Where You Belong

I couldn't believe this shit. I just couldn't actually believe it.

"Aren't you going to say something?"

"Kick rocks, motherfucker. How about that?" I was fuming, and this alerted my friends immediately.

Val stepped in, "Whoa, whoa, whoa," she interjected, stepping in between the two of us, "What's going on here? Do you two--oh."

Once Leana stood up and turned the overhead light on, Val gasped at the man standing in front of me. It had been a while since any of us had seen him, but it didn't take much to figure out who he was, what with the way he was looking at me.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Michael?" I spat venemously, taking two steps back form him as I felt a spasm of anger rock my insides. I clenched my fists before unclenching them, then clenched them again. "I told you to never bother us again, and you were fine with that. Why are you here now, and how the fuck did you know where Zack lives?"

Michael sighed, taking a step towards me, but I took two more back.

Sighing again, he answered, "We need to talk."

I scoffed, turning from him and walking towards the kitchen, "No the fuck we don't."

"Britt, yes we do! We need to talk about what happened."

I snorted, "Personally, I'm done talking. I said all I needed to say last time I saw your trifling ass, and I don't like to repeat myself."

"I know you're upset with me--"

This is where I blew my fucking top. Sure didn't take long.

"Upset? Upset? I'm nowhere near upset, I'm fucking furious! I'm livid! I'm burnt the hell up!" I growled, going on the offense and taking several steps towards him, feeling my anger begin to slowly creep through every vein in my body.

Michael was the one to backtrack, "I understand that, Britt, I--"

"Do you?" I interjected lowly, continuing my advance as I glared daggers into Michael's skull, "Then tell me, what is it that you understand?"

"Well--"

"Did you understand mine and Mason's forty thousand dollar hospital bill? Did you understand the thirty percent chance of him dying during childbirth because he was premature? Or how about the first month of his life that he spent in the hospital because he was so small and weak? Do you understand that too?"

Britt, I just--"

"His weekly checkups that our insurance has refused to keep paying for? Do you understand that?" I glared, backing him into a corner, feeling the rage infiltrate my entire body.

Michael moved to speak, but I cut him off, "I'm not done yet."

"I've been there for that boy every second of the day since he was born. I couldn't sleep at night when I was pregnant, and I still don't sleep at night now. I'm tired. I go back to work within the month, cause somebody needs to pay these god damned bills. Mason's gonna have to go to daycare. That's almost three hundred dollars a fucking week, and let's not start on the routine bills. Car, utilities, rent, cable, internet. Car insurance, health insurance."

"I know."

I scoffed loudly, placing a hand on my hip, "You know, huh? So if you know all that, did you know that walking up in here like you haven't not been around in nearly a year is gonna get you nowhere but face down in the ground? Did you know that you can't just throw some words around and be forgiven? Did you know that not only are you wasting my time, but you're wasting your own, and your son's?"

The second I mentioned Mason, I noticed that Michael's face really fell. I paid him no mind. He had every right in this fucking world to be sorry for what he'd done to Mason, or lack thereof. I'd easily gotten over Michael cheating and leaving, but I'd never gotten over the fact that he'd abandoned his own child. That he didn't think that Mason should've had the chance to live in the first place.

No, I would never forget about that little tidbit.

"I think you have no fucking idea," I countered defiantly, turning away from him and grabbing a handful of candy, retaking my seat on the couch, "Now I suggest you get the fuck out of here before I give Zack a call. You're not exactly one of his favorite people." I growled, fixing my ex with a rather unpleasant gaze.

I didn't know how long he continued to stand there, nor did I care. I was upset that after all this time, he thought he could walk in unannounced and throw some words around to get back in my good graces. He was no better than Zack's ex. I knew I needed to calm down before I did something irrational. That wouldn't be good for me, seeing as how I was Mason's sole provider and he was still on breastmilk.

No, I couldn't go to jail today.

"Britt, please just gi--"

I sighed and placed a hand in front of his face, "I said I'm done, and I'm not in the mood to talk."

The room fell silent, and the only thing that met my ears was the singing in the movie that had just started playing. I looked up to see the girls standing around with careful expressions, though Leana and Val were both typing furiously away at the keyboards of their phones. No doubt they were clueing the guys in on our current predicament, and no doubt sparking an all out fucking war.

But what I also saw was the feirce look on Michael's face. He was quiet, eyes cast to the ground, but his fists were balled up at his sides, his mouth drawn into a thin line. After having been with him so long, I knew that he was becoming angry. Honestly, it probably didn't take much of a genius to see that. But I was prepared for whatever that would come out of his smart mouth.

