Sick Day

Part I

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“What’s this?” Haley asked, pushing her glasses back up her nose as she glanced down at the text that he’d been forced to send her and-

“You want a divorce?” Haley asked, glancing up to meet his gaze, but since he was no longer speaking with her, Jason pointedly rolled onto his side, angrily shifted, and texted, “Yes.”

“I see…” came the softly murmured words that had his jaw clenching as he sent another text.

“You get the kids,” Haley read out loud, sounding really fucking amused for some reason, so he sent another text.

“And the house,” she said as he moved to toss his phone aside only to decide to add one more thing…

“And sex ten times a week for the next fifty years in lieu of alimony and child support,” Haley read, once again sounding really fucking amused for some reason.

That was followed by…

“And I get to see to all of your needs,” Haley read out loud, releasing what sounded suspiciously like a snort of laughter before she cleared her throat and asked, “Is this because I said you were fine?”

“Fine?” Jason demanded, rolling back over so that he could glare at the heartless woman determined to leave him on his deathbed. “I have a fever and the fucking sniffles, woman!”

“You have a temperature of 99.1,” Haley pointed out.

“How dare you belittle me while I’m on my deathbed!” Jason said, gasping in outrage.

“Deathbed? You have a cold,” Haley pointed out and since it was becoming painfully clear that the woman that promised to love and adore him had betrayed him, he pointedly looked away from her.

“We are no longer speaking,” Jason said, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at the wall.

“Because I didn’t silently weep and drop to my knees, praying for God to spare you?” Haley asked as she reached over and pressed her hand against his forehead.

“Yes!” Jason hissed as he reached up to push her hand away only to rethink it, sniffle, and continue glaring ahead as he allowed her to see to his needs.

“You feel fine,” Haley said, bringing the betrayal to a whole new level.

“I feel fine?” Jason demanded in outrage as he turned over so that he could glare at her. “I’m dying, woman!”

“Because you have the sniffles?” Haley asked, blinking as she reached up and pushed her glasses back up her nose.

“Yes!”

“I see,” she murmured, pausing to rub the bridge of her nose and-

Was she trying to hide a smile?

Nodding, Jason said, “We’re over.”

“Would it make you feel better if I told you that I’m struggling to hold it together? That just the very thought of you succumbing to the sniffles is slowly tearing me apart and destroying my will to live?” Haley asked with a heartfelt sigh.

Sniffling, Jason said, “I’m listening.”

“That if something were to happen to you, I would be left with no choice but to resign myself to dying alone, knowing that no other man would ever compare to you?” she said with a shuddering sigh and a sad shake of her head.

“That really just went without saying,” Jason said, following that up with another sniffle.

“What else can I do to make this right?” Haley asked with a hopeful look that somewhat appeased him.

“A sandwich and some snuggling wouldn’t exactly hurt,” Jason said, rolling back onto his side with a grumble and another sniffle.

“I think I can handle that. Give me two minutes?” Haley said as he closed his eyes, wondering if she’d be willing to make him a burger to go with that sandwich and-

Couldn’t help but smile when he felt the bed dip next to him. Releasing a satisfied sigh, Jason reached over and wrapped his arm around the warm body next to him and-

“What the hell are you doing?” came the question that had him going still as he opened his eyes and found himself wondering why his son was in bed with him.

“What the hell are you doing in here?” Jason demanded as Cole shoved his arm away and angrily shoved and kicked the covers down before he grabbed hold of them, dragged them over his body, and turned onto his side so that he could glare at him.

“You gave me the sniffles,” Cole said accusingly as he narrowed his eyes on him.

“That doesn’t explain what you’re doing in my bed,” Jason said, narrowing his eyes back on his son.

“Doesn’t it, though?” Cole said with a smug expression that had Jason’s eyes narrowing and-

“Here you go, sweetheart,” Haley said, drawing Jason’s attention to find his wife standing behind Cole with a warm smile and a delicious-looking sandwich that had his full attention.

Licking his lips, Jason reached up and-

Was forced to lie there as his wife betrayed him for the last time.

To Be Continued…

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If you haven’t had a chance to read Jason & Haley’s story…

Jason Bradford is about to do the one thing that he swore that he would never do, he’s about to fall in love in this romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author R.L. Mathewson.

Haley Blaine was done with being the world’s biggest pushover and it was all thanks to the incredibly handsome man living next-door determined to make her life a living hell. After he’d finally pushed her too far, Haley decided to take matters into her own hands, and now…

She was terrified of falling for the one man that was guaranteed to break her heart.

The last thing that Jason expected was for his incredibly shy neighbor to lose her goddamn mind and attack him with a hose, but now that she had, he couldn’t help but notice just how well she fit into his life. He liked having her around, loved the way that she felt in his arms and- 

He was about to lose his goddamn mind.

She could do so much better than him…

Which meant that it was time to show her that this was anything but a game before it was too late.

Welcome to the Neighbor from Hell series.