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“Oh, I won’t be the one taking him. The state will do it for me. After all, that’s the law, you know.”
I pinched my lower lip between my teeth. Pacing back and forth across my bedroom, I knew Gene was right. Even after all these years, I still only had temporary custody of Simon. At any point, Gene could come back into the picture and take him from me. There was nothing I could do about it. Still, he’d never shown any desire to do it before, and I couldn’t understand why he would all of a sudden.
“Listen to me, Gene,” I began, clenching my jaw. “I know that you don’t want to have anything to do with Simon. So why don’t you just tell me what the hell you want.”
Gene remained silent for a moment and then, at last, revealed the true reason for his phone call. “Hmm, I’d say about a half a million dollars oughta cover it.”
“A half a million dollars!” I exclaimed. “How in hell am I supposed to get that kind of money? And why would I give to you, anyway?”
“Because if you don’t, Ava, I can promise you that Simon will be out of your life within the month.”
I froze in place, struggling to wrap my mind around what he was saying. “Are you… blackmailing me?”
“Blackmail is such a nasty word, isn’t it? I’d like to think of it more as a friendly sales transaction. You pay me five hundred thousand dollars and you get to keep Simon.”
“I don’t have five hundred thousand dollars, you piece of shit.”
“I know you don’t. But your pretty-boy racing boyfriend sure does.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Gene, I already told you. Dyson Vix is not my boyfriend. Even if he was, I would never ask him to give you a single penny.”
Gene ignored me. “It’s funny, you know. I mean in an ironic way. You going out with a race car driver after what happened to your little sister.”
“You’re an asshole, Gene. Why are you bringing her into this?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Because of how she died?”
My underarms soaked through my shirt. I struggled to understand his nonsensical rambling. “Street racing and Formula One aren’t anything alike. But why would I expect someone as stupid as you to understand that, Gene?”
Gene fell silent. “Here’s how this is gonna go, Ava, so pay attention. You have one month from today to come up with the money. You can expect more calls from me with instructions on exactly where and when…”
I interrupted him. “There isn’t going to be any money, Gene. You’re not listening. I’m not with Dyson. I don’t have that kind of money and…”
Gene screamed at the top of his lungs into the receiver. “And I’m telling you, if you don’t figure something out and do it soon, you will never see Simon again!”
And then, just like that, he hung up on me.
My hand fell away from my ear. I let go of my phone and it bounced once on the carpet before flipping over and coming to a stop. I stood there for a moment, shaking my head.
What was I going to do?
AVA
My mouth went dry. Unable to move, let alone think, I stood in the center of my bedroom just trying to calm down. Just then, there was a soft knock against my bedroom door.
I turned my head towards it.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me,” Jillian whispered. “Can I come in?”
I dropped my head a bit and exhaled, turning in the direction of the door. A few moments later, I wrapped my fingers around the knob and after twisting it, pulled the door in towards me.
Jillian stood there, her face fixed with worry. “What happened?”
Before answering, I looked past her, towards Simon’s room.
“I just checked, he’s sleeping,” Jillian said.
Without speaking, I nodded and stepped aside so she could enter. After she did, I closed the bedroom door behind her and just to be safe, locked it as well.
Afterward, I walked in her direction. Jillian opened her arms, inviting me in for a hug. By now, a feeling of numbness consumed me. I just stood there, looking at her, feeling nothing.
Seeing this, Jillian eventually dropped her arms to her sides. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I looked at her and without thinking, said the first thing that came to mind, “He’s threatening to take Simon away from us.”
“What? How?”
As best I could, I told her the details of our phone conversation, including his attempt at blackmail. When I finished, Jillian shook her head and walked towards my bed where she sat down. She dropped her hands in her lap and looked up at me.
“Do you think… Will he actually do this?”
Jillian and I had been friends since we were teenagers. She knew Gene well. He was probably the worst person either of us had ever known. Even so, something like this, well, it caught us both by surprise.
“I honestly don’t know,” I said, exhaling. A moment later, I sat down next to her on the bed. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Jillian glanced at me. “What about Dyson?”
I looked back at her. “What about him?”
“Well, I mean, you are going to tell him about this, aren’t you?”
I frowned at her and shook my head. “No, absolutely not. What makes you think I would?”
Jillian groaned. “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t. He can help you.”
“Jillian, how can Dyson help me? We aren’t together, and this isn’t his problem. I can figure this out and handle Gene on my own.”
Jillian looked away from me and exhaled.
“Look,” I began, reaching toward her and placing my hand on her knee. “I’m almost positive Gene is bluffing just to get the cash.”
She turned her head and looked at me once more. “What if he isn’t? What if he comes here and takes Simon away from us?”
I shook my head with a series of vigorous snaps. “That’s never going to happen. Okay?”
Like she always did when thinking, Jillian raised her hand to her mouth and picked at her lower teeth with her thumb nail.
While she sat there in silence, I continued, “Here’s the thing though—I’ve got to go to Los Angeles for the next race tomorrow. That means I can’t be here if Gene does decide to try something crazy.”
Jillian shook her head and dropped her hand away from her mouth. “I won’t let anything happen. If I have to, I’ll take Simon to stay at Dan’s house. I can promise you I won’t let Gene just come and take Simon away when you’re not here.”
I nodded, swallowing in relief. “Thank you.”
I reached for my best friend and we hugged for several seconds.
“Ava, I don’t understand why you won’t just talk to Dyson about it. He’s a decent guy.”
I stood from the mattress and rested my hands on my lower back, just above my waist. I turned and looked down at her. “I know he is. But, this isn’t his problem.”
“Okay, well, if you don’t tell him, then what are you going to do?”
I shook my head. “At this point, I don’t know. I just need a little time to think.”
Jillian nodded and stood from the bed once again. “I hope you change your mind about Dyson. But like I said, you won’t have to worry about Simon while you’re in Los Angeles. I promise.”
I smiled.
“Do you need anything else?” Jillian asked.
“No,” I replied, shaking my head. “I’m going to say goodnight to Simon. Thank you. Thank you for everything.”
Jillian smiled at me. “Of course. Don’t mention it.”
A few minutes later I cracked open the door to Simon’s bedroom. Streaks of faint light from the living room spread across his face. To my surprise, he was awake. I swallowed, wondering if he’d heard any of my conversation with Gene.
“Hey, sweetie… Whatcha doin’?” I began, walking across his room towards him. “Aunt Jillian told me you were sleeping.”
Simon looked up at me, his brown eyes reflecting an ambient glow. “I woke up.”
I reached down and glided my fingers across the top of his head. “Is everything all right?”
He looked away from me and shrugged.
“Scoot over,” I said.
After he moved to the other side of the bed, I slipped under his sheets with him.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
With my head on the pillow, I rolled it towards him. He was looking straight up, towards the ceiling.
“Simon?”
I noticed a lump pass down his throat.
“Are you upset about something?”
He nodded, but continued to stare at the ceiling. I spent the next minute or so trying to pry the answer out of him. We went through a short checklist of things. I asked him about school, homework and his friends. None of those things were on his mind. A sense of dread came over me. With each shake of his head, I grew more certain he’d heard my conversation.
“Well, you know I’m leaving tomorrow, so if you want to talk about it, you need to do it now.”
He turned and looked at me. I noticed the beginnings of tears in his eyes. And then, it dawned on me.
“Oh, honey… Are you upset because I’m going away again?”
He nodded vigorously. Tears streaked down his small cheeks. I reached for Simon, pulling him close.
“Shhh,” I said, leaning in towards him and kissing the top of his head. “I won’t be gone for long.”
