Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 778 : Arguments

*Cat*

“I’ll be home late.”

The moment I received that call from Elio, I knew exactly what bullshit he was trying to pull. I had tried to give him the benefit of the doubt at first, asking him why and giving him a chance to explain but of fucking course, he avoided all of my questions like it was a game of dodgeball.

Elio never worked late. He said he wanted to spend as much time at home with me and Emilia as possible, so he always made sure to leave work on time. Except in emergencies like when MS13 attacked or kidnapped somebody, he always came home to play with Emilia and have dinner with me.

But not this time.

I fumed silently, throwing my phone away as I focused on taking care of Emilia, alone. I fed Emilia and then ate dinner, alone. I spent hours putting Emilia to bed, alone.

And most importantly, I paced our bedroom anxiously all alone. Sleep evaded me as anger roiled like a storm in my chest and I was hit with a brief feeling of deja vu as I sat at the edge of our bed.

How many times had this happened?

How many times had Elio kept information from me because he wanted to protect me, then we fought about it, and then once he hit me with those sad puppy-dog eyes, I caved and forgave him? I groaned, throwing myself backward on the bed as I realized it was more than I could count on one hand.

God, I loved Elio, but this issue had been occurring since the beginning of our relationship. Over and over, he thought he was protecting me by not telling me what was going on, but it just drove me nuts and I ended up involved anyway.

I was so tired of advocating for myself, of telling Elio over and over that I could take care of myself, that I didn’t need his protection. Yet, he kept on doing this.

I hated this.

I hated feeling so helpless as he was out there risking his life in who knows what and I had no clue what he could possibly be doing. I hated not knowing there were dangers surrounding us, hated feeling like a burden that Elio had to hide away.

But most of all, I hated feeling like I couldn’t trust him, like I was just some collector’s item he kept all to himself, that my only worth was looking pretty and being hidden away.

I felt like a pretty doll in a collector’s case, just watching everything from the outside while he kept me locked up in the name of protection, just to keep me in pristine condition. But I wasn’t a doll. I was a human being with real feelings and real thoughts.

I was anxious and upset. I was as angry as a fire raging through a forest, as anxious as the bottom of a whirlpool, as melancholic as the grey skies on a rainy day.

I knew that Elio cared about me, loved me more than himself but sometimes it felt like his love was suffocating. Like he’d rather wrap his hands around my eyes and neck than hold onto my heart.

Forgiveness was the kind thing to do but I didn’t know how much kindness I had left in my heart. My patience for Elio had waned with every incident and now, I didn’t know if I had the strength to be the bigger person this time.

I lay there, feeling as empty as a discarded plastic bottle, ignoring my phone even as texts came ringing in one after the other. I didn’t know how long I lay there, neglecting the world around me until I heard the sound of the front door opening.

His footsteps were heavier and rushed than usual as he came up the stairs, creakng loudly and I thought, ‘I hope he doesn’t wake up Emilia’ before he came crashing into the bedroom door.

“Cat?” I could hear the alarm in his voice and I sighed, throwing my arm off of my head as I got to my feet. Just the sight of him had my anger taking control, like an infection that spread to all of my other emotions until it was all I could feel.

“Where were you?” I demanded coldly.

“At work,” he answered immediately, then he frowned as he approached me cautiously. He reached a hand out to touch my cheek. “Is everything okay?”

I heaved a sigh, not wanting to fight with him but also not wanting to let this go either. It was a lose-lose so I might as well be mad. I stepped away from his touch, brushing his hand away from me and ignoring the hurt look on his face as I did so.

“And what were you doing at work, Elio? Chasing another bad guy and putting your life in danger so you can hide things from me yet again?” I snapped and his face fell. I could see the shame and guilt in his eyes but there was no remorse.

And wasn’t that just a slap in the face?

“It was just a bit of surveillance,” Elio said calmly, shrugging it off like he hadn’t lied to me earlier today, hadn’t left me alone with no answers yet again so I could anxiously and angrily stew in my own feelings.

“On who?” I crossed my arms, waiting for an answer from his own lips.

