He Locked Me Out Now He’s Begging Me Back Chapter 02
The shredder had barely stopped whirring when my phone lit up with a Nextdoor alert.
Someone had posted a new update on the neighborhood page, location-tagged to my address.
The photo showed a barbecue grill set up in the front yard and folding tables on the lawn. Daniel stood at the grill in an apron. Noah chased a ball with two kids from next door. Tessa held a drink, the front door of our house open behind her.
The caption read:
“So happy to be back in the neighborhood where I grew up. Invited some neighbors over tonight so everyone can meet me and my son, Noah.”
There were already more than a dozen replies.
“Welcome back!”
“Now the kids can go to school together.”
“So glad Daniel finally brought his daughter home to live nearby.”
Tessa was replying to each one. When someone asked if she was staying long-term, she answered with a house emoji.
“Yep. Finally home.”
Home.
Not staying temporarily. Not for six weeks. Not until she found an apartment.
I had just finished taking screenshots when Daniel called.
“Are you in the ADU? Why haven’t you come out?”
“There’s a party in the front yard?”
“It’s just a casual barbecue. Tessa wants to get to know the neighbors, especially since Noah will be starting school here.”
“Did anyone tell me?”
“Well, now you know. Come on out. Everyone’s asking about you.”
In the background, I could hear someone complimenting the new curtains.
Daniel laughed and answered them before saying to me, “Tessa replaced the living room curtains. The old ones were too dark. She likes brighter colors.”
“She replaced the curtains I picked out?”
“They’re just curtains. Don’t make this a bigger deal than it is. She bought all the barbecue stuff, too—she’s hosting tonight.”
Through the small ADU window, I looked toward the front yard. A few strangers were carrying plates into the main house, as comfortable as if they were at a friend’s housewarming.
“Claire, come show your face,” Daniel said, his voice dropping. “Don’t let the neighbors think there’s something wrong with our family.”
So he still needed me to play my part.
I hung up and walked through the side yard.
The moment I rounded the corner to the front, I stopped.
At the edge of the lawn stood a cherrywood bookshelf.
My father had built it for me with his own hands the year I was promoted. He had picked out the wood himself, sanded the edges three times, and carved my name into the back panel. It had always stood by the window in my study.
Now it had been dragged outside and was covered with beer, ice buckets, and bottles of barbecue sauce. A case of canned soda sat on the top shelf. The middle shelf had split, a crack running clean through it, and sauce was trickling down the wood grain.
I hurried over and lifted the drinks off.
Tessa walked over carrying a plate. “What are you doing? The guests still need those.”
“Who told you you could move this bookshelf?”
She glanced at the crack.
“There wasn’t enough room in the house for all the clutter, so I brought it out to use for now. If it’s cracked, I can glue it.”
“This is not a storage shelf. My father made it for me.”
“I didn’t know that.” She shrugged. “And it’s just a shelf.”
I grabbed some napkins and started wiping off the sauce. My gaze swept over the folding table—and I saw my mother’s silverware.
That set had been used only once, on our wedding anniversary. Right now, the forks were stuck into pieces of grilled meat, the spoons were soaking in sauce, and one of the knives was in Noah’s hand as he tried to pry open a soda can.
I took the knife from him.
“Tessa, move the shelf back inside. And put all the silverware away.”
The chatter around us began to fade.
The smile vanished from Tessa’s face.
“The party just started. Do you really have to do this right now?”
“You took my things without asking, and you cracked the bookshelf.”
“I said I’d fix it. Are you really going to humiliate me in front of all the neighbors over a shelf?”
Daniel set down the grill tongs and walked over.
“All right. I’ll clean everything up after the party.”
“And put it back where?” I asked. “Is my study a storage room now?”
He paused. “For now, we’ll put it in the garage.”
“What about the study?”
Tessa cut in before he could answer. “Noah needs his own room.”
“Then let him stay in the ADU. And put the living room curtains back.”
“Why should I?” Her face hardened instantly. “Those curtains were dark and ugly. I bought this set myself.”
“Because this is my house, and you don’t have the right to change it without my permission.”
“It’s my dad’s house, too!”
Her voice rose sharply.
Noah burst into tears.
Tessa dropped into a crouch and pulled him into her arms so quickly it was as if she’d been waiting for that exact cue.
“It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s here.” She rubbed his back, her own eyes reddening. “I’m so sorry. This is all Mommy’s fault. I thought we finally had a place to live. I didn’t know someone would make us feel so unwelcome.”
A woman nearby frowned at me.
“The child is right here. Can’t you say this in private?”
Another neighbor murmured to Tessa, “Don’t cry. Being a single mom is hard enough.”
No one asked whose bookshelf it was.
No one asked why I was living in the backyard.
In front of everyone, Daniel wrapped an arm around Tessa’s shoulders.
“Don’t worry. Dad’s here. No one is going to do anything to you.”
Then he patted Noah on the head.
“This is your home. No one is going to make you leave.”
Tessa held her son tighter and looked at me over Daniel’s shoulder.
There was no hurt in her eyes.
Only victory.
Then she leaned into her father’s arms and said, word by word,
“From now on, this is our home, Dad.”