Chapter Text
Marriage is a beautiful, magical thing. From the fairy tale like wedding and the romantic honeymoon, to buying a home together and beginning a new chapter in both your lives. It was so different from dating, even when you lived with your partner before you got married.
With Marriage came children. A beautiful, amazing daughter that fulfilled the couple's life completely. Parenthood was amazing, watching a little human grow and learn so quickly was an honor.
Marriage was absolutely incredible...
Until your wife cheats with her boss for a year, and tells you over a mother fucking text.
"This is the fourth court date that Ms Anderson hasn't shown up for. We warned her that if she didn't show up again, all of her parental rights would be forfeited." The judge said with a heavy sigh. Jake sat there, completely numb. He knew this was coming. He's been a single dad raising his daughter, Avery completely alone ever since Clara moved out, but now that he was here, it felt like he could breathe.
If you told Jake Pitts seven years ago when he got married that it would lead to this, he would have laughed. Jake really thought he had the perfect life, but clearly he was wrong. It completely blindsided him when his wife- ex wife, Clara texted him four months ago to inform him that she had been cheating on him with her boss for the last year.
Texted him.
Seven years of marriage and a child together and all he got was a fucking text.
Mother fucking Steve.
He could not understand why she would do this to him- hell, to their! It was like Clara didn't even have a daughter anymore. The only time she ever visited Avery was to grab things from the house. She never stayed any longer than it took to pack, and it always ended in Avery crying because she couldn't understand why her mother was leaving again.
Jake had tried to be civil for Avery's sake. He might have issues with Clara, but he wasn't going to drag his girl into it so he would make co-parenting work.
Apparently that was unnecessary though because Clara refused to come to custody hearings. She always had some sort of excuse.
"I hear by will be rewarding all custody of Avery Pitts to her father, Jake Pitts. If Ms Anderson wants visitation, she will have to file with the state at a later date." The judge said before hitting her gavel against her stand. "Court dismissed."
Jake's lawyer rubbed his shoulder, a sad smile on his face. "You got the house and the kid." He tried, hoping that would comfort the young man.
Jake vaguely nodded, still staring at nothing in particular. Clara didn't fight for anything, siting that all she wanted was to start her new life with her lover and that Jake could have everything that she didn't pay for. That was the thing though, Jake couldn't afford the house payment by himself.
Clara knew that too.
Things were expensive in the economy, and he knew that he would never be able to afford that house payment. He had considered asking for a loan from his dad, or even the bank. Just enough to get by until he could find a better paying job, but eventually en decided against all of that.
Clara loved that house. She put her heart and soul into it.
So he was going to sell it.
She should have fought for the house or at least fight for financial stake in it if that was her plan because now that he was going to have to sell it, he got to keep all the profits from it and not give her a dime.
Jake stood up on shaky legs, and made his way out of the court room. He ripped his tie off and undid the first few buttons of his shirt, trying to breathe steadily.
He has spent the past four months trying to figure out how he fucked up as a husband to make his wife cheat on him and leave him. He asked friends and family, but they all sited that he was the perfect husband. He begged his ex to explain why she did it, but all she said was that she didn't want to he tied down anymore and she never got to experience life to the fullest.
It wasn't like they were super young when they got married. They were in their early thirties. She had thirty years to live life to the fullest before they got married. Her parents had all but disowned her for doing this to Jake, and her sister was convinced she was having some sort of manic episode or mental health crisis.
Jake didn't know and he didn't care. All he knew was that he was now thirty-eight, divorced, and a single dad to a five year old girl.
Jake pulled out his phone and started googling real estate agents. He wanted rid of that house as fast as possible. He and Clara picked it out together, decorated it together, and made it the home they wanted to grow old together in, to raise Avery in.
Now it was only a reminder of lies, deceit and a failed marriage.
Jake was heart broken to say the very least.
He got into his car, and stared at the steering wheel for a while before he finally started the engine. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he was now divorced. Jake had tried to do counseling, desperate to save his marriage, but Clara had made her mind up. She was done being married to him, and there was no use in fighting it.
Neither party contested the divorce so it went by quickly. Too quickly if you asked Jake. He was still coming to terms with being cheated on, and now he was expected to start over completely? It sucked a lot.
Jake drove in silence, not bothering with the radio as his mind spiraled. He was single. He was fucking single and now he had to raise a child with no help at all.
He didn't love Clara anymore. That love stopped the second he read her text message. Jake was just scared of starting over. Dating as a newly divorced man in his late thirties already sounded daunting and impossible. Dating with a kid? Hell no.
