The Five Seconds King

Chapter 006

ELISA 

I sat at the edge of the bed, my hands shaking as I stared at the blank wall. Everything felt cold- even though the sun was high in the sky and warm light was pouring in through the windows. My heart felt so heavy. Heavy? That wasn't enough to describe it. It was more of, broken.

I didn't get a wink of sleep the night before. I kept hearing Neal's voice in my head. I kept seeing his eyes- how disappointed they looked. He wasn't even angry. He was more of hurt.

And God, it made me feel like shit. I covered my face with both hands and let out a long breath. What the hell had I done? How did I let things get this far? How did I become the woman who cheats on her husband and then screams at him in front of strangers like he was the problem?

I should have never said those things to him at the hotel. "You do nothing... I'm the head of the house..."

I cringed just thinking about those words. Because Neal had given me everything. A good home. A comfortable life. He was kind and sure, he was distant sometimes and wasn't the type to say sweet things all the time. But he was loyal and he never hurt me. But I'd hurt him. And now... he was gone.

He'd asked me to sign the divorce papers. He didn't yell at me, or even cry. He just looked at me like he didn't even know who I was anymore. I could still hear the sound of the door closing behind him. Where he'd gone, I didn't know, but I had to fix this.

Standing up from the bed, I wiped my face with the back of my hand. My heart was hammering inside my chest. I didn't want to lose Neal. I didn't want to throw everything we had because of one stupid mistake. No. Two mistakes. First was sleeping with him. Second, was kissing him and defending Jack like an idiot while blaming Neal. 

I sighed and grabbed my phone. If there was any chance of making things right, I needed to act fast. And I had an idea I'd been thinking of since last night. A stupid idea maybe. But it was the only idea I had.

Jack showed up around 4 p.m. He looked better than I expected. His face was still bruised from the fight, but he walked in with that same confidence like he owned the world.

"Hey," he said, smiling slightly while scanning the living room as if he was expecting to see Neal. 

I nodded, trying to stay calm and act like everything was normal despite how awkward and shameful last night had been. "Come in." 

"He around?"

I shook my head. "He left last night."

Another sly smile had the corner of his lips tilting in a smile, and then he started approaching me. He tried to put his arms around me but I yanked my hand back. "This is not the time for that. I need your help to fix this mess."

He raised an eyebrow. "Fix what?"

I crossed my arms and looked at him hard. "Neal. The marriage. Everything. Didn't I tell you he served me divorce papers and wants me gone?"

The last thing I expected him to do was laugh, and that's what he did. It wasn't loud, just a soft amused chuckle like I was saying something funny. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," I replied firmly, doing everything not to snap. "This was a mistake. All of it. And I want my husband back. I need you to help me change his mind."

He sighed, before walking over to sit on the couch. "What I don't understand is how you think this is a good idea. You want me to help you bring that man back. The same man that would've killed me. How exactly are you going to make that happen? It's not even possible."

"I want you to be here when I talk to him," I said. "I'll tell him I want to fix things. You'll tell him we made a mistake, and you'll apologize."

Jack blinked, like I'd just asked him to jump into fire. "You want me to apologize to Neal?"

"Yes."

He looked at me for a long moment. His mouth opened like he wanted to argue, but then he shrugged.

"Fine," he said. "I'll do it."

He'd agreed almost too easily to it, and that worried me. What if he changed his mind and began to say something else when Neal would come back. I couldn't help but make things clear to him. "You don't' sound like you're going to comply, Jack. If you don't want to do this, just let me know, I'll understand. I don't want you to make this thing worse."

"I don't plan on not keeping my word. I'll talk to him for you." He assured me.

I breathed out a shaky breath. "Thank you."

"But just so you know," he added, walking over to the couch and sitting down. "I don't feel bad for what went down last night. He started it."

I narrowed my eyes. "Jack."

"Okay, okay." He held up his hands. "I'll behave. I promise."

About an hour later, I picked up the phone and called Neal. My palms were sweaty. I didn't know if he'd answer, but he did. After the second ring.

"What do you want, Elisa?" His voice was cold.

I swallowed. "I'll sign the papers. Come by the house. I... I have something to say first."

A small pause followed.

"I'll be there in thirty minutes. Your signature better be on that paperwork."

He hung up before I could say thank you.

When I heard his car pull into the driveway, my chest went tight. I quickly stood up, fixing my blouse and running a hand through my hair.

Jack stood up from the couch, cracking his knuckles. "You sure about this?"

I nodded. "Please don't say anything smart. Just... act like a decent human being."

He gave me a little smirk. "I can do decent."

The front door opened and Neal stepped in, wearing a black shirt and jeans. There was no atom of warmth on his face. His eyes went straight to me. Then to Jack. And then back to me. "I thought you were signing the papers."

The tone of his voice felt like a blade. I forced a smile, even though I was shaking inside. "I found a way to fix this."