19
miami pt. 1

RECAP: After seeking refuge with Julia following her argument with Nate, Lily goes to visit her mother for Thanksgiving, only to have the dinner crashed by Nate. They have a discussion, and while Lily's doubts about divorce vanish, she's left with questions about a certain voicemail that Nate left for Julia, which could have had a big role in why Nate never came to visit Lily and the kids during the time she stayed with Julia. She tells her mother about the divorce before heading home.

Now, onward.

* * *

"Julia. I'm assuming you already know why I'm calling you, and that's why you won't pick up. I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

"Either way, I'm still going to say what I need to."

"I realize that you're Lily's best friend and you want to protect her, so I can't blame you for that. But I'm telling you this, and I'm only going to tell you once —

Stop putting ideas into her head."

"I'm not as stupid as you think. Lily's changing, but you seem to think I'm blind to that. I'm not. We're finally starting to make progress here, Julia. If you were really her friend, you'd be happy for her instead of trying to bring her down. But having the last laugh seems to be your avenue."

"Believe it or not, I do love Lily. I love our family. I'm really trying to make things better for us, but I can't do that when Lily doubts every little thing I do. Who do I have to thank for that, but myself and you?"

"Stop screwing with my family. I won't say it again, and if I were you I'd listen for once in your life."

I pulled the phone away from my ear, frowning. Julia stood across from me, arms folded across her chest and lips pulled into an expectant frown. "Well?"

Nate's voice, cold and calculated, ricocheted through my mind. There were admittedly some softer moments, when he sounded genuinely tired and desperate for keeping our family together. But they were overshadowed by the veiled, ominous atmosphere that clouded the rest of his words.

Shaking my head, I handed her back the phone. "I don't know, Julia."

I could feel her incredulous eyes on me as I sat down and continued to fold the black button-down that had been sitting in my lap since I'd asked her to let me hear the voicemail. My hands shook a little as I worked, the bright light from the bedroom window making it difficult to see exactly what I was doing. But right now, I didn't care.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Julia asked, eyebrows shooting up as she spoke. "Was that not a clear threat?"

"It was."

"Then can we agree that I was right to not let him see you?" Her eyes narrowed.

"I can't just keep him from his kids, Julia." I explained whilst half heartedly nudging a cotton shirt into the luggage pile. "Keeping him from me is one thing. And I would've appreciated it more if you'd at least told me before you decided to threaten him back."

"Well he shouldn't have threatened me in the first place."

"I know that." I sighed. "But we don't even know what he was threatening you with, and that — "

"A threat's a threat, Lily." Julia looked at me gravely, ferocious eyes boring into mine. "I'm not going to apologize for trying to keep our families safe."

That hit me hard. I was silent for a few moments, tapping my fingers on my thigh. "I doubt that'll be a problem anymore, anyways." I said quietly.

She nodded, looking around at all of the clothes that were strewn across the floor and half-packed into various suitcases. "I'm assuming he'll be gone by the time you go back?"

"He moved out this morning, or so he told me."

"Good."

"It's going to be weird being back there." I murmured as I scratched the back of my head. "The kids are really excited, but for me it's just...strange."

"You'll get used to it." Julia gave me a half-smile. It faded shortly thereafter. "Though if I were you, the first thing I'd do is get rid of that mattress."

"Jesus, don't remind me." I shuddered. She chuckled slightly.

"You sure you don't need any help moving back in?"

"We'll be fine. You've already helped more than I could've asked for." I said seriously.

"Hey, that's what friends are for." She gave me a sincere smile. "One last drink before you go?"

"I can't. I'm driving."

"I'll make some tea then. Come on."

We had a nice chat over tea, and when it was over I packed the rest of my things and began loading the car. The kids were so eager they could hardly stand still, and as soon as they were done hugging Phoebe they practically bolted to the car and hopped in.

"I bet they're eager to go home." Mark chuckled, wrapping his arm around Julia's waist.

"They certainly are." I agreed. "And seriously, I can't thank you enough for your hospitality."

"Oh, don't mention it." He smiled. "It's always nice to see you all."

"Come back soon." Julia added with a wink.

"Alright will do." I chuckled before leaning down and giving Phoebe a hug. "Bye sweetheart."

"Bye Aunt Lily!" Phoebe smiled an adorable, toothless smile as she waved at me.

The drive home was an energetic one, with the kids asking every minute if we were there yet. When the house finally came into view, Celia started shrieking excitedly, and Joseph clasped his ears in his hands while yelling at her to shut up.

I looked up at the huge estate, my eyes roaming every window until they rested on the one belonging to the master bedroom, which was only just visible through the darkness. The blinds were down, preventing me from seeing all but one thing —

The lights were off.

* * *

I went back to work the day after we moved back in, and things were hectic but pleasant from then on. Admittedly, it was difficult balancing work and the kids, as well as the beginning of our divorce. The kids didn't know much, or if they did, they didn't vocalize their concerns. Over the next few days, they became used to the absence of their father, but were nonetheless excited when on the rare occasions when they did get to visit him. Nate and I, meanwhile, spoke almost exclusively through phone calls.

