Rocked (The Everyday Heroes World) - Julia Wolf Page 0,13
Sure, I’d be pacing my house, worried sick the entire time she was gone, but chances were, she’d have an awesome time and never know how destroyed I was.
Devon’s attention shifted to Ellie. “Camping, huh? Never been. You’re gonna have to tell me what it’s like.”
Ellie’s eyes went wide. “You’ve never been camping?”
He chuckled. “Nope. Sounds like you haven’t either, since you don’t even have a sleeping bag.”
“I’m twelve.” The way she looked at him implied she thought he was older than dirt and had had plenty of opportunities to go camping throughout his long, long life.
“Maybe I’ll borrow your sleeping bag when you get back and take my city-boy ass...errr, butt, camping.”
She giggled. “I’ll be sure to buy a hot pink one.”
Holding out both hands, he curled his fingers inward. “Bring it. I look sick in pink. You’re gonna have to let me borrow your sweet fanny pack while you’re at it. I didn’t even know they still made those things. It’s a real statement piece.” He rubbed this chin, oblivious to Ellie’s bloom instantly shriveling and my fingers balling at my sides. “I think your statement is ‘I eschew conventional fashion for the convenience of having everything I need right on my hip,’ and I’m here for it.”
The delight in Ellie’s face had drained away, replaced by pure embarrassment. She turned to face the opposite direction, mumbled something about seeing one of her friends, then walked away on hurried legs.
“Nice,” I seethed.
Devon’s arms went out. “What the fuck did I just do?”
“Humiliated a little girl.”
His mouth fell open. “We were teasing each other. I don’t get it.”
I knew he didn’t. And it was irrational for me to be so angry with a man who was basically a stranger and truly had been having fun with Ellie before he stepped into a pile of her insecurities, but there it was.
“She keeps her Epi-pen and Benadryl in there. She has severe allergies and needs them to survive. If she kept it in her backpack, by the time she got to it, it might be too late. She’s been made fun of by other kids her whole life for being a little quirky and small, the last thing she needs is the cool guy next door poking at her.”
His expression was horrified. “You gotta tell her I didn’t mean anything by it. God, I feel like a piece of shit.”
Ellie had stopped at the end of the sidewalk, hugging her middle. She was such a good girl, and her personality was so big and unique, I hated seeing her like this. My instinct was to lash out at the world. It wouldn’t right any wrongs, it wouldn’t fix anything, but it would put a Band-Aid over the gushing wound that was my daughter’s struggles.
“You know what? I’m sure you’re used to saying whatever, doing whatever, and having the shitstorm you create smoothed over by your people, whoever they are. But that is not real life. When you break something, it’s your responsibility to fix it.” When he started to speak, I held up my hand. “I’d like you to stay away from Ellie. You’re only here for a few more weeks, and she doesn’t need anyone bringing more bullshit into her life. Thanks for the pancakes.”
With that, I turned on my heel and strode away from him toward Ellie.
Five
Devon
I should’ve been relieved to be dismissed. And in a way, I was. I had no room in my life for a kid and her mom. I’d be leaving this place sooner than later, so there was no point in getting attached.
The thing was, I was an egotistical asshole and couldn’t stand when people didn’t like me. And yeah, maybe it wrecked me a little to know I’d hurt Ellie’s feelings with my big mouth.
I had an idea on how to fix it, but no clue how to implement my plan. Picking up the phone, I dialed a number I hadn’t used in over a year.
“Devon?”
I sighed at the sound of my ex-wife’s voice. “Hey, Mickey. How’s life?”
“You called at a good time. Simone’s down for a nap, so I can actually talk. Though, I’m pretty damn surprised to hear from you. You kind of dropped off the face of the earth, Dev.”
“Yeah, well…” I shoved a hand through my hair, “I needed a change. Life wasn’t working out the way I wanted it to anymore.”
“Really?” She huffed a laugh. “I think you set the course your life has taken.”