Let Me In

The silence in the cab hung thick in the air, leaving Jen feel little short of completely helpless. After Beth had received the call from her mother, she had pulled Jen to one side and explained what was going on. Jen had done no more than hail a cab for them both, because there wasn’t even a chance that she was going to allow her friend to leave and face Colby without her.

Aside from why Colby had suddenly shown up in town, the other thing that Jen found preying on her mind was how Beth had left things with Brian. She had simply told him there was some family problem, that she needed to leave, and she would call him, leaving him standing on the sidewalk with Matt with no more than an chaste kiss on the cheek.

It bothered Jen that the mere mention of Colby’s name could bring about such a change in her friend. The entire time they had been at Gallagher’s, she and Matt had watched Beth and Brian, and both knew that they looked right together, that everything about the way they acted around each other spoke volumes about how they obviously both felt. And yet, Beth had walked away as though nothing had even happened between them.

The car finally came to a halt outside the Cooperman home. Beth paid the driver, refusing Jen’s offer of half the fare, and got out, making her way to the front door, still shrouded in silence except for the clicking of her heels against the concrete. Jen followed her inside, not even knowing what to expect as they walked through to the lounge.

“Where is he?” Beth asked her mother quietly.

“Your dad took him through to the den in case Nate woke up and came down,” Audrey Cooperman explained.

“Thanks mom, “ Beth whispered in answer, leaving the room without another word.

Nearing the den, Beth heard the muted voice of her father. She sighed, knowing how difficult it must have been for him to have to put his feelings for Colby to one side and sit and make conversation with him. Opening the door, Beth gave her father a weak smile as he rose from the chair he had been occupying.

“You know where we are,” he whispered as he embraced her briefly. “Colby,” he added with a curt nod.

“See ya later Mike,” Colby answered as if they were old friends.

Beth made for the chair her father had been seated in, dropping her purse on the small nest of tables next to it. Having ignored him when she first entered the den, Beth now had no choice but to face the man she had left behind in Texas three months previously. Looking at him only confirmed what Beth had known for many years, she felt nothing for him. Except for the anger and loathing she could feel welling up inside her, both of which she normally kept at bay.

“I know I’m going to regret asking this,” she began, “but why are you here?”

“To see my son of course,” Colby answered, a smug grin on his face.

Resisting the urge to rush over and punch the look straight off his face, Beth ran a hand through her brown hair, letting out a tremulous breath.

“You can’t just turn up like this Colby, you know what affect it can have on Nate. If you want to visit, then we have to make arrangements first, so that I can prepare him for it,” Beth stated clearly, using every ounce of her willpower to keep her voice low and even.

“Is that to prepare the kid, or make sure that you’ve actually had the grace to be at home with our son of an evening like you should be?” Colby throw at her.

“I’m sorry?” Beth questioned.

“I stopped by your apartment first, but when I got no answer, I figured you’d be here. It’s Saturday, you were probably having a nice cosy Cooperman family evening. Except when I get here, I find out that Nate is asleep upstairs and you’ve just gone out and left him. And then, your mom informs me that this happens every week!”

Beth could do no more than just stare at him for a moment as she processed his little outburst.

“It’s not as though I’m leaving him with strangers or alone!” she retaliated. “I have one night a week to myself, at their insistance, because they understand just how demanding bringing Nate up can be.”

“He should be at home with his mother!” Colby yelled.

Something inside of Beth snapped.

“You haven’t given a fuck about Nate for the last seven years, so don’t come here pretending like you give one now! From the minute we found out about his autism, I’ve been the one who has done everything for and with him, you discarded him like a piece of trash, and yet, you feel you have the right to just show up and start telling me what to do when it comes to raising him. Get the fuck out and go to hell Hudson!”

Beth hated the way his presence was making her cuss, it wasn’t her. Yet something about being near him made her good nature simply disappear.

“I have every right, I’m his father!”

“Oh that’s rich!” Beth laughed bitterly. “If you’d ever acted like it, I may well be listening to you. You can’t just go throwing the ‘I’m his father’ card around as and when it pleases you, it doesn’t work that way.”

“So where were you tonight?”

Shaking her head in confusion at the change of subject, Beth sighed angrily.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I was out with Jen,” she answered.

“Oh this just gets better and better. Not only are you leaving Nate with whomever you please, but you’re out with that slut! Good job I showed up when I did, because hopefully I prevented you from picking up some guy and introducing him to Nate as ‘daddy’ come the morning!”

“Get out!” Beth hissed.

“Oh I’m going, cos I’ve heard enough for tonight,” Colby replied. “I have a flight at 5 tomorrow afternoon back to Texas, so I shall be here at noon to spend a couple of hours with Nate.”

Making to leave, Colby turned to face her once more.

“Oh and just so you know, now that I’m aware of just what’s been going on here, when I get back, I shall be speaking to my attorney. I’m going for custody.”

Beth slowly sank back into the chair, feeling as though all the life had been completely drained out of her, Colby’s words ringing in her ears. Little less than an hour ago, everything had seemed so perfect, and now, it just felt as though her world was crumbling. She sat and stared at where Colby had been stood, not even averting her gaze when the door to the den opened.

“Hey sweetie,” Jen greeted softly, kneeling down beside the chair. “You look as though you could use a drink,” she pointed out. “Your mom said if we wanted to go back out and catch up with Matt and Brian, then we should.”

“I can’t,” Beth murmured, standing up. “I have to stay here.”

“Honey, Nate’s asleep, he hasn’t even stirred, which is surprising considering the way you were cussing at that asshole,” Jen stated with a laugh. “And I’m sure Brian’s worried about you and would want to know that you’re okay.”

Beth stopped in the doorway and faced Jen, her heart heavy with what she was about to say.

“I know what you’re trying to do Jen, but Brian and I, it’s not going to happen.”

“What do you mean? After earlier, I’d say it’s very much going to happen,” Jen argued with a smirk, which quickly disappeared as it dawned on her Beth was serious.

“Wait a minute…you really mean that don’t you,” she stated, disbelief tinging her voice.

“Colby want’s custody of Nate, what other choice do I have?” Beth whispered, walking away.