I'd pulled from one of our kitchen drawers.

"I was thinking that little mom and pop place around the corner from here. They have the best crust," I groaned, my mouth already salivating at the thought.

"Sounds good to me. You order it and I'll pay. My treat," she said with a soft smile. I returned the gesture before digging my phone out of my luggage - Milo had stuffed it in there so I still couldn't get to it after we'd gotten off the plane and into the car. I powered the device back up, patiently waiting through the loading screen until, finally, all hell broke loose. My phone was bombarded with text messages, calls, and voicemails from the various people I'd left behind; my father, Sandra, Jedrek, Waylon, and even a couple from Jedrek and Waylon's father. There was also a text reply from Ezekiel. He confirmed the time for his follow-up meeting with Jedrek that I'd convinced him into scheduling (one that he promised not to show up late to, but I'll believe that when pigs fly).

I cleared all of the notifications before dialing the restaurant's number and placing our order. I mentally decided to listen to the voicemails and deal with the entire shit storm later tonight before I finally crashed in bed.

"Okay, keep telling Roxie about how perfect Xandie the Mandie is for you," Ivy chimed in. I chuckled at the nickname before focusing my attention on Khloe.

"We're perfect for each other. We like the same movies, have the same political opinions, we share the same religion - all things that can make or break a relationship," she stated knowingly to which Ivy and I nodded in agreement, though I was surprised those topics had already been discussed. "He makes me laugh in a way no one else can - one night he made me crack up so hard I had whiskey coming out of my nose!" she said to which I threw my head back and laughed. "And he said it was cute - cute, Roxie!" she exclaimed. "And he's not looking for just a hookup, he's made that more than clear."

"So, what's this man's downfall? There's no way he's this perfect in every way," I stated.

"There's a crazy ex-wife that's still semi in the picture," Khloe grunted while popping the cork out of a bottle of wine and proceeding to pour three generous glasses worth.

"Wait, what?!" Ivy yelled, clearly caught off guard by the information.

"I know, I just found out the day after Roxie left and I've been stewing over it ever since," Khloe grumbled.

"So when you say 'crazy', what does that entail?" I questioned.

"So, they were college sweethearts I guess. They married right after graduation and things were good until about three years into the marriage. Things started to go downhill because while all her friends were living it up on vacations and such, she was 'tied down' to him at home while he worked his ass off to support them both and fuel the lavish life she was used to living. And in New York City of all fucking places," Khloe hissed with a roll of her eyes. I had to agree with her unspoken annoyance - NYC was one expensive place to live - not to mention live comfortably. "He let her do whatever the fuck she wanted, but apparently that wasn't good enough for her. Things were continuing to worsen, so Xander brought up the conversation of children a year later when he turned twenty-six and figured it was a good time to start trying for a kid. He figured maybe having a child would bring them closer together. She apparently made it known waaaay back in the beginning of the relationship that she didn't really want kids, but, for him, she would have at least one."