AUTHOR’S POV
Sydney’s mommy instincts kicked in. ‘” Wha… What do you mean Avery? How did that happen?” she asked Avery, her voice rising.
” Calm down, Syd; Ethan is in the school Nurse’s office. He’s fine now,” Avery assured.
Sydney was still restive. ” Avery, that wasn’t the question I asked; why would some kid beat him up? Weren’t there teachers who could have stopped him?”
” Syd, listen. First of all, it was Ethan that started the fight and second, the fight had already started when the teachers got there.”
Sydney looked confused. She asked incredulously, ” Why would Ethan fight with someone six years older than him?”
” He looked really angry when Gavin dropped him off earlier, Emily was crying. I don’t know what Gavin told them but I think that’s what provoked Ethan into starting the fight.”
Sydney leaned on the wall and ran a hand through her hair. Did Gavin tell them about the divorce? How couldn’t she have thought of this earlier?!
Avery spoke quickly now, ” I have to attend to a parent. You should come pick Ethan and Emily up.”
“Okay, I’ll be-” Avery ended the call before Sydney could complete her statement.
Theresa stepped out of the bathroom; her eyes were swollen, and her nose was pinkish. She looked at Sydney in concern, ” Is Ethan okay?”
Sydney nodded wearily, a fake smile appearing on her lips. ” Yes, are you feeling better now?”
Theresa nodded. ” I’ll tell you about it someday. I should probably head home and take a nap.” She chuckled.
” Yeah, you should. I’m going to pick up Ethan and Emily; I’ll pick Authur up, too.”
“Oops! I almost forgot.” Theresa chuckled restlessly. Sydney placed a hand on her shoulder, her eyes reading concern. Theresa broke down again, she blew her nose into a tissue paper.
” Calm down, Theresa; I think you should stay in the washroom for a while till you feel better.” Sydney patted Theresa’s shoulder, trying to quell her.
Sydney walked back into the patio, her thoughts had already gone back to Gavin. A voice kept telling her to run away from him with her kids before he would hurt her and another one told her to sit with him and listen to him and try putting aside her insecurities.
Why should she? Did he put his aside for her? Now he had done this, there was no going back. He could hurt her as much as he wants but what he did to Ethan and Emily was unforgivable. She was certain now that he loved his concubine more than his kids.
Sydney saw Gabriel. He had a smile planted on his face while he talked with the president of the country club. She wanted to leave without telling him but she just couldn’t.
When he saw her, his smile widened. He said something to the president and then walked to her. ” He was a tad reluctant but I was able to convince him- what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Sydney tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, ” I’m sorry Gabriel. I have to go.”
He didn’t look hurt or betrayed, he looked worried. ” Okay but what happened? I could give you a ride.” He offered.
Sydney’s eyes widened slightly and she waved him off. ” No, I came with my car. My kid got into a fight and got beaten up, I have to pick him up.” She wondered why she was telling him this.
Gabriel nodded in understanding. ” I know you came here with a car-”
” You do?” She asked in confusion.
He lingered for a second. ” Yes, I saw you when you drove in- I’m offering you a ride because your car is boxed in.” Gabriel noticed her confusion and added. ” Your car is in the middle of other cars.” He clarified.
“Oh.” Sydney looked around. The club looked quite full of people now.
She couldn’t deny that she actually wanted to ride on Gabriel’s bike again. She looked up at him, ” Did you bring your bike?”
Gabriel smiled. ” I always do.”
She looked at the pool house that was still under construction. ” And what about your job?”
” I’m a lumberjack Sydney, not a mason.” The way he said her name made her look away. She saw Alfred watching them with a puzzled expression. Gabriel noticed it, too, and frowned.
” Shall we leave now?” Gabriel inquired.
” Yes, sure we can.”
Sydney heard the ladies mumble to themselves when she and Gabriel headed for the exit. She hoped Theresa was all right. She felt guilt, was she different from those women? She had shut Theresa down and treated her like some sort of deadly virus when Theresa just tried to befriend her.
Gabriel looked at Sydney who was rubbing her elbow. They were outside the club now. The parking lot was filled with loads of cars. ” Why do you hang around those women who clearly have no regard for you?”
” I didn’t come here for them,” Sydney answered.
” I’m guessing you came here to relax from all the drama in your home.”
Sydney looked up at him inquisitively. ” How do you know that?”
He shrugged, ” Maybe you are too transparent or it’s my experience with women that makes you look transparent in my eyes.”
Certainly the latter. Sydney thought. If she was so transparent, Gavin would have seen her sorrows from the start, or did he see them and choose to ignore them?
” You’ve been with a lot of f**ked-up women?”
Gabriel stifled a chuckle and looked ahead. ” I’ve been with a lot of women who do not realize their worth and try to run away from their problems instead of facing them.” He almost frowned.
Sydney asked in a small voice, ” Your wife?”
