Page 203 of Love Unwritten
“I’m here for you.” I slide down to the floor and lean my back against the door.
The helplessness I feel toward my son reminds me too much of my childhood, and it triggers a darkness within me that I can’t seem to eradicate.
I’m not sure how long I sit there, checking in on Nico periodically, but I lose all concept of time until a door across the house shuts. The sound of Ellie’s footsteps echoes off the high ceiling before she turns the corner and appears like an angel dressed in black.
“Hey.” She slides down to the floor and pulls me into a hug.
“He doesn’t want to open the door. Says he is quitting music for good.”
“Do you want me to try something?”
“I mean, you can, but I don’t know if he will be willing. He’s absolutely gutted.”
Fuck my ex-wife. First thing Monday, I’m reaching out to my lawyer and figuring out a better solution to our problem. If she doesn’t want to be in Nico’s life, fine, but I refuse to let her string him along like she did me.
I don’t care how much it will cost me in the long run or if she will feel like she finally won. The cost of my pride is nothing compared to the price of Nico’s broken heart.
Ellie’s fist knocks against the door. “Nico.”
Silence follows.
“Will you let me come inside?” she asks.
The quiet is stifling.
“If you don’t want to go today, that’s okay. I won’t be upset with you.”
His sniffle can be heard through the door. “You won’t?”
“Of course not. I’ve heard you play that song a thousand times. In fact, maybe I’ll go up there myself and play it better.”
“You wish,” he grumbles.
Ellie sighs. “Hm. Wanna bet?”
He groans. “I know what you’re doing.”
“Is it working?”
“No.” Although he doesn’t sound too sure.
“Will you please open the door? Your dad and I are worried about you.”
Soft shuffling, followed by the metallic click of a lock sliding, fills the quiet before the door opens.
I fall back but catch my balance before I hit the floor. Ellie swoops in and pulls Nico into her arms.
“I’m sorry your mom won’t be there today.”
He snuggles into her and cries. “I really wanted her to see me.”
She rubs his back soothingly. “I know.”
“I thought maybe if I made her happy, she would want to come more.”
Ellie and I share a look. Her glassy eyes add pressure to the one already building in my chest.
Nico’s statement reminds me so much of something I would have said as a kid, and it wrecks me to know that will never be the case. He can’t make a miserable person happy. They’re the only ones who can do that, and his mom is hell-bent on making everyone else feel equally unhappy.