"Happy dance day, Daddy!"
Ophelia bounced down the stairs in her frilly purple dress and leaped off the last step into Dave's arms, squealing when he spun her around a few times. Violet and Harper followed in their own dresses and finally Liz in her leggings and Dave's old Mudhoney shirt.
"Aw, girls... I hate to break it to you, but... we can't go."
The four stopped short to look at him in surprise, but Liz caught the smile in his eyes and smirked. You're an ass, she mouthed at him.
"What? Daddy? Why?" Phee was instantly near tears and tugging softly on Dave's suit jacket.
"They're never going to let a guy like me in with the three prettiest girls the Valley has ever seen!"
Phee squealed in relief while Harper and Violet sighed in annoyance. "You're such a dork, Dad," Violet muttered, but happily held out her arm so he could slip her corsage of violets and orchids on her wrist.
"Liz just told me her dad snuck her out of one of these father-daughter dances to go to a Motorhead concert," Harper told him when it was her turn for flowers.
"Did she now?" he looked up at his wife as she slinked away into the kitchen. "Well, if your mother wasn't running the door we'd be halfway to The Roxy right now."
Both Violet and Harper laughed while Phee crossed her arms in a huff and stomped her foot. "This is my first dance, Daddy! We're going whether you like it or not!"
"Okay, okay... jeez," he teased and adjusted the little bundle of white roses on her arm. "Let's go get in the car."
"Wait!" Liz yelled from the kitchen, then ran down the hallway waving her phone above her head. "I promised I'd take a hundred pictures for your mom and your grandma!"
Violet and Harper both groaned but posed for several pictures anyway before Dave helped them all into the red and white Falcon. Once the sliding door was latched, he loosened his tie a bit, then caught Liz by her waist to kiss her.
"Bye," she smiled up at him, trying to ignore the worry in his stare and Harper jokingly sticking her tongue out at them through the window.
"You're gonna be okay, right?" he asked quietly.
"Yup. Travis will be with us every second. Please don't worry, okay?"
"Too late."
"I mean, don't ruin the girl's night because you're worried," she shoved him away, blowing a kiss to the girls when they waved to her. "I love you, have fun."
He let her go with one last kiss, then climbed into the driver's seat. "Keep your phone on you, please."
"Yes, sir," she smiled and saluted him, then waved until they were out of the driveway.
*
"Daddy's here!" Owen yelled from the foyer and Liz paused to listen to his little combined with the distantly familiar sound of Kyle's footsteps on the hardwood. Just before they appeared in the kitchen, she turned to pull dinner out of the oven and nearly dropped the pan onto the floor.
He was nervously watching her from the arched entrance to the kitchen, holding a large bouquet of flowers and looking... better. "Hey...," he looked perfectly awkward and incredibly uncomfortable, avoiding her stare by glancing around the kitchen and over to where Travis and the boys were wrestling on the couch.
Liz finally snapped out of her shock when the heat from the baking sheet seared through the oven mitt and burned her hand. "Ow! ... shit," she hissed and set the pan down with a clatter to turn to the sink.
"You okay?" he asked, hurrying around the island and stopping a few feet from her.
She looked up from her hand to his face and noticed his eyes were once again a clear, sharp blue and his skin was a healthy tan. His sandy blonde hair was cut short, he was growing out a bit of a beard, and he had taken the time to wear a white button-up shirt over dark jeans. "Yeah... I'm good. Sorry."
They stared at each other for a while, neither of them knowing what to say when Owen's loud laugh snapped both of them out of their daze. Kyle smiled broadly and turned to look at his boys playing with his brother while Liz took the opportunity to pull herself together.
"Can I get you something to drink? Wi- water?" she stammered, about to suggest wine but she wasn't exactly sure how sober he was lately, making it very clear that she had done nothing to help the father of her children during his recovery process. The guilt settled onto her shoulders as he answered her.
"I could go for a beer," he chuckled. "If you've got any."
"Yeah...," she allowed herself a little laugh and waved for him to follow her to the stairs that led to the basement bar. The room was Dave's little refuge lined with guitars and a baby grand piano, the place he'd take only his closest friends to comfortably hang out, drink and jam. He kept it stocked with a full bar and had some taps installed just so he could show off the beer his wife brewed to his friends.
"This place is incredible," Kyle said quietly as he looked around their basement.
"It really is," she smiled at him as she poured him a beer. "It took me almost a month before I could find my way around."
