I open the door and come face to face with a woman. She is standing unusually close to the door and I can see the thick black eyeliner around her bright blue eyes. She is wearing quite a lot of make-up but I can tell right away that she's pretty. She's wearing a very short jean skirt and a white tank top. Her skin is nicely tanned and her dark brown hair is short, barely hitting her collar bones. She's sporting a lot of jewelry on her hands, mostly silver rings and bracelets. She reeks of heavy perfume and I can't think of any reason someone would put on this much perfume. It's almost hard to breathe around her. Her face has an annoyed look to it.

"Uh, hi," I greet her.

She looks me up and down before shouldering past me into the house.

"Eli!?" she yells.

Perplexed, I close the door and make my way into the living room. Tess and Bennett are looking at the woman who is yelling at Eli.

"We had an appointment and you think you can just not show up?! What kind of a fuck up are you, huh? I always thought you cared at least somewhat but I guess not," she screeches. Wow, she's really angry.

"Okay Janet, calm the fuck down. I told you I was busy today and couldn't make it, just read your goddamn texts," Eli counters.

I stand next to Tess and she pulls me into her side.

"I think that's his wife," she whispers into my ear.

"Ex-wife," I correct her. "And yes, I think you're right."

"Well, that doesn't cut it, Eli! The world doesn't just revolve around you, you know?! Get it together and show the fuck up next time."

"Janet, get out. I don't want to talk to you right now. You are showing up here unannounced, that's not okay."

"I don't fucking care! You need to learn what consequences are." She crosses her arms in front of her chest and stares at him.

"Don't you dare, tell me about consequences. I will call you to make an appointment, now leave!" he growls out, his voice dangerously low.

"No. I'm not gonna let you tell me what to do, we are not together anymore, I hope you still know that."

"I do. Now leave. I don't want to talk today, Janet."

"Nope! I have time, I can wait. We need to discuss what happens during the next appointment anyhow, so."

I decide I have seen enough and I take a few steps toward the two, directing my attention to Janet.

"Listen, lady. He said he doesn't want to talk, that's a clearly expressed boundary and you need to accept that. So please just leave," I calmly say to her.

She swivels around to look at me and takes a step towards me, pointing her manicured finger at me.

"And who the fuck are you, huh?"

"I'm Romy. I wish I could say it's a pleasure to meet you but that wouldn't be the truth," I bluntly state.

Janet looks back at Eli, scrutinizing him for a moment. Then, she looks back at me and quickly back at Eli.

"Oh for fucks sake, you are screwing a teenager?!" she barks at Eli.

"Woah, I am not a teenager," I interject.

"I don't fucking care what you are, little girl. Shut up when the adults are talking, okay," she hisses at me, her lip curling up in a sneer.

"You are embarrassing yourself, just leave, nobody wants you here," I tell her, meeting her gaze.

"How dare you talk to me like that, you little skank! Go find someone not married and your age to fuck, you bitch!"

"Okay okay, that's enough, you're fucking crazy! I'm gonna call the cops if you don't stop your crazy act," Tess threatens, pulling out her phone.

Janet briefly looks at Tess before facing Eli again.

"What, you're fucking her, too?" she questions him.

I was so engrossed in the show Janet is producing, that I had no chance to see how Eli is doing. I look at him from where I am standing and I can see a storm of emotions swirling in green eyes. He looks angry above all but he also looks extremely sad and disappointed. I step towards him and take his hand in mine.

"Hey," I say.

He squeezes my hand once before letting go of it and stepping towards Janet. He takes her roughly by her elbow and pulls her out of the room.

"Let's go," he gruffly says and they disappear behind the front door. She has seized all protest and I can hear an engine starting before a car drives off. I wait for Eli to come back in, thinking he just threw her out to get rid of her.

I walk onto the porch but I can't see him anywhere. Bennett and Tess join me shortly after.

"He left with her," I quietly say.

"He probably just drives her home," Bennett says. "I'm sure he'll be back in no time."

"Come on, let's watch a movie. You can stay with me tonight," Tess offers and takes my hand.

