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“Hello, Spencer Reid here,” I quickly said.
“Spencer,” Robin’s familiar voice responded down the line. “Oh God, Spencer, I don’t know what to do…”
Straight away, I stood to attention. The sadness in Robin’s voice made me feel completely on edge. “What do you mean, Robin? What’s happened?”
“Well, after you dropped me back at work, Archie pulled me into his office again…”
Oh God, this isn’t going to end well, I thought to myself. I knew Old Man Jenkins wasn’t going to go down quietly. “What did he do, Robin? I swear to God, if he laid a hand on you, I’ll come back down there right now and I’ll—”
“No, no, he didn’t,” she admitted sadly. “He fired me.”
For a moment, everything went silent. I couldn’t believe it. There was no way Old Man Jenkins was that much of a bastard, right?
“You’re joking… Robin, tell me you’re joking,” I replied.
A stifled sob sounded over the crackling phone line. “I’m not joking. He really fired me.”
Rage bubbled up inside me. “The nerve of that bastard!” I barked. “He’s not going to get away with this! What reason did he even give you for dismissal?”
“He said that I don’t have the type of friends that reflect positively on the company,” she confessed.
I scrubbed a hand over my face and sighed. My little stunt in the office had clearly backfired. “I’m so sorry, Robin. I know how much this job meant to you.”
“It’s not your fault, Spencer,” she told me between sobs. “I just… I don’t know what I’m going to do…”
I knew what she meant. Rylee and Jayden depended on her. If she lost her job, they were all going to suffer. My stupid stunt with Robin’s boss was going to make the whole family suffer if I didn’t step in…
I took a deep breath and steeled my resolve. I couldn’t let that happen. “It’s okay, Robin. I’m going to find a way to fix everything.”
18
Rylee
It’s Saturday and I was totally freaking out. The last time I saw Spencer he’d insisted that he was going to meet Jayden this weekend and I wasn’t sure when or if he was even going to turn up. I was pacing the living room of my mom’s house while Jayden busied himself playing with his race track. I couldn’t help but wonder if I should have stayed at the diner and ironed out the details with me, but I was still stubbornly clinging to the hope that Spencer might give up on this whole thing.
Despite my hope that Spencer would be a no show, I still dabbed a little foundation on my face and brushed my lashes with mascara. I even put on a nicer dress than I’d typically wear on one of my days off. It wasn’t like I was trying to impress Spencer of anything, but if he did turn up, I didn’t want to be caught off-guard. I wanted to be prepared and confident for anything that might happen. Jayden fell asleep on the couch and I carried him up to his bedroom before returning to the living room.
When the doorbell rang, my heart stopped. I stood still and watched as my mom headed straight for the door. It could be the mailman, I told myself. It could be absolutely anyone. There was no guarantee that it was Spencer. And yet, I kind of hoped it was.
“Oh! Good morning, Spencer!” my mom greeted. “I didn’t know you were coming over today. What a pleasant surprise.”
I crept toward the door of the living room then and peered around the doorway. I wanted to get a good look at him myself. Was he a mess? Was he still pissed at me? Was he here for me and Jayden or for my mom? My mind raced with question after question and I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied until I found out the answer from Spencer himself.
“Good morning, Robin,” Spencer replied as he stepped through the doorway and hugged my mom affectionately. Jealousy rippled through me and I tried to remember that Spencer didn’t really have feelings for my mom. It was all a ruse. Yet, seeing the two of them together, seeing Spencer with a woman of his own age, made me feel like the odd one out. It just confirmed my beliefs that I was too young, too inexperienced, and too naïve for someone as charismatic and smart as Spencer.
“I’m sorry for just dropping by, but I felt awful after what happened yesterday. I never would have threatened your boss if I’d known it would lead to you losing your job. I promise, I’m going to make it up to you,” he said with a kind smile.
My heart raced as I saw Spencer talk so passionately. He was wearing a tight white t-shirt and the material clung to his biceps in a way that made me tingle. I wanted to run my hands all over him, but I knew I couldn’t. It was wrong. He was too old for me. Everyone would talk about us. Jayden would never have a normal life…
