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CHAPTER 24
Angela shoved the key into the door of her apartment. “Cory, for the last time, I’m not talking about Isaiah.” She pointed at him and glared when his mouth formed the start of a but. “No buts. I’m done.” She pushed open the door and entered the apartment. “I’ll order a pizza and we can watch a movie or something. We can have our own fun.”
Cory huffed but didn’t say anything else. He’d asked a million times in the car why she fought with Isaiah and why they’d left. He’d thought it was the money, and while she was still annoyed about that she wasn’t about to explain that besides the money, Isaiah had a problem with her serving drinks at a strip club. He’d met her there, for goodness sake!
This was why she didn’t date men she met at the club. They always got a chip on their shoulder eventually and thought their manhood would be in question because of her job. She’d hoped Isaiah would be different. It hurt that he wasn’t.
Her home phone rang soon after she and Cory were settled on the couch to pick a movie, him still sullen about leaving and her still aggravated.
She answered and the familiar recording that told her she had a collect call from the jail made her stiffen. Her brother. He didn’t call much, and hadn’t called since Heather hightailed it to New York.
“It’s your dad,” Angela said before accepting the call. Cory perked up on his side of the couch. He faced her with an eager look on his young face.
“Hey, Angela, how’s it going?” Darryl’s deep voice said without a trace of true interest in her well-being.
“Darryl, what’s up? Are you okay?” She wished she could act indifferent, the way he could, but her concern seeped through. He was the only family she had left besides her aunt, whom she didn’t really consider family anymore. Even though he’d done something stupid and left her and Cory in a lurch, she couldn’t stop caring about her brother.
“Yeah, everything is good. Just calling to check in.”
She relaxed just a little and smiled at her nephew. “Cory is here. Want to talk to him?”
Cory’s eager expression turned into a happy grin and he held out his hand to take the phone.
“Nah. Not today,” Darryl said quickly.
Angela frowned. Cory read her expression and his hand dropped. “Really?” she asked. “When was the last time you spoke to him?”
“Look I only have a few minutes. I can’t spend a lot of time listening to him talk about girls and stuff.” Darryl’s voice rose and agitation filled his tone.
She didn’t give a damn about his time. What small amount of time he got should be spent telling his son he was sorry for screwing everything up. “I can’t believe you,” Angela snapped. “He’s right here.”
Cory jumped up and ran down the hall. His door slammed a second later. “He was here. You hurt his feelings. Seriously, Darryl, I’ve tried to be on your side. When you went to jail, I didn’t want to think you were a terrible father but to refuse to talk to Cory? Damn, why did you call?”
“I called because Heather isn’t answering my calls. I think she’s laid up with a man.”
Angela rolled her eyes. “News flash, the judge broke you two up.”
“Save that bull. She’s also talking about not coming back. What do you have to say about that?”
Angela’s world tilted. She leaned forward and placed her forehead in her hand. “What? Are you sure?”
“That’s why I’m calling. Have you talked to her?”
Angela thought about the last time she’d heard from Heather. “Not since she dropped off Cory. She said she would be back.”
“Well, you better check. I think she’s done with us.”
“I’ll call her now.” There wasn’t anything else to say to Darryl. They ended the call and Angela immediately called Heather’s number. She didn’t get an answer so she gripped the phone and waited for the voice message.
“Heather, this is Angela. I need you to call me immediately. I spoke with Darryl. He said you’re planning to stay in New York permanently. What about Cory? You can’t just leave him behind like this. Call me.”