Jake had no interest in a relationship at this point. He had too many trust issues now. But even if he did want to date, it would be so stressful with a kid.
First he'd have to find someone who was okay with him being a dad, then he would have to make sure he really liked her before introducing her to Avery, then he would have to make sure Avery liked her because if not then it was a no go, and before any of that, he'd have to make sure he wasn't dating a fucking pedophile.
So yeah, Jake was cool with being single forever.
Jake pulled up to the house across the street from his, and got out with a sigh. Last time he'd be coming into this neighborhood as a resident.
He walked up to the door and knocked. It opened to a blonde with bright eyes and a warm smile that always brought comfort to Jake.
"How was court?" Alice- his best friend, Jinxx's wife asked, ushering him inside.
"She didn't show up again so she's lost all rights to Avery." Jake said, sitting down on the couch.
"Oh, darling. I'm sorry she's done all of this to you." Alice said, offering him a hug that he gladly accepted. He tried his best not to cry as the weight of it all came crashing down on him. "What are you going to do?" She asked gently.
"Daddy!" A sweet voice screamed, and Jake looked up, smiling as his daughter ran towards him. "Hi, pumpkin!" He greeted happily, pulling away from the hug to scoop his little girl up into his arms.
"I missed you, daddy." She said, her voice muffled in the crook of his neck. "I missed you too, baby." Jake replied, hugging her tightly.
Jinxx came into the living room with his son, Lennon on his shoulders. "How was- the thing?" He asked, carefully choosing his wording in front of the children.
"No show again. All rights terminated." Jake replied, saying enough so that Jinxx understood, but still criptic enough to where Avery wouldn't know what was going on.
She knew that he and Clara weren't married anymore, but he still didn't know how to explain to his five year old that her mommy didn't want her anymore.
It was a horrible position to be put in, and Jake hated Clara for doing this to his daughter.
"What's that mean?" Avery asked, looking up at her dad.
"I'll tell you about it later, kid." He promised. Avery nodded, and snuggled back into his chest.
"Hey, how about you, me, and Lennon go upstairs and gather your things, yeah?" Alice said, trying to give Jake and Jinxx some privacy.
"Okay! Come on, Lennon!" Avery said, hopping off the couch.
Jinxx sat Lennon down, watching as the two children ran towards the stairs with Alice not far behind.
"So what are you going to do?" Jinxx asked once he heard the door close.
"I can't afford the house payment by myself, and even if I could. I don't want to be there anymore, so I'm selling." Jake said, still struggling to come to terms with it all.
"Where are you going to go? Are you going to get an apartment or something?" Jinxx sat down next to his best friend, rubbing his back.
"I guess I have no choice. I'm going to have to find something in my price range that isn't a dump or in a bad area." Jake replied. None of this was going to be easy.
"Why not get a roommate?" Jinxx suggested, but Jake immediately shook his head no. "Absolutely not. I am not trusting a random fucker around my kid." Jake said.
"No, ask people you know, dumbass." Jinxx laughed. "Actually I think I already know someone you could hit up."
"Who?" Jake inquired with a raised brow. "Andy. Him and his fianceé broke up so he's been trying to get someone moved in to cover her half of rent." Jinxx replied.
Jake paused for a moment, thinking about the suggestion. He and Andy were really close, and Avery loved him. It could work. "I'll call him and ask." He said.
"Awesome! If you need help moving, I'm right here." Jinxx said.
"I appreciate you and Alice so much, I hope you know that." Jake said, giving Jinxx a tight hug.
Jinxx returned the hug just as fiercely. "Hey, you're family. We're here for you no matter what."
"Daddy! I'm ready to go!" Avery announced from the top of the stairs. Jake smiled and stood up. "Do you want to get Macdonalds?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
"Please, please, please, please, please!" She started begging immediately, running down the stairs towards her dad.
Jake laughed and picked her up. "I'll take that as a yes." He chuckled. "I'll see you guys later. Love you." Jake said, giving Jinxx and Alice a hug, and ruffled Lennon's hair affectionately.
"We love you too. Call me if you need anything." Jinxx said with a nod. Jake exited the Ferguson home with his girl, humming a song as he tried to fein joy. She didn't need to know what all was going on in his head.
"So what do you want from Macdonalds? A happy meal?" He asked, buckling Avery into her carseat.
"Yes please." She replied sweetly. God, he had the best kid ever. Jake nodded, closing the door before he climbed into the driver's seat.