"The boys seem to love it," he offered, nodding at her when she handed him the glass.
"Yeah. Once you see the backyard you'll get it."
"Oh, I've heard all about the pool and the water slide," he chuckled.
Liz felt her throat tighten a bit, regretting the direction the conversation was heading. Her and Dave had everything to offer the boys where Kyle had lost it all... "Dinner's ready upstairs if you are."
"Yeah, I've been looking forward to real food all week," he chuckled, but when she stepped around the bar to lead the way back upstairs he hesitated in his spot. "You aren't...?"
"Oh," she smiled and shook her head at his raised pint glass. "No, I wish. I'm uh... I'm actually in the middle of... I'm carrying babies for some friends at the moment." As fun as it was to shock people with the news, she knew dropping that kind of info on him would be cruel.
"Oh... wow, twins?" he scanned her body and she felt goosebumps rise where his eyes traveled. "Um... congrats to them, I guess?"
"I'll pass that along," she smiled and waved for him to follow her back upstairs.
Dinner was surprisingly comfortable and Liz found herself relaxing as she sat across the table from Kyle with their boys on either side of them. It felt normal if not familiar, though Jack seemed cautious about the entire situation, choosing to sit close to Liz and Travis while Owen happily regaled Kyle about the Valentine's Day party he had at school earlier that day.
Once they were finished, Kyle helped Liz clear the table and awkwardly loaded the dishwasher beside her while making small talk.
"So... what's it like having girls around?"
"It's been so fun," she smiled down at the dish in her hand, thinking about how much fun Violet, Harper, and Ophelia were having with Dave. "They're pretty amazing."
"Yeah, I bet."
The inevitable awkwardness hung over them and Liz cleared her throat. "You want another beer?"
"Yes," he admitted. "But I shouldn't."
"Right, sorry," she whispered. "Let's um... why don't we put the boys to bed and then we can talk."
Travis said his goodnight to the boys from his spot on the couch and settled back with his phone to give the four of them some space. Owen had wanted to take his bath in the big bathtub in Liz and Dave's bedroom, but their closed door was quickly bypassed and bathtime was spent in the kid's bathroom instead.
"Owen told me the other day that he wanted to play the drums," Kyle said, scrubbing soap into his youngest son's dark hair.
"You do?" Liz asked Owen in surprise. "What brought that up?" Had she been paying attention to the conversation and not so consumed with making sure Jack was washing his own hair well enough, she wouldn't have asked knowing exactly what the answer was going to be.
"Cause that's what Dave does!" Owen shouted. "I wanna be like him!"
There was a brief awkward pause before Jack scoffed. "Daddy plays the drums too, O. And Mommy."
"I don't think anyone plays drums quite like Dave, though," Kyle said softly. "He was the reason I started playing in the first place."
Jack peered at his father under a head full of bubbles and Liz could just see the wheels spinning in his head. There would be several questions over breakfast she was sure of it, so once they had managed to wrangle the boys into their pajamas and into their beds, Liz left Kyle to answer what he could without her interference.
She left her bedroom door ajar and found the envelope Taylor had given her right where she had hidden it, opening it to count the photos. She ensured they were all still there, then hurried into Dave's closet to borrow one of his hoodies in the hopes it would fortify her courage.
By the time she made it back downstairs, Kyle was out on the back deck with a cigarette, leaning on the railing in the exact spot she always found Dave after a stressful day.
"It's so quiet up here," Kyle mused when she came up beside him. "I feel like I haven't heard silence in forever. The waves out in Ventura... they're so much like home, you know?"
Liz watched him out of the corner of her eye and felt the guilt press into her again. She had abandoned him when all he needed was someone to depend on. "Look, Kyle... I'm sorry I wasn't-"
He threw his hand up to stop her, "No, don't even. They wouldn't have let you in anyway."
A little taken aback by that, she frowned. "Who's they?"
"The doctors and therapists," he murmured. "They said you were an agitator for me."
Liz pursed her lips and looked down at her hands. "I never meant to be upsetting, Kyle."
"Don't get mad," he said gently. "I just have a lot of... me wrapped up in you and it took a while to untangle all of it."
"I'm sorry-"
"No!" he barked, then caught himself and sighed. "You didn't do anything wrong and I just..." he surprised her by chuckling a bit then scrubbed his hand over his face. "Fuck, Nic. Maybe you should come to therapy with me."