We'd found a lawyer we liked, and planned to meet with them on the 13th of December — nearly two weeks from now. But until then, I focused solely on my work, and even managed to finish my Miami plans a few days before they were due. That pleased Mr. Irving, who — up until that point — hadn't been the happiest as of late due to my many missed days of work. Now, he wore a radiant smile on his face and I relaxed a bit when I was called up to his office.

"I wanted to call you in to personally tell you the good news: your Miami plans have been approved, and construction will begin in eight days."

Immediately, my heart flooded with joy. "Really?" I beamed.

He chuckled. "Mrs. Alvarado sends her regards: she said it was the best design she's ever seen for one of her houses."

Mrs. Alvarado. Finally, the client's name.

He continued. "So when construction starts, we're going to send you down, as well as a few others, to oversee things."

My smile faded a little. "For how long?"

"Only one or two weeks."

I nodded, but inside my heart sank a little. Going down to Miami for that long meant that Nate and I would have to postpone the meeting with the divorce lawyer, and I would have to leave the kids somewhere for that time —

"I'd also like to talk to you about something else." Mr. Irving said as he adjusted his reading glasses so they sat firmly on the bridge of his nose. I nodded. "I'm going to send Carter along for this trip."

Oh.

Not allowing me any room to talk, Mr. Irving continued. "I know your feelings about him working here, but I'm afraid I must insist on him going. He'll gain some valuable experience from being there, and I'd like him to have this opportunity before he goes to another firm. This will be the one and only trip he'll go on, I promise you that."

There was nothing else to be said but, "Alright."

* * *

As soon as I left the Mr. Irving's office, I called Nate.

"I was wondering if you could watch the kids for a little while." I said quietly.

The awkwardness between us was palpable, more and more so with each passing second of silence on the other end. I shut my eyes, blocking out all other noise inside the bathroom besides the phone, and the soft breaths that were coming from the other end.

"Okay." A pause. "When will you be back?"

"It starts next week, so I'm thinking about a week or two after that."

"Alright."

The line was quiet for a minute.

"I'll see you then." He added.

"Okay." I murmured. "And, um, thanks."

"Don't mention it."

* * *

The week passed quickly, and before I knew it the kids and I were standing in front of Nate's apartment, which he claimed was a temporary thing. It was pretty close to Westchester, which was convenient, and the building itself was very nice. That was all I really noticed though, because I was dangerously close to running late.

"Should I knock again, Mommy?" Celia looked at me with wide eyes.

"Sure, sweetheart." I replied, smiling down at her.

What I thought would be a singular knock quickly turned into an incessant hammering by Celia's little hands, and I was just about to pull her away when the door swung open, revealing none other but Nate.

"Daddy!" Celia screamed happily before jumping into his arms. Joseph squirmed in my arms, and I let him down so he could go hug Nate as well.

Nate smiled as he hugged the kids, kissing each of their foreheads before ushering them inside. I took the cue to leave, but before I could Nate turned back around to face me, his smile fading.

"Lily." His voice was monotonous, yet somewhat sharp. He was wearing a simple black t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, and by the looks of it — seemed to have just woken up.

"Nate."

He scratched the back of his head, looking at me with a curious look in his darkened blue-grey eyes. Meanwhile I knotted my fingers, trying to ignore the tension in my body as my own eyes wandering around the building.

"This is a really nice place." I nodded. "Much nicer than you said it was, anyway."

He shrugged noncommittally. "I'm not in love with it, but it's fine for the time-being." There was a pause. "Do you want to come in for a bit?"

His words and face were completely unreadable, and my heart sunk lower and lower the longer they stayed. Eventually, I shook my head vigorously. "I'd love to, but I really do have to get going."

His eyes lingered on my face. "Maybe some other time, then."

"Sure."

I felt his eyes follow me out of the apartment building, yet they still seemed to loom over me as I got in my car and headed to the airport. I never looked back, even when I was safely through security, heading due north towards the terminal. The beats of my heart were more like tremors, but I couldn't exactly say why. I chalked it up to me being nervous to leave my kids behind, though I'd done it a million times before. Yes, that had to be it.

However, everything faded away once I reached the gate, seeing all of my coworkers living it up, chatting happily as they waited to board. In the corner sat Carter, nearly completely isolated from the rest of the group, and brown eyes shining as they roamed over the spectacle. They shone even more, though, when they locked on me.

Miami, here we come.

* * *

Hey guys!

It's been forever since I've updated to which I have two things to say: 1. I'm very sorry about that, and 2. It feels good to be back.

I think most of you saw the message I posted on my profile, but I've been preparing for the SAT for the last month and a half, and that took up so much of my time that I didn't feel like I really had time to do much else. I'm still studying now, but I'm past the most rigorous part so I will be back to updating this story. I'm not really sure about scheduling right now but spring break is coming up at the end of the week so there will be more updates soon :)

As for this chapter, sorry it's a little boring but the next few chapters will pick up in speed :). I also saw that quite a few of you wanted to see a chapter in Nate's POV, so there will be one coming in the very near future.

So, what did you think of this chapter? And what do you think Nate's true motives/nature are? I'd love to see your theories!

Once again I'm very sorry for this extended hiatus but I'm back and I can't wait for the rest of this story to unfold :). Love you all!

xoxo,

twyla