"Yeah, okay," I mumble before following her into her room.

Why would he leave with her? She seems awful to be around. And why would he marry someone like her in the first place?

"Hey, don't overthink it, babes. As Bennett said, he'll probably just drive her home. And I'm sure he will put her in her place, too. He looked really angry with her."

"And I am angry with him. He could've at least said something. Like when he will be back, or I don't know. And how come everyone seems to think it's 'Let's-insult-Romy-Day' today, huh?" I huff frustratedly and throw my arms up.

"They are just jealous, believe me. You are so gorgeous and smart and you make them feel insecure so they have to bring you down to feel better about themselves." Tess gives me a crushing hug. I sniffle into her shoulder.

"I just wish he would confide in me more, you know?"

"Yeah, I do. We can kick his ass together when he comes back if you want."

That brings a laugh out of me.

"Thank you for being there for me, Tess. And thanks for the offered support but I will kick his ass on my own."

"I'm sure you will. I wouldn't want to be in his shoes. You show him, tiger." She makes a rawr sound and a claw gesture and I slap her hands.

"Stop making fun of me," I whine before she pulls me onto her bed and puts on a movie on her laptop.

I don't remember falling asleep but I wake to the sound of the front door slamming shut. I look over at Tess who's sleeping peacefully, a small amount of drool running down the side of her chin. I tug the blanket further over her sleeping form and carefully climb out of bed. My feet hit the cold wood floor as I step outside Tess's room and into the upstairs hallway. It's dark except for a glimmer of light coming from the kitchen. I can hear someone rummaging around. Not wanting to run into Tommy, I walk across the hallway and into Eli's room. He's not here. I debate for a minute if I want to have this conversation now or wait until tomorrow but, of course, my curiosity wants to have this chat now. So I sit down on his bed, my legs crossed and my head heavy - I'm tired. After ten minutes of waiting, Eli finally enters the room. He turns on the light and I squeeze my eyes shut, not having expected the bright lighting.

A loud, "Fuck!" rushes out of Eli and he stares at me in shock. "What the hell are you doing, Romy? You scared the shit out of me," he gradually lowers his voice again.

I glance at the clock on his nightstand. 1:30am.

"Did you have fun?" I ask him.

He looks confused. "You met her, right? Does she seem fun to you?"

"No. That's why I am really confused about why you left with her." I get up from the bed, suddenly very tired and not at all in the mood to talk anymore. I should've waited until tomorrow. I walk across the room and open the door, ready to climb into bed and get some much-needed sleep.

"Romy?"

I stop, my hand on the doorknob.

"Can we talk?"

"Tomorrow," I say and open the door.

"You're mad." It's a statement, not a question. I shut the door and turn back around, my glare meeting his rather innocent-looking eyes. As adorable as it is, it's making me madder. How dare he act innocent right now?!

"Yes, I am fucking mad," I confirm even though I'm pretty sure he didn't need confirmation.

"Okay, what are you so mad about?" he asks.

"Are you serious?! Your ex-wife brutally insulted me and you didn't say a word and then left! With her!"

"That was a complicated situation, Romy. It's not that easy."

"Yes, it is! You pick a side and clearly, you're taking hers. Good to know, I guess." I huff, tears already prickling my eyes. Don't cry, don't cry, please don't cry.

"That's not fair," Eli quietly says, a defeated look in his eyes.

"Well, life's not fucking fair, Eli."

"Yeah, I know that better than anyone."

"Your trauma or problems are not more valid than anyone else's, so please don't play the victim card right now."

"What, just like you are?" he challenges.

"I'm not. Or maybe I am, I don't even know anymore. But I do know that I picked your side today and you picked hers." I hate how jealous I sounded but I am seriously hurt by what happened.

"I did not choose her side, that's bullshit and you know it. And it's not your job to protect me, Romy," he urges.

"I wasn't protecting you, I was supporting you. That's what you do if you care about someone. You are on their side and you support them."

"I am on your side!" I can tell he's getting more and more frustrated. Welcome to the club, buddy.

"No, you're not!" I can't stop the tear rolling down my cheek.

