Page 14 of Bittersweet Redemption

I see Roman standing by my patio with his hands clasped in front of him.

“Hey, kid. How was your weekend?” I don’t even want to admit what it did to my heart to see him so upset climbing into his dad’s car on Friday. I don’t know his dad from Adam, but you could clearly tell that the kid didn’t want to go with him, which tells me that he’s not winning any father of the year awards any time soon.

He shrugs. “Um, it was ok. I just watched TV mostly.” That sucks. No wonder he doesn’t want to go. “But I got to go to soccer. I even scored a goal.”

“That’s what I’m talking about, kid.” His face lights up, and I reach out to fist bump him.

“I gotta go because Mommy doesn’t know I’m here, and she told me I’m not allowed to come over here.” While that should make me feel good that she’s listening to my original requests, it actually has the opposite effect on me. I kinda like this kid. Surprisingly, I don’t mind him coming over. But it’s probably best for everyone involved if we keep our distance. “Thanks for helping Mommy when I was gone.”

I feel Riley and Kellan staring at me. They know who my neighbor is and that I want absolutely nothing to do with her. So, I’m sure they’re wondering how and why I helped her this weekend.

“No problem, kid. How are her stings?” I ask, reminding myself that I don’t care what the answer is.

“Good. She showed ’em to me. They’re just little red dots now.”

“That’s good.”

“But she was really scared, and you saved her.”

I chuckle. “I don’t know that I saved her, but we got the stingers out. I’m glad she’s ok.” I only say that to make him feel better. Because even though I know his mom is a little liar, she’s the best thing in this kid’s life, and I’m not going to be the one to pop his bubble.

“Well, I’m gonna go. Thank you.” It’s more than his mother said when she scurried out of my house two days ago.

I don’t know why I helped her, but when I heard that scream, I acted on instinct. I didn’t think about who she was or what she’d done to me. The sheer terror in her scream made me jump up from my seat and run outside. I would’ve laughed if she didn’t have tears running down her face. “You’re welcome, kid.”

He smiles and waves before he heads home. I turn back to my plate and take a bite of mac and cheese, feeling Riley and Kellan’s gaze on me.

“So, you helped your evil neighbor?” Riley asks. I know she’s smiling without even looking at her.

“Yeah, she got stung by some bees,” I tell her, hoping she doesn’t make a big deal out of it.

“And you just happened to be there to help her?” Had I been glancing in her direction while she was mowing? Maybe. But I wasn’t staring. It was comical watching such a small person push a big lawn mower around. Really, I was more concerned about my mower than anything else. Didn’t want her to break it.

“I’m pretty sure people in Canada could’ve heard her scream. It sounded more like she was being mauled by a bear than stung by two bees.”

“Mm-hmm.” She takes a sip of her beer, and I know she doesn’t believe a word I said. “If you say so. Anyway, her kid seems nice.”

“Yeah, he’s cool. I don’t know how someone like her could have such a nice kid.”

Riley shakes her head. “You know—”

I cut her off. “I probably don’t want to hear whatever you’re about to say.”

“Well, I’m going to say it anyway. She was just a kid when she testified in your case.”

“So, that makes it ok to lie?” I counter.

“No, of course not. But you don’t know what her circumstances were. She may have changed since then. Grown up, maybe? She might regret what she did.”

“I sure as fuck hope she regrets it,” I huff.

Riley lets out an exasperated sigh. “All I’m saying is a lot of people do stupid shit when they’re seventeen and eighteen. Maybe she had a reason for it. Maybe she didn’t. And maybe she was scared. We don’t really know.”

“That’s all fine and dandy, but none of that matters to me.”

“She might need a friend,” Riley says, like I, the man she helped put in prison, should be friends with her.

“Then you go be her friend,” I say blankly.