Life was about to be very different for both of them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was now evening. Avery was in bed, and Jake was sitting on the floor in his bedroom. He knew Clara had done things with her affair partner in that bed, and frankly, he didn't want to be anywhere near it.
Well, technically she never confirmed it, but Jake wasn't stupid. He knew that she's brought him into their home. There was no way she hadn't. It made Jake sick to think about, and that was why he never went near the bed anymore. Part of him wanted to just burn it, but Clara loved their bed... so selling it seemed way better.
He was curious as to how she was going to react to the news that he was selling. She had to have known he was going to have to sell. Maybe a sick, twisted part of her wanted Jake to beg for help? He didn't know, but frankly, he didn't care. None of it was his problem anymore.
Jake had decided against a realtor because he already had a potential buyer lined up.
His friend, CC and his wife Alex.
Clara hated Alex. No one could ever figure out why. Alex was a sweetheart and had been nothing but kind to Clara. Jake figured it was jealousy. Maybe it was a little petty to sell their home to the one person Clara hated, but she cheated on Jake, so she could cry about it.
Jake had his phone out, and was trying to do the one thing he hadn't done yet.
Jake stared at the contact information, his thumb hovering over the call button. He was being ridiculous, he was well aware of that, but for some reason he was nervous. What if Andy said no? What if he already had someone moved in?
"Only one way to find out." Jake said out loud before he finally hit call. The phone rang once before Andy picked up.
"Hi, Jake." Andy's deep voice greeted warmly.
"Hey, bud. I heard you were looking for a roommate and I am currently selling my house." Jake decided to just cut to the chase.
"No shit, really?" Andy asked in surprise. He knew Jake was getting divorced, but he didnt think he would be selling his house.
"Yep, I can't afford the house payment alone. If you're okay with living with a kid-." Jake started to say, but Andy cut him off.
"Dude, I love Avie. Of course I'm fine with that!" Andy scoffed. "It's a two bedroom, and I've been using the other bedroom as an office so you can use that room." He said. Jake smiled at this. Andy was such a good guy. He was lucky to have a friend like him.
"I appreciate that so much, Andy. I'm sorry to hear about you and Nikki." Jake said. He still had no idea what happened between them. He wondered what Nikki had done.
Jake knew he was biased, but he knew Andy. That man wouldn't hurt a fly(unless tightly deserved), there was no way he was at fault for the break up.
"It's fine. She was cheating on me, but forgot I paid for everything except her half of rent, so now she's with the fucker who makes minimum wage trying to cover all of her bills." Andy said replied. Jake could hear the bitterness and hurt in his voice, but didn't comment on it.
Jake had no idea Nikki cheated. It was a shocking revelation. Not only did she seem happy with Andy, but it was Andy. How could anyone look at him and think 'Oh yeah, I could totally do better than this.' It was insane to Jake to even fathom.
"Well at least you found out before you got married. Getting divorced sucks." Jake offered with a slight laugh instead that Andy thankfully returned.
"I do not envy you in the slightest." Andy said. Jake wanted to tell him how much he really shouldn't envy him, but he held his tongue. "Yeah, no custody battles at least." Jake said. 'None for me either.' He thought bitterly.
"Yeah, the closest thing we had to a custody battle was over my cat that I had before we got together!" Andy chuckled. "I told her I have a tracker on him though and if he goes missing and I find out she took him, I'd call the cops."
"Do you actually have a tracker on him?" Jake asked curiously.
"Nope, but she doesn't need to know that." Andy replied gleefully.
Jake chuckled at this. It's been so long since he's gotten to talk to Andy. For whatever reason, Clara had a problem with Andy. At first she said it was because he was single, and single guys are just bad influences, but then he and Nikki got together and she still had an issue with them hanging out.
Selling his house to one person she hates, and moving in with the other. Jake realized how petty that looked, but that's just how it worked out.
"I'll let you go, man. It's getting late." Jake said. "Okay. Just let me know when you want to move in, and I'll come help." Andy replied, his voice warm and sweet.
"I will, Andy. Thank you so much. You don't know how much I appreciate this." Jake said gratefully.
"You're doing me a huge favor too, Jake. You don't have to thank me." Andy said. "Still. I don't know how I'll ever make it up to-." Jake started to say, but Andy cut him off.
"By paying your half of the rent, dipshit." The younger man snorted. "Get some sleep, old man. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Alright, alright." Jake laughed. "Good night, Andy."
"Night, Jake." And with that, the two men hung up.
Jake stood up, and made his way downstairs to the couch where he had been sleeping for the past four months, and laid down.
For the first time in months, life was starting to look up for Jake.