Invisible Strings

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Before I could respond, the sound of the front door swinging open sounded from the porch. Still in Brantley's arms, I turned my head slightly to see who was coming out the door. My heart began to pound in my chest as I watched Alex come through the doorway and out onto the porch. I could tell by the expression on his face that he was pissed.

Wanting to keep this interaction as civil as possible, I went to step out of Brantley's hold. To my surprise, he let me. But he didn't let me get too far –only a few inches if that before he laced his fingers with mine. I didn't have to look over at him to know that he would have a rigid posture and that he would be ready to throw a punch if Alex made the first move.

"What are you doing here, Alex?"

"I came to see our kids since I'm going to be in Atlanta this week." he said, stepping down off the porch and towards Brantley and I. There was a malice in his tone, one that spoke of just how pissed he was to know that I was already with someone else.

"Alex, you should have called."

"I fucking did. You just didn't answer."

"Just like you didnt fucking answer when your kids called you a couple weeks ago. Just like you havent fucking answered any time that they have called since we made the move down here?" I said, the words flying from me before I even realized what I was saying. From beside me, Brantley's fingers tighten around mine, reminding me that he was there and that I didn't have to do this alone.

"I was working, Del." he said

"That's not even a legit excuse and you know it." I said, stepping towards Alex. This time, Brantley let go of my hand. "Do you mean to tell me that you haven't had so much as ten minutes a day to call and check on the kids? Do you mean to tell me that work, your new woman, or whatever craptastic excuse you have is more important than calling and checking on your kids to see if they are adjusting to the move, okay, that all of that is more important to you than them?"

"You know how demanding my schedule is." There was that malice again. I could tell from the tension in his saw, from the defensive stance that he had that he was barely holding onto his temper. The problem was, while he might be holding on to his, I was done holding onto mine. I'd done that too much, and too often since he decided to leave me and his kids. And now, I was done sparing his feelings for the sake of Chloe and Colton. I know I said that I never wanted to make them feel like I was bad-mouthing their father but even at seven, they were starting to see the type of man that he was, starting to see that he would choose other things over them in a heartbeat.

"All I know is that if the roles were reversed, I would carve out time to talk to my kids. I sure as hell wouldn't go almost three weeks without so much as a call to even say goodnight."

"Well, that's neither here nor there, is it?"

"And what exactly does that mean, Alex?"

"It means that i have a fucking job to do, Del. It means that in order for the kids to have everything they might want, for me to pay you the amount of alimony that the courts said I need pay, I have to bust my fucking ass."

"And how exactly is that my problem? I'm not the one who was stepping out on my marriage. I'm not the one that decided that they wanted to throw away their wife and life. And I sure as shit ain't the one that had the kids crying and saying that their father didn't love them anymore because he couldn't pick up his damned phone."

With each word I spoke, I stepped closer to Alex, only stopping when I was standing toe-to-toe with him. He might be taller than me, I might have to look up at him, but there was no way I was backing down from him. Not this time, not ever again.

"You don't get to show up here and act like you're father of the damn year when you can't even bother to call them once a week, much less once a day. You don't get to try and make me feel like I'm keeping them from you just because it makes you feel better about abandoning them." I said, my green eyes locked with his blue ones. "You don't get to stand here with your chest puffed out like you are going to do something, like you have the right to have any say in Chloe and Colton's lives when you put yourself in this situation."

"Delaney, if you don't let me see my kids..."

"You're gonna do what?" said Brantley, speaking for the first time.

"This has nothing to do with your hillbilly ass." seethed Alex.

"I got your fuckin' hillbilly." said Brantley, stepping right into Alex's face, putting me behind him as he did so.

"You think just because you are fucking my wife that I'm going to be scared fo you?"

"Ex-wife." and Brantley with a shrug. "And no, I don't want you to be scared. If you want to take a swing at me, go right on ahead. But just know that when you do, I'm going to give you the ass whippin' that you deserve."

"Threats? Oh that's golden." said Alex, a sinister laugh coming from him. "You must not realize exactly who I am, the connections that I have."

"I know just who the fuck you are and what supposed connections you have." said Brantley. "I think it's you who doesn't know who I am or the connections that I have."

"Who gives a flying fuck?" shouted Alex.

"I think it's time that you crawl back into your car and head on out of here." said Daddy from the step. I hadn't even realized that he had come out onto the porch. But when I looked, I saw that not only was Daddy standing there, but so was Mama, Chloe, and Colton. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel bad for them seeing what was going on but there was nothing I could do about it now.

"You heard the man." said Brantley, a clear challenge in his tone.

"Not without your word that I can see the kids this weekend in Atlanta." said Alex, looking around Brantley and over at me.

"I won't make that promise, Alex. If the kids want to see you, then I will be more than glad to make the drive to Atlanta. But if they don't, then that's not my problem."

"Do you really want to be that way, Del? You want to force me to go through the courts for custody?"

"If you feel like that's what you need to do..."

Alex stood there, shocked that I wasn't cowering to his demands. I could see just how pissed he was over all of this. And I didn't care. I was done –with him, with him hurting the kids, everything.

Then, like the spoiled and entitled acting little asshole that he is, he stomped off to his car and got in, slamming the door shut. Within seconds, he was pulling out of the gravel driveway slinging rocks in his wake.

"Good fuckin' ridance." "said Brantley, pulling me into his arms. He then placed a kiss atop my head. "I'm so proud of you for standing up to him."

"I didn't stand up to him for me, B." I said, looking into his eyes. "I stood up to him for Chloe and Colton."

"Which makes it even better." he replied, kissing me on the lips then.

"Want to come inside for a few minutes? I'm sure daddy wants to talk to you."

"I'm sure he does." said Brantley, a smirk on his face. "He's got to make sure my intentions with his only daughter are pure."

"B, ain't nothing pure about your intentions. We both know that."

"We know that," he said. "But all that matters is that he believes that they are."

With that, Brantley laced his fingers with mine and led us towards the house.