She didn't catch that he was joking and quickly grabbed for his hand. "Is that what you need me to do? Cause I can-"
"No," he breathed, his eyes glued to their hands, "Well... maybe someday."
"Just mention it to your therapist or whatever, okay? I want to help."
"You're paying for rehab, Nic. That's helpful enough."
She only shrugged and dropped her hand as he went on, "Is he okay with all of that? You doing all that for me, I mean."
She nodded resolutely. "If it's important to the boys, it's important to him. He was the one that suggested keeping the lease on the house so you'd have a place once you got out."
"You sure as hell didn't have to do that either. Especially not in Malibu."
"He knows it's important for you to have something to look forward to."
"He doesn't owe me anything."
"Well... He's seen enough people not make it as far as you did so...," she took a deep breath trying to build up the guts to ask him the one question she had been dancing around all evening and pulled Dave's hoodie around her even tighter. "Look, Kyle... I need to ask you something. It's kind of personal, so I'll preface it by saying I'm only trying to protect our boys."
He studied her, giving a short nod as a reply as she pulled the envelope out of the hoodie's pocket and placing it carefully on the railing between them. "I need to know what's going on between you and Jamie Alexander."
*
Dave sent the girls upstairs with the promise that he'd be up to say goodnight shortly and straightened his suit jacket before heading to the kitchen.
It was quiet and dark, but the window above the sink was open a crack and he could hear her voice drifting in from the deck. He spotted them standing against the railing overlooking the pool, it's watery lights illuminating them from below to reveal that they were occupied in a rather tight embrace, though he wasn't sure the nature of it. He told himself it was purely platonic, shit he had hugged Jordyn no less than four times that night, but the way her head rested on his shoulder made him grab a beer out of the fridge to distract himself from the jealousy flaring inside of him. Watching them out of the corner of his eye, he drained the beer quicker than he had anticipated and was debating on getting another when the door opened and she hurried in.
"Hey!" she chirped excitedly, skipping to his side to plant a quick kiss on his lips. "How was it?"
"It was chaos, but the girls had fun," he handed her a stack of photobooth strips before hugging her tightly, the mix of Kyle's cigarettes and her perfume making his stomach turn. "How was dinner?"
"Good," she nodded earnestly, though that look of anxiety still hovered behind her eyes. "There's a plate in the fridge for you. I'll heat it up."
The moment she let him go, Kyle wandered in from outside. Although he looked incredibly uncomfortable and out of place, Dave was stunned at how much healthier he looked.
"Hey, man," he strode over with a friendly smile and an outstretched hand, his exact moves when an unpredictable fan demanded his attention. "How's it goin'?"
"Hey," Kyle said almost awkwardly and shook his hand. "It's great to meet you... again."
"Yeah, likewise," he grinned, listening to Liz move around the kitchen behind him. "Hey, congrats on making it through the program. I've known a lot of people that couldn't even make the first month."
"They don't make it fucking easy, that's for sure," he laughed and relaxed just a bit. "Speaking of, my curfew is almost up so I have to jet."
"I'll walk you out," Liz said quietly, setting Dave's plate on the counter beside him.
*
"So what did he say?"
He hadn't touched the food Liz had set aside for him, he was too busy pacing the floor waiting for her to come back.
She only looked up at him for a fraction of a second before putting herself on the other side of the island, "About what?"
"... about you changing your name? The reason you had him over in the first place?" He hadn't meant it to sound so condescending, but there it was.
"Oh. Yeah, he said he's happy for us."
Dave tried to wait her out, hoping his silence would spur her into elaborating more, but her phone buzzing beside her made her jump. He instinctively looked over to recognize Taylor's goofy ass grin flashing across her screen and frowned when she rejected the call. Her hand hovered over the top of the phone for a moment, then snatched it up and shoved it into the pocket of the sweatshirt she had on.
"Are the girls still up? I didn't get to say goodnight."
*
Liz waited until Dave was asleep before texting Taylor. She was sure he was in a panic, probably having seen Travis and Kyle drive down the hill past his house and then hearing nothing from her for the past hour, but Dave just wouldn't go to bed. He'd practically clung to her, finding excuse after excuse to be in the same room as she got ready for bed until finally his head hit her pillow and his breathing evened out.
By the time she snuck out of bed and made it to the shop, Taylor was waiting for her up in the loft.
"Hey," he sighed when she tossed the envelope onto the coffee table and dropped onto the couch beside him. "Kyle doesn't look a fucking thing like me."