Raising his gaze, he glared at me from where he stood, "You don't wanna talk now?"

"Nope," I interjected defiantly, waving a hand dismissively at him. That seemed to make him madder, as he visibly shook in front of me. I could hear Lacey's frnatic whispers, and knew she was either on the phone with one of the guys, or she was calling 911. I was glad the girls had my back, though I could handle myself.

Michael smirked suddenly, "You know what? Fine. But you will in fucking court."

"And just why would I be talking in court, Michael?" I rolled my eyes, suddenly feeling rather aggravated with his presence. I was getting the notion that he thought he had something up his sleeve, and if that something was taking me to court over our child, well...he was just a bigger idiot than I ever thought he was.

So much for a college education being beneficial to some people.

"Because our son is coming home with me."

You know, even though I'd already expected him to say that, hearing the actual words come out of his mouth simply infuriated me. I heard a low, worried mumble come from one of the girls as I slowly stood to my feet and walked around the coffee table, inching towards Michael's face. My fingers twitched uncontrollably, and I could feel my self control quickly rushing out through my finger tips.

Next thing I knew, I'd tackled my ex to the ground and broken his arm in a matter of seconds. At least, I was pretty sure it broken. It looked funny, and one end of it was going off in the other direction, kind of like a spaghetti noodle.

I rolled my eyes as Michael howled and screamed on the floor, getting on my feet, and pointing to the front door, "Out. Now."

"You'll regret this, you stupid bitch! You'll never see him again when I'm through with you!" Michael bellowed from the floor, struggling to get up through the pain that he was most likely in.

I barked out a laugh with another roll of my eyes, "Do you even know Mason's birthday? Or his full name?"

Instead of getting a solid answer, I got a slew of curses in my direction. That told me all I needed to know.

I giggled dismissively, "Right. Because the courts will totally hand over your son that you've never even seen before...to you! Well...good luck." I grinned, grabbing him by the injured arm and slowly, roughly dragging him towards the front door.

He screamed, cursed, and even tried to kick at me. The kicking didn't last long, once he realized just how close my own feet were to his face after I handed him a good one to the mouth. He was much stronger than I was, and half of me expected for him to get up and attempt to fight me back. But he didn't. I chalked it up to him just not being a fighter by nature. He didn't fight to win be back - not that I'd ever go back - and he never fought whenever I ended up giving him a royal ass kicking.

Not the kind of man I needed in my life. And Mason sure as hell didn't need to develop his logic.

I struggled to completely get Michael's body out of the door, so I kind of just gave him a sharp kick to the back, as horrible as that may sound. His body rolled down the four or five steps of the porch and onto the cement sidewalk, hitting the ground with a dull thud. It didn't phaze me one bit.

"Goodbye, Mike." I sighed, stepping back over the threshold and locking the front door once I'd closed it.

Walking back into the living room, Val was holding a screaming Mason, something which broke my heart to see. Lacey and Leana were both muttering into their phones, while Michelle angrily paced back and forth.

Despite our slight age gap, and the fact that Michelle already had a twin, she and I were scarily alike in ways that could almost deem us as twins. She, like Zack, could be hardwired to my feelings at times, whereas Zack always was. It was why she and I connected on so many levels, simply because we expressed the majority of our emotions the same way and used similar logic.

With a sigh, I took Mason from Val's arms and began rocking him back in forth in my own arms, speaking to him in a hushed tone that usually calmed him down pretty quickly. It pained me to see him so upset and red in the face, veins popping out of his forehead and neck while tear after tear leaked from his eyes.

"Aww, baby," I cooed, swaying from side to side in attempt to soothe him, "Everything's okay. Everything's fine."

"Britt, everything is not fine!" Lacey all but shrieked, phone still glued to her ear. I shot her a look, motioning towards Mason, and she sighed before walking back into the kitchen.

"She's right, sweetie," Val sighed, stepping forward to run a hand over Mason's back, "He's out for blood now, and the fact that he knows you're living alone, whether here without Zack or at your place, isn't good. It's not safe for you or Mason." she reasoned, and I couldn't help but to nod.

"Britt?" I heard a soft voice and looked to see Leana sitting on my other side, cell phone in one hand and the house phone in other, outstretched in my direction. I took it with my eyebrow raised, awaiting an explanation, "Zack wants to speak with you."

Uh oh. Suddenly I was praying that no one told Zack everything that had happened. They'd have to lock him away for murder.