He spoke immediately. ” You should avoid those women. Especially Elizabeth Freeman, she can be pretty scornful.”
Sydney nodded and watched him as he slipped his fingers into his pants pocket. She wondered why he kept on avoiding the subject of his wife.
Gabriel said nothing to her till he stopped his bike in front of Beverly Hills Elementary School. ” I’ll walk in with you,?” He said more like a question.
Sydney hesitated but nodded. He took off their helmets, and they walked into the noisy school. Some teenage girls looked at Gabriel and swooned. Sydney smiled slightly; he looked like the less sophisticated version of Gavin.
She frowned in confusion when she didn’t see Avery’s car where it was normally parked.
When they reached in front of the Nurse’s office, Sydney turned to Gabriel, who was staring at her. She wilted slightly by the intensity of his stare and said softly, ” Um… I’ll you can wait here or… leave, I’ll take a cab home.”
” I’ll wait.” He said with a small smile.
She nodded and entered the Nurse’s office just to see the young nurse trying to stop Emily from crying while Ethan lay on a bed staring at the ceiling.
The nurse looked at Sydney, who was taking long strides toward her. She forced a smile and stood straight.
” Mrs. Reed.” She acknowledged.
Emily gasped and looked at Sydney then hugged her immediately. Sydney picked Emily up and patted her back as she cried.
” It’s fine baby-” she looked at the nurse. ” How long has she been crying?”
” Since she left the Principal Avery’s office.” The nurse said and Sydney looked confused. The nurse wanted to explain but Emily spoke.
” Daddy is here. He looked very angry.” Emily cried loudly.
Sydney’s eyes widened, and her heart began to race. Gavin was here? But Avery didn’t say anything about that. Sydney asked the nurse politely to excuse them.
The nurse left, and Sydney walked to Ethan, who looked traumatized. His eyes were wide open, he had a bruise under an eye, his cheeks were dark red and swollen, and one eye looked like he mistakingly put toothpaste in it.
Sydney sat next to him and placed Emily on her lap. She reached for Ethan but he rolled over, facing the other side.
” Ethan, why would you pick a fight with a kid?” Sydney asked stressed.
Ethan ignored her so Emily spoke instead. ” Antonio kept on cussing you and Ethan was already mad because daddy said he doesn’t love you anymore.”
“Oh, he did?”
“Yes, and he said…” She sniffed. ” He said he’s going to bring a new mommy.”
“Is that all he said?”
Emily nodded. ” Daddy looked angry when he came. I stood by Principal Avery’s door when Daddy went in. Principal Avery was screaming. She told Daddy to hit her harder. Daddy told her to beg, but she didn’t listen, so he made her scream again.”
Sydney stared at Emily who had started to cry again. She couldn’t fathom what Emily said. ” You mean Daddy and Avery?” Sydney asked mortified.
Emily nodded. A gasp escaped from Sydney’s lips. Ethan turned to her and as if he wasn’t expecting her to understand what Emily said, he clarified. ” Daddy’s cheating on us.”
Sydney nodded and closed her eyes. She drew in a sharp breath and said. ” I know honey, I know.”
When the nurse returned to give Ethan some drugs, Sydney left the room. She couldn’t feel any bones in her body due to shock. Gabriel looked at her as she walked past him without uttering a word.
He walked after her, and when they were at equal pace, she halted and looked at him with pleading eyes.
“Gabriel please don’t follow me. I…” Her voice broke.
Gabriel noticed her apprehension. ” I’ll be waiting right here.”
Sydney forced a grateful smile and walked to Avery’s office. She hoped and prayed it wasn’t true. She tried opening the office door but it seemed locked.
Inside , she was screaming and crying and shouting but on the outside, she looked spent. She dragged her feet as she headed back to the Nurse’s office.
When Gabriel turned to check who was coming, she hid herself. She took out her phone. Called Sofia and asked her to pick up Ethan, Emily, and Authur.
Gabriel caught a glimpse of her as she exited the building. He wanted to go after her but no- his fist clenched. He’s not going to let another woman slip out of his fingers.
*****
Sydney boarded a taxi. She had no idea where Gavin was, so she decided to call Archer. Hopefully, he’d be at a meeting or a –
” Mrs. Reed?” Archer’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
” Hi… Er… Archer. Is my husband- Is Gavin in his office?”
” No, he received a call from The Principal of Beverly Hills Elementary School and left in a hurry about an hour ago.”
” Did he go anywhere else?”
Archer went a short while and then answered. ” Er… I have no idea but it seems he booked a suite in Montana Hotel.” He sounded confused. He always booked the suites for Gavin. Whether it was in the USA or not, Gavin never did it himself.
” Room number?”
Archer went silent again. ” I’m afraid that’s private.”
” Okay, thank you, Archer.” She ended the call, released a breath, and leaned into the chair, closing her eyes.
The driver looked at her through the rear mirror in concern. ” Are you okay Madam?”
” Yes- just drive to Montana Hotel.”