"Not anymore," she groaned and rubbed at her temple, the stress from the photos feeling like a balloon about to burst. "But that only makes this harder to explain."
Taylor reached over and clapped his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it just enough to get her to release a little tension. "So what did he say?"
"They were in rehab together."
"What?"
"Yeah. He and Jamie... Calliope or whatever, had a little rehab romance apparently. They dated under the radar because they weren't allowed to have a relationship while under lockdown. Then Kyle chose a visit with Jack and Owen over spending time with her and she flipped. Threatened to tell their doctors which would eliminate him from the program."
"So this was never about you or Dave, she's just a manipulative sociopath."
Liz snorted and settled further back into Dave's hoodie, wishing she were still in bed with him. "Who knows..."
"How'd she get the photos in the first place?"
"She stole Kyle's phone back in November."
"Right around the time she booked the studio."
Liz nodded, knowing everything was falling into place. "And now I'm pissed because I remember Travis telling me about the phone and not thinking anything of it because why would he even keep photos like that? He's had so many different phones since then!"
Taylor barked a laugh and looked warily down at the envelope laying between their feet. "You've looked at them, right? No red-blooded male would destroy those just because you split up."
"Taylor!" she whined, "That's so gross!"
He only shrugged and looked back at her face. "I'm just being honest. Can't blame the guy."
"He offered to talk to her," Liz muttered, just wanting to get the subject off the photos. "I think he genuinely feels bad about all this."
"Think it'll help?"
"I don't know," she groaned and covered her face. "But it's our only option right now."
Taylor's arm snaked across her shoulders and tugged on her gently, pulling her into his side. "It's gonna work out, Liz. I know it looks shitty right now but we'll find a way, okay?"
He waited for her unsure nod to let her go and change the subject, "How are my dudes?"
She smiled at that, reaching over to take his hand and pressed it against her bump. "Busy. They've been kicking the hell out of Dave."
He chuckled and bent so his face was inches from her belly. "Keep it up, guys! Kick the hell out of him!"
Liz giggled and hiccuped just as a tiny foot or fist collided with Taylor's palm through her skin.
"Holy shit!" his eyes lit up, darting from hers back down to his hand still stretched across her thin tank top.
*
He loved how quiet it was out on the balcony. There was no breeze, no traffic, no planes flying overhead, just the sound of insects chirping in the canyon, Stevie purring sleepily in his lap and the distinct squeak of the man door on the shop.
He narrowed his eyes and took a draw from his cigarette, watching his wife and his best friend turn off the lights before standing under the security light to hug. It was quick and friendly, nothing he could call her out on and that frustrated him. He knew something was going on; she had been sneaking out of bed, waiting until he wasn't looking to call or text Taylor back and it was killing him.
Shooing Stevie off his lap, he stubbed out his cigarette and hurried back to bed, jumping into her side and throwing the blankets over himself just as their bedroom door opened. He tried to calm his breathing when he heard her moving around in her closet, most likely hiding that fucking envelope.
He'd found it while looking for one of his shirts, or at least that's what he kept telling himself. He definitely, probably, maybe wasn't snooping through his wife's things... the point was, she hadn't hidden it very well and he'd spent an hour sitting on the floor among her clothes, holding the white paper in his hands unable to bring himself to open it. Photos were inside, it was obvious by the weight and size, but he just couldn't look. Doing so would cross a line into territory he never wanted to be in with her, navigating their lives under mistrust and lies the way he and Jordyn had the last few years they were together.
The bed dipped under her weight as she carefully slid in beside him, aligning her body with the way he was laying to be as close as possible. Her arm wound around his middle and her head nestled into its place on his shoulder with her lips pressed into the dip between his collarbones, making him bite back an unexpected wave of tears.
The thousands of questions that had been eating away at him bubbled to the surface, springing his eyes open and almost, almost making it past the barrier of his teeth before he could stop them. The first few were snarky and mean, and he instantly discarded them as options to confront her with, finally landing on an all-encompassing request that was neither confrontational or aggressive.
"What's going on?"
Her body stiffened against his and the arm around his waist retreated to push him onto his back. He willingly let her move him around until he was sitting up against their headboard with her in his lap, blinking away the tears in her eyes. She curled her legs around his hips and held his face to hers, kissing him as her bottom lip trembled.
"I can't tell you right now," she breathed. "I want to, so badly, but... please just trust me."