Putting the sleek phone to my ear, I answered, "H-hello?"

"Did he hurt you?" Zack's low growl sounded from the other end of the line, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

In a way, it made my heart flutter to hear how protective he felt of me, and then, on the other hand, it made me hot in between the legs to hear the fierceness of his voice. Yeah, I'd officially lost my mind.

It took me awhile to recompose myself, "I-I'm fine, Zack. Honestly." I nearly panted, listening as he muttered incoherently over his end, no doubt cursing my ex to the fiery pits of hell under his breath. Mason whined from my arms, but he was no longer wailing as he was before.

This seemed to alarm Zack, "Mason's there? Did he touch him?"

"No, he didn't," I replied, shaking my head even though he couldn't see it, "I made him leave."

"He should've never been there in the first place," Zack all but snarled viciously, "What did he say to you?"

"Nothing that I couldn't handle." I answered vaguely, knowing that if I eagerly spilled the beans, shit would hit the fucking fan. Zack had never liked it when someone had issues with me, and even though I could address whatever issues myself, he'd always felt the need to step in. I was thankful for that, but I by no means didn't need him to get stupid over me.
Which is exactly what he'd do, every time. Never fails.

"Handle? What do you expect to have to handle?"

Dammit. He could pick up on anything I attempted to leave out of the conversation, just from hearing my voice. I don't know how he fucking did it all the time. My own mother didn't even have that skill down pat the way he did. Sometimes, that boy completely mistified me.

"I-I uh, I don't--"

"Brittany," he began tensely, and it was then that I knew he meant business. He never used my full first name when addressing me, "I suggest you not sugarcoat or withold anything from me right now. I'm not a happy camper to hear that that stupid fuck was inside my house, no less upsetting you, the girls, and Mason. Now what happened?"

Well, in that case...

"He wanted to talk," I sighed lamely, lowering my voice as to not alert Mason, who seemed to absorb everything around him for someone so young.

"Talk? What the fuck do you mean he wanted to talk?"

I groaned, "I don't fucking know, Zack. One second I was texting you, and the next, he was just there in front of me!"

"How'd he get in?!" Zack barked suddenly, and I couldn't help but to jump at the rage in his voice.

Said the wrong thing, it appears.

"Leana was at the door with the trick-or-treaters; I guess she didn't recognize him in the dark when he asked to speak with me."

"That motherfucker! I don't fucking care why he was there, he knew not to fucking come near you again, and he fucking knew better than to show up on my motherfucking doorstep! I'll motherfucking kill him!" he exploded immediately, and I cringed at the thought of what he must look like at the moment.

Zack was sweet and gentle, like a teddy bear, but when he got angry, he was beyond terrifying. Matt Sanders and his anger issues ain't got shit on Zack Baker when he's pissed. I guess it's because you look at someone a big and scary looking as Matt, and you can almost picture him being extra scary when he's mad. With Zack, you look at him and can't picture him hurting a fly. But oh, how looks can be deceiving.

"You and Mason stay right in that house, and you lock every door and window, do you hear me?" he commanded, and I sighed. He was going to go over the top, I could see it coming.

"Zack, honey, that's not necessa--"

"I wasn't making a suggestion, Brittany." his voice gave me goosebumps. I knew he was dead serious, and I knew better than to test him when he was like this.

"Okay," I whispered softly, "I will."

"Good girl. Make sure that one of the girls is always with you. I'll call the neighbors and make sure that they're on the lookout. You hear anything suspcious around that house, then you call the cops and then call me. Alright?"

I didn't exactly agree with how overboard he was going, but I didn't say otherwise, "Okay, Zack."

"The guys and I will be home in a little bit. We're getting on a fucking plane tonight, and we're gonna settle this shit."

"Zack, you're not even done with the tour yet! You can't just cancel--"

"I can fucking cancel, and I sure as hell will if someone's fucking with you while none of us are there to step in. I'm not having it." With an aggravated growl, the line clicked, signaling that he'd hung up.

It didn't bother me in the least bit that he'd hung up on me. I didn't take it personally. I knew that as of right now, my best friend was not in control of his anger, and that if he'd stayed on the line, he'd figured he would've ended up saying something that worried and upset me. I didn't blame him because I knew how he got when he was mad, and I knew he was only trying to do right by me.

Even though it was a little earlier than I'd expected, I'd gotten what I secretly wished for. The girls and I had all missed the guys like crazy, and I guess that this stupid situation with Mike had brought something good to us.

Our boys were coming back home, maybe not for long, but they'd be here with us, nonetheless.