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“I just need a few hundred!” He ignored me and reached for her again. This time he managed to get a hold of her forearm and she cringed in pain.
I crossed the room in two steps and grabbed him by the back of the neck hard enough to let him know that if he didn’t let her go, he’d be in a world of hurt. He got the message and lifted both hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, I’ll go.”
I started walking to the door to throw his ass out, dragging him along with me.
“Wait!” Skylar skirted around me, so she was standing in front of us. “Let him go.”
“Yeah! Let me go!” He shouted. “You’re hurting me.”
I wasn’t.
“Just give us a minute,” Skylar bargained, blocking my path. “I just need to talk to him for a minute. And then, he’ll leave. I promise.”
I stared down at her eyes, pleading up at me.
“Where’s Luna?” The last thing I wanted was for Luna to wake up to this. I knew what it was like to be woken up in the middle of the night to people arguing. Before my mom passed my dad was a functioning alcoholic, but he was still an alcoholic. And he was a belligerent drunk.
“She’s not here. She’s at Mrs. Birch’s.”
As much as I didn’t want this guy alone with Skylar, I knew it wasn’t my place to put him out. This was her home and as much as I hated it, this was her child’s father.
I released my hold and Richie folded in two and coughed dramatically. I might have felt bad if I’d been choking him, but since I’d had a hold of the back of his neck. I knew he was doing it for effect.
“I’ll be right outside.”
“Thank you.” She exhaled and I could see the relief in her entire posture.
I stepped back out onto the porch and closed the door behind me again. I could hear Skylar talking, but couldn’t make out what she was saying. Since eavesdropping was out, I did my best to calm down. My blood pressure was through the roof and the last thing I wanted to do was fly off the handle. I needed to stay calm. Losing my shit on that low-life might make me feel better but it wasn’t going to help Skylar, and that’s all I cared about.
It felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes later when I heard Skylar’s voice getting louder as she walked toward the door and opened it. “I’m done, Richie. I’m not going to bail you out anymore. You can call your parents or figure it out yourself, but you can’t keep putting Luna and me at risk.”
“Skylar come on! Please!” He begged. “This is the last time, I promise.”
Her eyes met mine and I could see that she was ready for my backup.
“Come on, Richie.” I stepped back inside and he cowered. I didn’t touch him, just held out my arm indicating where he needed to go. “I’ll take you to the bus stop.”
He looked between us, and I could see that he wanted to argue, but in the end his shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Thank you,” she said to me as we walked past her.
By the time we made it across the field to my truck, I knew exactly where I was going to take him, and it wasn’t the bus stop. I didn’t know if he’d go for it, but I had to give him the option. Not for him, not even for Skylar, but for Luna. She deserved better, and if there was even the slightest chance to give her that, I had to try.
