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“Maybe we can address this when you’ve calmed down.”
“Calmed down?” I laugh. I shake my head and stomp toward the door. “Trust me, this is as calm as I get when it comes to you. What you’re suggesting is not going to happen, Heather. If the only reason you’re relocating Aiden is to get to Tilly, then you’re wasting your time and endangering your son’s life. You realize moving him could be enough to kill him, right?”
I open the door and walk down the path, not looking back. I reach my car, my hands shaking as I try to unlock it. God, how selfish can she be? This is her son’s life she’s messing with, and while we haven’t agreed on much over the last few years, he has always been the forefront of her actions.
His doctor made it clear that removing Aiden would be detrimental to his care. Why is she ignoring advice from the one person that has been caring for him from the start?
This whole thing is so fucked up.
I wanted her to see sense and realize that Aiden deserves to die, but not like this, The last thing in the world I want is for him to suffer, or to put Tilly through anymore pain.
There’s no way. I won’t let her do this. I wont let her do this to either of them.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Ellie’s jaw drops open as she stares at me, eyes wide.
I nurse my coffee in my lap, kicking my legs up under me.
“She’s insane. I mean, is that even legal? Can she do that?”
“I don’t know,” I sigh. I lean back and rest my head against the soft leather of the sofa. “She just keeps pushing, Ellie. Am I doing the right thing, not forcing Tilly to see Aiden?”
“You’re stopping that child from enduring more pain and emotional damage until she’s old enough to handle it. That’s what being a good parent is all about.” She reaches over and squeezes my leg. “It’ll be fine, Kee. If you won’t move in there’s no way she’s stupid enough to take him out of hospital. How did your interview go?”
I laugh. In the middle of everything that was happening, I’d totally forgotten about my interview. Sitting in that room and answering those questions feels like it was months ago.
“I did okay.” I shrug. “God, El. It was so awkward seeing him after what happened last night.”
Ellie’s looks at me, confused. “What happened? You mean your movie outing?” Her eyes grow wide. She sits forward. “Kee, you tell me this instant what happened!”
I sit forward, placing my cup on the coffee table in front of me and resting my hands on my head. “He kissed me,” I admit, my voice muffled.
“He kissed you?” Elli repeats. “Did you kiss him back?”
“Yes. No. God, I don’t know. I guess for a minute I did, but then I left and . . .” I shake my head. “Before any of that happened, we ran into Heather and Jim in the bar we went to after the movie.”
“Oh no,” she whispers, clapping her hand over her mouth. “Is that where this whole Aiden thing has come from?”
“Maybe.” I shrug, shaking my head. “I don’t know what she’s thinking, other than that she wasn’t happy seeing me out with another man.”
“It was just friends going to a movie,” Elli reminds me.
“Yeah, until we kissed,” I groan. “What am I doing, Ellie? You know I blame you for this whole mess, don’t you?” I say, winking at her.
“I’m so sorry, Kee. I never thought things would get this complicated.” The poor girl looks so upset, I feel sorry for her. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do myself. I guess I’ll give Heather some time to defuse, and then try and talk some sense into her.” I stand up and give my sister a smile. “I better get Till home. Thanks for this, Ellie.”
“Yeah, I’m awesome at helping my sister mess her life up more,” Ellie mutters, getting to her feet.
I laugh and pull her into a hug. “This isn’t your fault, El,” I laugh. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
By the time we get home, I've calmed down, and at Tilly’s request we have hotdogs for dinner. After we eat, we do our usual routine of watching TV and doing her homework until it’s bedtime. She fights me on going to bed and begs me to let her stay up a little later. I almost give in, but all I want to do is sleep myself, and I can tell she’s tired from the way she keeps blinking.
“Not tonight, baby. You can barely keep your eyes open, and you have to be up early for school” I say, tweaking her cheek. “If you’re a good girl, I'll let you stay up later next Saturday.”
“Promise Mommy?” she asks, her eyes wide.
I nod and kiss her forehead, a smile on my lips. She’s so damn cute.
