Either You Do...Or You Don't

Allison's POV:
I was braiding Melanie’s hair as our next episode started when my phone rang. “Hello?”

“Hey, what’s up?” Brian asked

“Um, not much. Just at my friend’s watching a movie…” I started

“That’s cool, are you staying there late?”

“Um, I’ll probably stay over or stay pretty late, why?” I tied Melanie’s braid up with a hair tie and she gave me a look. Mouthing who was I talking to. I just shook my head and mouthed back for her to wait a second.

“Well, I’d like to see you again, Allison. I really like spending time with you and you deserve a guy who will treat you right. I’ll do that for you. Just let me prove it to you. Let me have a chance…” he pleaded

I sighed, “Brian…”

“It’s him, isn’t it? Fuck, Allison, how many times does this jerk have to hurt you before you just leave him for good? He’s no good for you, Allison. You were so sad when you were with him, I don’t want you getting hurt…I can treat you so much better than the hockey player.”

“Thanks for your concern, Brian, but I can take care of myself. I’m a big girl…I have to go now, bye.” with that, I hung up.

“So…who’s Brian?” Melanie asked, sipping on her Smirnoff

“He’s this guy at work that I hooked-up with, but now he won’t leave me alone and he’s trying to convince me to go out with him.” I explained

“Is he cute?”

“Well, yes, but that’s not the point. It was just a hook-up, I want to be with James. Brian is nice and fun, but he’s…”

“He’s not James Neal?”

“Exactly…so now Brian’s upset because he knows how hurt I was about everything with James and he doesn’t want anything happening to me…”

“Well, he seems to care about you, but if you don’t like him like that, you should tell him. Tell him you’re going to be with James and that James has been working on being a better boyfriend.”
I just nodded. Melanie was right, but the problem was…some part of me did like Brian.

James’ POV:

“Will you please just let me talk to my son?” I repeated again

“I already told you that he is sleeping.” Jen grumbled back, angry

“Jennifer…I can hear him.”

“I don’t want you to talk to him. I gave you your chance to be with your children and you said no.”

“Fuck, Jennifer, it wasn’t like that! You wanted to move the kids half-way across the country and I’d barely get to see them!” I yelled, I was furious and was tired of dealing with this…with her.

“Yeah and you said no. I told you what would happen if you crossed me, James Neal.”

“You slandered me to the courts! You brought up photos of my past, Jennifer! Things from my past that aren't even relevant anymore!”

“Well they believed you to be an unfit parent.”

“How am I unfit, Jennifer? Tell me how I am! I provided for you, Nolan and Lyvia. I gave you a place to live, I gave you everything you wanted! What more do I have to do!?”

“I have to go. My lawyer said that I can’t discuss this with you, without him present…”

“Jennifer, don’t you dare hang up on me! Jennifer?! Jen? God fucking damnit.” I yelled, throwing my phone on my bed. How could she be doing this to me? Just because I wouldn’t let the kids move to Dallas? She’d taken them away and there was nothing I could do about it…

I pulled my phone back up and called Craig Adams. I figured that since he’d went to Harvard, he’d be able to help me. “Hello?”

“Adzy, it’s me.”

“Nealer! What’s up? Everything okay?”

“Not really…I have a law related question.”

“Uh…are you in trouble with the police?” Adzy asked, concern in his voice

“No. It’s Jennifer…I wouldn’t let the kids move with her, so she took it to court and she had some stuff on me…old stuff…before the kids were even born and showed it to the court and they deemed me un fit as a parent and granted her full custody. She denied me visitation and won, since I wasn’t there to argue it…what can I do?”

“What kind of evidence did she have…”

I sighed. “Remember when I cheated on her with the stripper?”

“Yes…”

“There was a sex tape…and some how Jennifer had gotten a hold of it. Also, while I was in Dallas…there were some DUIs and public intoxication charges against me, but I served them and no one got hurt because of them, but she brought it all out against me and she told them some lies about how I’d leave Nolan home alone or I’d drink with them in the house, but it never happened…I never drank when the kids were present.”

Adzy sighed, “Wow…well I guess the only thing you can do is to gather some character witnesses, take it back to court and prove that you’re not who she says you are. About that other stuff, the only thing you can really do is apologize for it, say you learned from your mistakes and prove that you aren’t that person any more…they may not grant you full or even partial custody, but you’d probably gain some type of court ordered visitation.”

“Okay. Thanks, Adzy.”

“No problem. Have a nice night, man.”

“You too.” I replied, hanging up. I headed to the bathroom and grabbed my pain medication for my headache, took it with some water and curled up in bed to go to sleep. In the morning, I’d be calling my lawyer, to get this thing settled once and for all.

Notes