When Love Knocks

Chapter 6 - Ezra's POV

Ezra’s head was throbbing, like a thousand little ants with hammers were pounding on it. He rolled over and immediately regretted it as the sun streaming through the open blinds pierced the backs of his eyes making everything hurt even more. He flung his arm over his eyes, muttering under his breath, “Fuck.” He laid there in his bed for a few minutes longer, slowly moving his arm away and adjusting slowly to the bright lights of morning before slowly opening his eyes. He didn’t even remember drinking that much last night, then again it must've been enough to get his keys taken away. Just another thing he needed to do today, get his truck picked up, which also meant he needed to call Brody to come get him for work today. He was searching for where he tossed his phone last night after getting in when someone began knocking on the door. It seemed to reverberate through his skull, “Jesus H Christ!” he yelled as he walked towards the front door and regretted it. This was the worst hangover he’s had in a few years. He yanked the door open and was greeted by a coffee cup and Brody, who only looked at Ezra with a smirk, “Funny how roles are reversed today.” he said entering the house.

Ezra just flipped him off and headed back to his bedroom, “Give me five and I’ll be ready to go.” He said while taking a drink of the coffee. He threw on some jeans and a work shirt slipping on socks and his boots. He stopped in the bathroom on the way back out to the living room and splashed some water on his face, popping some pain reliever to help his pounding headache. He took another drink of his coffee before heading back to the living room, mumbling “Let’s go.” to Brody as he turned the lock shutting the door behind them. Ezra pulls open the passenger door and is shocked to see Madilynn in the seat already typing away on her phone, “What are you doing here?” he asks a bit rudely which only earns him an eyeroll. “Spent the night with Brody. He's dropping me off at home on the way to work to get my car.” she said, not bothering to look up at him. He shuts the door harder than he needed too and gets into the back as Brody climbs into the truck and starts to drive.

When they finally make it onto the worksite his headache is down to a low roar and tolerable. He whistles, gaining the crew's attention and talks to them about the day's work that needs to be done, “I also need to talk to you about what happened yesterday. I’m not blaming anyone so don’t go getting defensive. Yesterday we had a young child walk onto the worksite and almost had an accident. Unfortunately it wasn’t something we foresaw, and nobody is in trouble because nobody was injured. But today, I want a couple of you to keep an eye out in case we have any more wandering pedestrians not paying attention. I also want anyone who is working a machine to have someone watching the surrounding area and watching blindspots that the driver may not be able to see.” he spoke looking at his crew before dismissing them to get to work.

He worked with Brody for a while before speaking, “So, you and Madi, how serious is it and am I going to have to be around her very much?” he asked, not looking up from his work. Brody just laughed, “You mean how often are you going to have to be around Nevaeh now that she’s back in town.” he laughed, “Well her and Madi are pretty close so I see the group hangouts starting up again pretty quickly.” he said with a shrug, “But I can try to have her keep it minimal, but doubt she’ll listen.” he added. Ezra thought about it a bit, did he really want to stay away from Nevaeh? Not really he wanted to show her that she was still his, he just hadn’t worked out exactly how he was going to show her just yet and that made him nervous which was a strange feeling for him. He was typically a pretty confident man, so the fact that this was bugging him so much was a bit unnerving. Ezra spoke again, “I’m not trying to be an ass, I just. . .” he paused as if looking for the right words that wouldn’t show he cared about her as much as he should, “ I'm just not sure that I’m ready to meet this new man of hers. I mean I get that she moved on but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. That he got this whole package with her and a kid and I didn’t.” So probably not the best words, it made him sound like a broody whiny asshole, but they were all that made sense. Brody stopped what he was doing and came over to him slapping him on the back, “Dude, it’s tough. I get it as much as I can but if you really do still care about her, you’ll be happy for her.” Ezra grunted in response as they both went back to work.

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After a long day of work, Brody dropped him off at the bar to get his truck so he could finally go home and get showered and cleaned up from all the dirt and grime that covered his body like a fine film. “Thanks man, I’ll see you tomorrow.” he said, shutting the door as Brody lifted his head in a ‘no problem’ sort of way. It didn’t take him long to collect his keys from the bartender tonight and he was on his way home. He stopped and grabbed a burger from a fast joint and ate as he drove. He thought more on his problem with Nevaeh, they used to always be able to talk before so maybe he could do the same with her again. They were adults, no reason why they couldn’t be civil towards each other. With that thought in mind he got home and cleaned himself of the dirt and grime from a long day’s work and got back into his truck heading towards Nevaeh’s place. He hadn’t been here in years, the last time was when he went with Nevaeh for family dinner a few weeks before graduation.

As Ezra neared the turn off for the drive he second guessed himself that maybe it was a bad idea. He could drive past and turn around and no one would be the wiser. ‘No guts, No glory’ came his fathers voice. Ezra nodded to himself in agreement before muttering, “No guts, No glory.'' He turned down the drive which led up to the house and stopped his truck beside her SUV. The sound of barking greated him as he opened the door and got out, “Well at least she’ll know someone’s here.” he said. Ezra walked up the porch steps and knocked on the door. He heard Jackson’s voice yelling, “Momma, someone’s at the door!” the pounding of little feet and paws greated him, “Hi mister Ezra.” Jackson said which made Ezra chuckle, “So you remembered my name when your mommy said it yesterday?” he asked, “You wanna see my trucks?” Jackson asked completely ignoring him and opening the door, Ezra was going to say ‘no’ and remain on the porch til Neva came but when a nosy pup started to make its way out the open door he figured it was the better option to go in and shut the door behind him, didn’t need to give her anymore of a reason to yell at him. “I’d love to see your trucks Jackson. I think we should find your mommy first though, I came over to talk to her. Can you get her for me?” he received a nod from the boy before he took off through the house. Ezra should stay at the door but it was hard when she was barely back and already had the home feeling lived in with pictures up and fresh colors on the walls. He meandered his way to some bookshelves and looked at the pictures she had out, pictures of her and Jackson when he was a baby, pictures of her family, and then he came across a picture of the two of them from highschool. They looked so carefree and perfect. Of all the pictures she had out, not one pictured her with a man, not even any of Jackson had a man in it that wasn’t an uncle or grandfather. He was busy thinking when he heard her voice, “I thought I said to leave me alone, I don’t need you coming into my home and judging me here about my parenting skills.” He turned around and saw her hair thrown up into a messy bun as his sister would call it, a baby blue tank top that rose slightly showing a sliver of her stomach, and a pair of gray sweats. “Nevaeh, I didn’t come here to judge you, I came to apologize. He watched her eyes narrow, and then panicked as he stepped closer to her, “I’m sorry for what I said yesterday, I let the past get in the way of what I should’ve said. I’d like to at least be able to be friends again. Please?” he asked, reaching out for her hand. Nevaeh looked at the floor then back up at him, her voice soft, “I’m not a terrible parent, I’m doing the best I can by myself. Jackson is so loved, I’d die if anything were to happen to him. I don’t know if we can be friends like we were before but I can try.” those were the only words he needed to hear, that she would try. “I can work with try.” he said with a small smile on his lips.

He backed up a little, giving her space, “Now as much as you might want me to leave, I did tell a certain little boy that I would see his trucks.” he said, his smile growing. “Hey Jackson.” He called out, “I’m ready to see your trucks now.” He gave Nevaeh a grin, “They’re in my room come on!” An excited little boy yelled running into the room and grabbing his hand pulling him towards the stairs.