Perfect Together by Kristen Ashley

The second time it had happened was when Manon’s second grade teacher called us in for a meeting and told us Manon was “flighty” and “slow,” she had trouble controlling her in class and may need to put her in special ed, and we had to work with her to get a lock on her “behavior problems” at home.

Remy had had to deal with that meeting, because I was so livid, I was incapable of speech (my girl was reading by four, and doing small sums by five, for God’s sake).

Out of the meeting, he’d continued to deal.

This being having Manon tested. Finding her IQ was not genius level, but it was significantly elevated. And then taking her out of a school where a teacher deemed her “slow” when she was actually bored because she wasn’t being challenged. We’d then put all three kids in private school.

And the last time that rushing occurred was now.

“She…pierced…” I was so overcome with anger, I couldn’t get it out.

“Take a breath, baby,” he said softly, and I noted he was now across from me at the island.

“She…tried to…”

“She had a pregnancy scare. She knew my feelings on that and about her,” he shared. “Therefore, this scare forced me to investigate, and I can’t even begin to tell you how fucked up it felt to be my age and digging through shit to examine condom packets and find birth control pills she hid from me so I wouldn’t know she wasn’t taking them.”

“Oh my God,” I bit out.

“Obviously, we were over after that, and I asked her to leave. As you know, she didn’t. We had a conversation about why she didn’t, and I was forced to kick her out. I told her I’d meet her the next day, Thursday, so she could get her things. She didn’t text me, but I saw on my security footage she’d tried to get into the house when I wasn’t there. She failed because I’d had the locks changed. Since she didn’t text, or come over when I was there, I got boxes, packed her shit and put it on the back patio. I told her if it wasn’t gone by the time I got home from practice on Saturday, it was going to Goodwill. When I got home, it was gone.”

I stared at him across the island.

“I never loved her,” he announced.

Out went the rushing in my head and something whooshed through my heart.

“Remy, I don’t need—”

“She asked to move in. I’ve no idea why I said yes. For the company. Because I wasn’t paying attention. Because I was lost, and I didn’t know it.”

Lost?

He was lost?

“No clue,” he went on, shaking his head. “Especially now, I’ve got no clue why I said yes. But she knew it wasn’t serious. She knew there were not good odds for it going anywhere. She knew I didn’t have those kinds of feelings for her. I didn’t make her any promises.”

Okay.

Now that I was over the shock of the first…

This was agony.

“I don’t need to know this, Remy.”

“Yes, you do, Wyn.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because after I told her I’d packed up her shit, she phoned and texted…a lot. I’ve blocked her, and I have seven voicemails from a blocked number. I haven’t listened to them, but I know they’re from her. My concern is, she’s a problem that isn’t going to go away.”

Okay, wait.

What?

“This pregnancy scare was just a scare?” I asked to confirm.

He nodded. “Yes, fortunately. And I talked with Bill.”

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “Bill?”

Bill was a good friend of ours. Bill was another coach in the league.

Bill was also a cop.

“He confirmed I had reasons to be concerned,” Remy told me.

Okay.

Wait.

What?

My voice was rising. “You think she’s going to…stalk you?”

Remy again nodded.

My God.

“Bill says, lowkey, she already is,” he told me. “There’s a version of it that they take seriously that happens through phones, email, social media. I’ve blocked her on that too, as well as company systems.”

Right, right.

This was not good.

However.

“I still don’t understand why I need to know this.”

“Yes you do, baby,” he repeated, and the gentling in his tone could not be mistaken.

I shook my head fast because we were not going there.

“One reason,” Remy stated, and I lifted up a hand to stop him, but he carried on, “is Sabre likes her.”

I dropped my hand.

“And I think I need to tell him all of this,” he finished.

Oh.

This was about Sabre and how to handle dealing with his crazy ex-girlfriend with his son.

This did not make me relax.

I got even more tense because that was all this was about.

And more tense because I couldn’t deny I was disappointed about that.

So, not as over him as I’d thought.

“When was the last voicemail that came in?” I asked.

“Yesterday, during practice.”

“None today?”

He shook his head.

“Maybe she’ll peter out,” I suggested.

“Manon nor Yves cared for her, which was another sign I should have read, but I know she and Sabre have each other’s phone numbers. He’s home now. I can sit him down when he gets back tonight. Have a chat. But, for obvious reasons, I don’t want to.”