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“I don’t care. It’s not the right place for you.”
She gives me a curious frown, obviously picking up on my thinly masked mood, before walking ahead to check out the bathroom. Mikayla’s standing in the tiny space, and if she stretched her arms wide, I bet she could touch both walls at the same time. And that’s Mick we’re talking about. Rachel could probably lay her palms flat against each wall. How the hell is she supposed to dry herself after a shower without bashing her elbows on the hard tiles?
“Nope.” I shake my head. “This isn’t the one.”
“It’s not your decision,” Mikayla quips. “I don’t even know why you’re here.”
I narrow my eyes at her as Rachel lets out a soft gasp. “Mick.”
“What?” She spins to look up at her best friend. “It’s not like he’s going to be living with us, and all his grumpy ass has done all day is reject everything we’ve looked at!”
Clenching my jaw, I give her a stiff nod before easing out of the bathroom. “I’ll wait for you guys outside.”
Rachel lets out a soft tut, eyeballing Mikayla while I walk through the building, taking up post just outside and kicking at the snow.
There's no point getting into it with Mick. She’s like a pit bull when she’s fired up, and I can’t deny that she’s right. I have rejected everything we’ve seen today because their budget is going to have them moving into a piece of crap.
I can’t stand the thought of Rachel coming home each night to anything that isn’t half decent. She deserves warmth and security. So does Mick, for fuck’s sake!
Scowling down at the snow, I wrench out my phone and try Mama again. I usually call her on Sunday and we have a decent catch-up, but she hasn’t answered her phone today or replied to any of my texts.
When I messaged Maria to find out where she was, my sister gave a noncommittal answer about her being busy. Sofia was just as useless.
Sofia: I’m sleeping over at Monique’s. Would you stop texting me! It’s embarrassing.
I rolled my eyes and gave up with a huff.
And that’s probably what’s eating me so badly.
Mama always takes my calls… unless she’s hiding something.
And the only thing she ever hides is the one thing I can’t tolerate.
Which means she’s probably with Dad right now.
I don’t get it. After everything that asshole put her through, she still keeps letting him into her life. He has a restraining order, and she always lets him break it.
It fucking kills me.
The thought of him hurting her again is like a fist in the stomach. Like right inside my stomach, squeezing and making me want to hurl.
Part of me wants to drive down there and check that Dad hasn’t knocked her out cold. He hasn’t attacked her since getting out of prison, but that’s not the point. We’ve put systems in place to keep our family safe when he’s on a bender. But anything could trigger him, and it’s like she’s walking straight into a snake pit when she voluntarily goes to see him.
I don’t get why she’s so willing to risk her safety all the time.
It’s like dealing with a stubborn child who just refuses to see common sense. It makes me feel like I have to be the grown-up. If only I could ban her from seeing him, ground her ass and make her stay away from the guy.
Kicking at the snow with a grunt, I nearly jump out of my skin when Rachel softly calls my name.
“Liam?”
Jerking around, I try for a smile, but it’s probably a twitchy, grumpy-ass frown.
Her head tips to the side, her green eyes looking at me like I matter more than anything. Her sorrow makes my heart ache. She’s worried about me, and I’ve given her no reason not to be. I’m acting like a dick.
“Where’s Mikayla?” I ask, wincing at the way the words are snapping out of me.
Shit.