Elio opened his mouth to reply but the minute he met my glare, he withered, hanging his head. “We were surveilling a potential Fed we could buy out,” he admitted reluctantly.

“So why was it so difficult to tell me that?” I snapped. “Did you think it was okay just to leave me anxious and stressed out all day or were you hoping I didn’t even notice? That I would obediently let you do whatever you wanted and hide away here like some damsel in distress!”

“Of course not,” he argued back, and I could see his temper rising to match mine but I wasn’t giving up on this so easily. Not this time. “It’s just my job, Cat. I was working! I don’t understand why you’re making such a big deal out of this! You were the one who told me to go out and work and now you’re snapping at me for it? Make up your damn mind!”

My eyes narrowed dangerously on him and I could see the moment he realized he had gone too far.

“Well, thanks for telling me what’s actually going on,” I said coldly.

“Cat, I–” He reached out for me but I dodged him, heading to the side of my bed and grabbing my pillow. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to bed. Away from you,” I said, fuming as I tried to storm past him but he grabbed my wrist, pulling the pillow out of my grip as he held it above his head childishly.

“No, you’re not,” he said firmly. “Look, I’m sorry but–”

“But you’re not!” I shouted, finally having enough. I glared at him with all of the anger and pent-up feelings I’d been repressing every time this happened. “You do this again and again and I forgive you and you think it’s okay but it’s not! It’s not okay, Elio and I’m tired of it!”

“I’m just trying to protect you!” he snapped back. “Is that such a crime?”

We stood on opposite sides of the room, equal bitter glares level at one another and I hated this. I hated being on opposite sides but I couldn’t forgive him this time. I didn’t have it in me. I took a deep breath, trying to calm the raging bottle of emotions that was threatening to break open and flood out.

Once I felt stable, I opened my eyes, staring at Elio with a firm look.

“One day, Elio,” I said as calmly as I could, “You’ll learn that I don’t need your protection.”

And I stormed to his side of the bed, snatched up his pillow, and stormed out of the bedroom.

“Cat–”

“Don’t follow me,” I snapped behind me at his figure as he stood in our bedroom doorway. I gripped the pillow tighter, hating every part of this as I told him, “I need the rest of the night alone.”

His sad eyes watched me as I stormed away but just like I asked, he didn’t follow me.

He could have the bed and the baby monitor, he could have the room to himself, maybe it would finally drive some sense into his thick skull.

Though I doubted it.

I crept into the nursery as quietly as I could, and despite the fight I’d just been through, a small smile crept onto my face as I heard her little snores. She sounded like a little piggy snorting and I found all of the tension from the fight dissipating.

I took a spare blanket from the hallway closet, and settled down on the daybed we’d put into the nursery. Originally, we had planned for me to spend all my time there but the C-section had put me on the first floor.

Now, though, I finally had a chance to test it out. Turns out, it wasn’t great.

It could’ve been my bad mood or the sour feeling left in my heart from the mood but I didn’t sleep comfortably that night. I spent my time shifting trying ot get comfortable, alternating between it being too hot or too cold, and by the time I finally found a place I liked, Emilia had woken up for her nightly feed.

I didn’t bother settling her back into the crib, letting her cuddle up next to me as she quickly fell back asleep. When I finally drifted off into a light sleep, it was a restless one. Dreams of slamming doors and arguing from a couple just off in the other room lingered in my mind–how my father would make the same excuses Elio did, saying it was all for our protection, and how my mother would argue back, begging to be taken seriously... how a little me, tiny and defenseless, stared through the cracked kitchen door, watching them fight.

I jerked myself awake when the shadowy figures of my parents turned to look at me, their eyes a burning vivid red.

I stroked Emilia’s soft hair, thinking deeply all night as I both tried to get some sleep and tried not to. The few times I slept after that were haunted by similar dreams, of anger and fighting and burning red eyes staring at me accusingly.

It was a restless night, and though a part of me wished to go back to bed with Elio, to have his arms around me so I could stop tossing and turning and finally get some sleep, my anger prevented me from doing so.

‘Let me be angry just a little bit longer,’ I thought to my exhausted self. ‘Just a little longer.’