Ex with Benefits (sequel to Roommates with Benefits)

Flirts and talks

20 years ago I was convinced I would have grown old with my husband, or ... that at least we would have made it to passing the 25 years crisis. We didn't even get to it. We broke way before that.

These two years I've wondered, had we behaved differently, had we said one thing instead of the other, would we still be together? What did I do? What ... what brought my husband, the same man that'd always claimed we would be forever, to cheat on me, so many times even? What pulled us apart?

Yes, the downfall came after his father passed away, but before that, there were other things that cracked our marriage. I wonder when did we stop communicating. I wonder when did our marriage become a race to win over the other, to tear each other down.

Once breakfast was ready and set onto the table, I poured myself some coffee, and waited. I could already hear the alarm clocks going off, and a few minutes later Zach dashed into the kitchen, yelling a quick "good morning, mom" before swiftly going to down everything on his plate.

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. "Slow down, boy, nobody's stealing it from you." But of course, he ignored me. I'll admit I am anxious about his teenage years. One daughter's adolescence didn't exactly go well, the other's down a somewhat similar messy path ... I'm hoping the last child will be a normal teen. I guess that for now I should cherish these years, while he's still my little boy.

Not that Gloria isn't "normal", it's just that ... well, we're not exactly on the best terms. When she appeared into the kitchen, in fact, she didn't even say hi, just went straight for the breakfast table, but barely took an apple, before heading out again. 

Seems like déjà vu, it's like reliving Nicky's adolescence all over again, except that here there are no enraged fights with her father, if anything, Gloria is all against me, while her dad is the hero of the situation.

"I spent the past hour making breakfast for you, Gloria, could you please at least try to acknowledge it?" I complained, irritated. Ugh, these kids resemble their father even too much. It seems like the moment they step into adolescence they become new versions of the ill-tempered troublemaker I steered clear of in high school.

Gloria merely snorted. "You could have spared it."

"Hey, watch your tone, young lady."

"Or what?" She turned to me, eyes burning with anger. "You'll throw me out, too?"

"Gloria ..." I took a step closer, but she raised her hands, backing up.

"Save it." Then she stormed off, as usual.

I sighed, plopping down onto a chair beside my son. It's been like this since two years. While her sister took it even too well, she didn't ... the divorce, I mean. For Nicky it was a manna, her mood lit up after that, even if only a tiny bit, but Gloria ... eh, Gloria's been holding the grudge since then. 

Says it's my fault if her dad left, it's my fault if she's had to spend these past two years without her father, I'm the one that sent him away, and if he doesn't come back, it's only because he doesn't want to face me.

He doesn't want to face me. Lukas said such a thing to our daughter, apparently. He's not coming back because he doesn't want to see me. I'm not sure how should I take that. I mean, I get it, we can't be the kind of divorcees that have a civil relationship, given our past, but to say he's not coming back because he doesn't want to see me? As if I were the root of all evil, as if I were to blame for the disaster our marriage became.

Ugh. So typical of Lukas, to never take the blame. How comes, he's the one that cheated, yet I'm to blame? Yes, it's true, I have my faults, I know I have them, but his attitude is getting ridiculous.