“I tried to ring you to explain! You never answered. I came to your house, you refused to see me. You cut me out,” he says.
“Do you blame me? How would you feel if the roles were reversed?” I ask him. The instant clench of his jaw is answer enough.
“Remember when you asked me what I did for a living, and I told you I played in the stock market, but I also worked for an organization?” he asks.
“Yes. I thought it was pretty vague,” I admit.
“Right. I couldn’t explain it to you at the time. I still can’t explain it all to you because of confidentiality. You saw me with her, but I wasn’t allowed to talk about it. So I couldn’t give you the explanation you deserved at the time. I thought I'd wait until it was over and then I could tell you, but by then you wanted nothing to do with me. It was almost as if you hated me,” he says.
“I don’t understand, James.” He's about to open his mouth when his phone rings.
“Tatiana, I’m kind of in the middle of something.”
“Shit, okay.” He hangs up the phone and I know exactly what he's going to say.
“I’m sorry, babe, its work. I gotta head out, but I’ll come by tonight and we will finish this, okay,” he explains, his eyes begging with mine.
“Fine, we’ll catch a cab home,” I say stubbornly.
“No, I’ll get Kade to come and get you,” he says, his tone stern.
“Don’t bother!” I retort sharply.
“Look, I’m sorry but I have to go. Not that I want to, but I have to,” he says, looking frustrated.
“You have to what? Run whenever your girlfriend calls? Nice to see you have your priorities straight,” I say bitterly. I almost regret the low blow when I see the look on his face.
James narrows those baby blues one me, his posture rigid. “She's not my girlfriend. I’m going to work, Sasha. We'll talk about this later, okay?”
He kisses both Jye and me, apologizing again. When Tatiana calls, he runs. I know there's more to it than that, but clearly I don’t know what it is yet. I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty pissed off by this point.
Jye plays for another hour, when suddenly Kade arrives.
“Hey, Sasha,” he greets, his eyes brightening when he sees Jye.
“Hey, little man! He looks just like James did when he was a kid, it’s eerie,” Kade says.
“You didn’t have to come, Kade. We were gonna take a cab,” I tell him.
“No way, James would've killed me. Besides, it's no problem, I love seeing Jye,” he says kindly.
“You can drop by anytime and see him, you know.”
“Really? I’d love that. I’ll bring Grace next time. If she knew I was here without her, I’d never hear the end of it,” he says with a chuckle.
“Thank you,” I tell him hoarsely.
“For what?” he asks, confused. He picks up a ball and throws it back into the pit.
“For being civil towards me, even after…”
“I’m not gonna lie, Sasha, I was pissed,” he says softly.
“I know,” I say.
“But if James isn’t holding a grudge, neither am I. It doesn’t fix anything, so let’s just move forward,” he says sagely.
“You’re amazing, you know that?” I tell him.
“My wife tells me that every night in bed,” he says, waggling his eyebrows playfully.
I roll my eyes.
***
Chapter Eight
James
After what I just saw, I’m going to need a drink. I walk into the kitchen and pour myself a scotch. Straight. After an exhausting night, one of the worst I’ve seen in a while, I definitely deserve it. A sigh escapes my mouth as I sit back into the barstool. Today needs to be over already. I know Sasha's going to be pissed at me because I never showed up at her place tonight. I never even got to explain, and Sasha is way overdue to hear what I have to say. Kade called me to say he got them home safe and sound, for which I'm grateful. I decide to call Sasha up, hoping she's not already asleep.
“Hello?” she answers, her voice husky from sleep.
“I woke you up, I’m sorry,” I quickly say. I should have known she'd be sleeping.
“It’s alright, is everything okay?” she asks instantly.
“Fine, I just wanted to hear your voice, and to tell you that we need to talk. I want to work things out with you, explain everything to you. I’m not seeing anyone, or anything like that, Sasha. You’re the only one I want to be with,” I explain, trying to make her understand where I am right now, my intentions with her.
“We’ll talk, James,” is all she says, but it’s enough. We both say good night and hang up.
I look around my huge, empty house, and my chest hurts. They should be here, with me. Where I can protect them, be there for them. Love them. Instead I’m all alone, without my family. No more messing around, I need to get them home where they belong. I down the rest of my drink. Tomorrow is a new day.
***
Sasha
After talking to James on the phone last night, I’m hoping he drops by so we can finally talk. I’m not sure what to do with the hope that I’m suddenly feeling. Hope that James, Jye and I could be a family, hope that we could start anew. Hope that James has an answer for the events that took place. My internal dialogue driving me crazy, I decide I need to talk to him, and today. I drive with Jye to his house, bringing a packed lunch for all of us. When I pull into his driveway I see a police car there. Worried, I quickly unbuckle Jye and take him in my arms. I practically run to the front door, and start knocking frantically. James suddenly pulls open the door, his eyebrows raising when he sees me.