The room was tense as Mia and Charlotte waited for the time to come. Ellie had asked if she could walk home with Ren and that was fine with Charlotte. But she was starting to wish she had said no because she was driving herself crazy. The anticipation of having to explain everything to Elaina was draining her.
Ellie and Ren arrived home and immediately noticed the energy in the room, looking eyes together before attempting to sneak away.

"Come and sit down, girls." Charlotte's voice was soft, she was trying to stay strong.

Ellie and Renee held off for a moment before giving in and sitting down at the table. For a moment, Charlotte held the bridge of her nose and breathed. She couldn't find the right words and didn't want to take out any anger on her girls. She knew that it was their right to want to see and have a relationship with their father, but she couldn't help but feel betrayed. It was killing her.

"I was cleaning Ellie's room this morning and found the letters from your father."

Renee and Elaina began to fidget in their seats. Ellie wouldn't even look in Charlotte's direction, she was nervous as to how her mom would react. Renee had tried to warn her little sister about the type of man their dad was but couldn't deny her the chance. She had spoken with Mia about it several times and it seemed like the right thing to do. She wanted to be there for Ellie when she would ultimately find out who their father was. One way or another, it was going to happen and no one could stop it.

"I have to say... I was shocked to see that he had written to you. But I was very shocked to see it was Renee who confirmed our address and that you had reached out first, Ellie. "

Charlotte looked over to Ellie, who was hiding her face in the table. "I'm not angry or upset with you for your curiosity. I know that this was bound to come up sometime and I feel like we owe an explanation to you."

Mia grabbed ahold of Charlotte's hand and rubbed her back as an attempt at comforting her. "Charlotte and your father didn't have a happy marriage. He was extremely abusive and he hurt Mama badly. She loved him very much but he made her cry many times."

"Mia's right. He was mean to Mama, Ellie. He said very mean things but he also put his hands on me and not in a loving manner. I'm not sure if you remember or not, but a few years ago there was that time I was gone in the hospital and then a therapist came here to see me. Do you know why?"

Ellie finally looked up, her face twisted in confusion,"Why?"

"Your father came to the nursery after everything had been finalized and I was in a relationship with Mia-" Fuck, Charlotte just hold it together. "And he knocked me onto the floor and he beat within an inch of my life. When I tried to fight back, he grabbed me by my face and broke my nose. He stepped on my face and stomped on my stomach. He-"

Mia couldn't tell what was about to come out of Charlotte's mouth, she knew many details of the attack. But not all.

"He told me he was going to kill me. I didn't deserve to be your mother because I couldn't get over myself and just deal with the way he treated me. And that if I ever told anyone, they'd believe him over me or they'd agree that I should be beaten. That I- I deserved it."

Ren's eyes widened. She had heard the story once but never all of the details like this. She knew Nick was abusive and he had attacked her. But to hear the gruesome details of his bare hands breaking Charlotte's nose, stomping on her, and threatening her life was hard to swallow. She could see the wheels turning in Elaina's head as she pursed her lips together.

"Mama?"

"Yes, Elaina?"

"Would you be upset with me if I still wanted to see him? I just want to talk to him and have a final goodbye."

Mia was a bit stunned, but still proud of Ellie for communicating how she truly felt. Their approach as parents was to make sure their children felt safe to share their opinions and thoughts.

"Do you want to see him, Ellie?"

"Yes... I know he was mean, Mama and I'm sorry. But I just can't help but miss him sometimes."

Elaina felt a little guilty about her curiosity now. She loved her mom more than anything but she had to have some sort of finish.

"Ellie, Mama will never be upset with you over something like this. I want you to be able to form your own thoughts about him and the rest is up to you when you're older. Just know, this is probably a one time thing for now."

Charlotte sighed,"Mama doesn't feel very comfortable letting you go near him But Mia has agreed to take you if you really want to go."

"Ellie, Charlotte is right. You are young now but still deserve to have a chance to know. My father left me when I was little like you and it crushed me and I'd do anything for just a conversation. Sometimes I just want to know what was so wrong with me that he didn't want to be my life. The fact you have the chance to ask him questions and I can keep you safe while you ask? That is lucky and I don't want you to pass it up."

Renee spoke up,"Ellie. If you decide to see him, just know he's going to be who he was around us before."

"What?"

"It means he's not going to act the same way around us like beforehand. He's not going to suddenly be mean to us like Mama. But that doesn't make him any less of a monster."

Ren was suddenly feeling quite annoyed that she had made this happen. She loved Ellie and deep down she still loved Nick, but no one came above Charlotte in her mind. She stood up and began to walk away from the table, who the fuck did Nick think he was? To ever treat her mother so horribly? Fuck him. That man could burn in hell and Ren would applaud the flames.

"Ren, I understand this is an upsetting conversation but I need you to breathe."
Charlotte's words shook a bit, "But you're right. He's a horrible, evil monster and it felt like he slept with a gun under our bed. No moment was peaceful and I was hiding it from you. I didn't want to mess you girls up by allowing you to be affected by the abuse. Never once did I allow him to lay his hands on you because frankly, I'd light anyone on fire if they dared to hurt my babies. I left when he began to tell Ren that you three would be going on a trip far far away. I knew he'd hurt you or even worse."

Ellie's eyes were watering as she listened to Charlotte, feeling so horribly for reaching out to him. She never meant for this to happen.