Shape of You (+18)

Chapter Forty-Three

▬▬▬▬ Joel's POV ▬▬▬▬

"Do we know why exactly she needed the date pushed back?" I asked Kim, currently sitting in her office for our weekly meeting.

"The court does, but they aren't giving me anything more than that it's for a family emergency that required Marie to go out of the country."

"That's a load a bullshit. She's probably in the Bahamas sippin' on a Pina-colada, tanning her ass off like the selfish bitch she is."

"It has to be legit, Joel. If not, she just threw her whole case," Kim tried to explain.

"I don't give a fuck if it is. Everly is all that should matter right now, and this woman has forced us into a place of un-fucking-certainty and that shit is not okay with me. I want to know why."

"Well, the fact of the matter is, I don't know why. We don't know why. And sure, you could go hunting for answers and make a big scene, but that doesn't help your case. What I want you to do is go home, keep taking care of Everly, stay out of trouble, that sort of thing. Okay?"

Rolling my eyes, not so much at her but at the situation I was in, I nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay, good. Now, is there anything else I need to know that you can think of?" She asked. "I can only prepare to defend you if I know what I'm defending."

"What, like any new traffic violations?" I scoffed, shifting in my seat.

"Hopefully not. I mean any new issues, business developments, relationships, debt—"

"Oh," I cut in, my eyes on hers, awkwardly scratching the back of my neck. "Uh, so...I have a girlfriend now."

"A girlfriend?"

"That 's what I said."

"Joel."

"Sorry, I'm just stressed."

"I know, and I'm being as understanding as possible. So, about this girlfriend. How long have you been together?"

"Officially, for about a week and a half. But, we've been seeing each for, I don't know, almost two months? There were a few breaks in that time, all my fault I'll admit."

"Mm, so would you say this is a serious relationship or more of a fling?"

"What the fuck kind of question is that?" I snapped, eying her, annoyed.

"It's a question you're damn sure gonna be asked, Joel, and you can not answer it like that."

With a heavy sigh, frustrated with the prodding into my personal life, I replied, "I'm very serious about this woman. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have her around my daughter."

"So Everly knows her?" When I mumbled confirmation, she continued, "Do they get along?"

"They do." It wasn't until I noticed Kim looking at me funny that I realized I had a goofy grin on my face. Clearing my throat, I admitted, "I should probably tell you, Marley is the person that watched Everly for me, the night I ran those red lights."

"Oh. Were you two together then?"

"Uhhhh, sorta. Not really."

"What does that mean, Joel?" Kim questioned, hand on hip, eyes focused on me. When I took too long to answer, she connected the dots. "You were only sleeping with her."

I hated the way that sounded. Hated it, but it was true. The worst part was, I'm pretty sure Marley would have preferred we dated from the beginning, but I was being an asshole. Not on purpose, but I was. I was so focused on Evvie that I was reckless with Marley's feelings and I fucking hate that that was the reality I put her through.