"Please don't cry," Eli nearly begs.

"Why do you care?" I bite out.

"Stop acting like I don't care about you," he sternly says.

"Well, today makes me think you don't." My voice sounds empty as the words leave my mouth.

"What?! I punched someone for you, today!" I can see the veins straining against the skin on his neck.

"No, you didn't. You punched him for you. You cannot hold that over my head when I specifically didn't want you to punch him and you know that." I point my finger at him.

Eli's lips part to retort something but I don't let him.

"I'm over this. I'm gonna go to bed. Good night, Eli." With that, I slip out of his room and into my own. My head hits the pillow and I really don't want to but I can't stop crying myself to sleep.

I wake up the next morning with puffy eyes and a pounding headache. Great.

My feet shuffle into the bathroom and I have to force myself to look in the mirror. I look bad but not as bad as I feel. That's good, I guess. I wash my face first with warm and then with ice-cold water. I take a shower, brush my teeth and detangle my hair before blow-drying it. I don't put on any make-up, instead opting for an unnecessary amount of moisturizer. I curl my lashes to look more awake and throw on a flowy pale yellow skirt and a white crop top. My damp hair leaves wet spots on my shirt as I walk down the steps. I carefully walk around the quiet house. I didn't even check the time this morning. Where the hell is your phone, Romy?

I walk into the kitchen and throw a glance at the clock on the wall. 7:30am. Well, no wonder I look so damn tired. A truck parking in front of the house catches my intention. Looking out the window, I can see it's Tommy. Shit. I really don't want to deal with him right now. I quickly dart out of the kitchen and down the hallway. I rip open the back door and pull it shut, stepping to the right and leaning against the wall so Tommy won't be able to see me through the glass of the door. I can hear him enter the house and pounding up the stairs. A sigh of relief leaves my body.

"What the hell are you doing?" A voice to my left asks me and I shriek in surprise. I whip my head around and am met with Eli, a confused look on his face, looking me up and down. Concern starts to etch onto his features and he gets up from the chair he's been sitting on. "Are you okay?"

I shake my head to rid myself of the shock and look down, forcing myself to answer quickly before he can overthink what he's just seen. "Yeah yeah, I'm fine, don't worry." I sneak a glance at him and see him visibly relax.

"I was just hiding from Tommy. I was in the kitchen when I saw his truck pull up so I ran out here before he could see me." I explain. Eli just nods before sitting back down. I study him a little, noticing how exhausted he looks. He has shadows under his eyes and his hair is all over the place. His worry lines seem more prominent than usual and he is wearing his work clothes.

"Are you going to work already?" I thought the garage only opens at 11 on Fridays.

"I just got back," he says, looking toward the lake in the distance.

"From work?" I ask him. He nods.

"I thought you only start at 11 today."

"I couldn't sleep after our...," he grimaces, "our fight last night so I went to the garage."

I open and close my mouth a couple times, trying to find the right words.

"You mean you haven't slept yet? How long have you been back from the garage?"

"What time is it?" he inquires.

"A little later than 7:30."

"About an hour, then." He looks at me.

"Why haven't you gone to bed?"

"I was waiting for you to get up. You said we could talk today." Eli shrugs his shoulders.

"Don't you want to get some sleep first?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"But-" He raises an eyebrow at me, effectively cutting me off.

"Okay," I nod and walk over to him, sitting down in the empty chair next to his. He musters me for a minute or two before talking again.

"Are you ready to talk yet?" he questions.

Good question. Am I? I don't think I really thought about everything, yet.

"Maybe give me a bit to think before we talk it out?" I ask.

"Of course," he nods and leans back in his chair, closing his eyes and folding his hands before placing them onto his stomach.

After some moments to think back on what happened yesterday, I turn to Eli.

"We can talk now," I tell him but I don't get an answer.

"Eli?" I lightly touch his arm. No reaction.

He fell asleep. Since the sun is only starting to warm up the world, I go inside and grab a thin blanket from the living room. I cover Eli's sleeping form with the blanket before kissing his forehead and walking back inside to make breakfast for everyone.