AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I SIT INSIDE MYtruck, staring at the lawyer’s office like if I do it long enough, I’ll wake up and this will all be some weird dream. For the rest of the day yesterday, I was okay. Laiken was there, keeping me grounded and distracting me when I needed it. She even managed to put Mom and Devin in better moods. I don’t know how—it’s just part of her magic. And I was able to sleep because she was there, with her head on my chest and her thumb rubbing back and forth on my stomach. But now that I’m sitting here, I can’t explain what I feel.
I should’ve brought her with me.
It’s a useless afterthought. This office is an hour away. While I’m sure she would come if I called her, I’m not about to make her drive all that way just so I have enough strength to sign a damn paper. I have no choice but to do this on my own.
Taking a deep breath, I exhale and force myself out of the truck. As I walk through the doors, a receptionist greets me from her desk.
“Can I help you?”
“I think so,” I reply. “I’m looking for Lawrence Gent. I have to pick something up.”
She gives me a professional smile. “Have a seat and I’ll let him know you’re here.”
“Thanks.”
As I sit and wait, I look around the room. There’s decor and pictures hanging on the walls, but all the colors feel so dull. Then again, there’s nothing colorful or fun about lawyers so I guess it’s fitting.
“Hayes.”
The call of my name has me looking up to see Lawrence walking toward me. It’s been years since I’ve seen him, but I remember him being around a lot when I was younger. Even after my dad left, he came by a few times to help my mom with things, but it used to make Devin ask where Dad was, so they decided it was best if he didn’t come by anymore. And then they just…lost touch.
“Man,” he tells me as I stand up. “I don’t think I expected you to look so grown.”
“Yeah, well. That’s life.”
It may be short of me, but the last thing I want to do is small talk with a guy who still stuck around my dad after he walked out on his family. Mom always said that he felt obligated to him. That they were friends for so long, he couldn’t just ditch him when he needed him the most. But why not? That’s what my dad did to us.
He leads me back into a room with a conference table surrounded by chairs. There are papers laid out with tabs on where to sign, and he gestures for me to take a seat.
“Are your mom and sister coming?” he asks.
“Another day. My mom wants to come with her to read it all over, but she had to work today.” I offered to wait until we could all come together, but they told me to go, knowing I just want to get it over with.
He nods. “Understandable. It will be here when they’re ready.”
One by one, he starts to hand me things to sign.
A paper that states my father had no will and that the money he had at the time of his passing was decided by the Probate Court of North Carolina.
A paper that states I acknowledge and agree with the court’s decision to split the money equally among his children.
A paper that states I have received my portion of the money as legally required of the executor of the estate.
And finally, one stating that I have no plans or intentions of trying to sue the estate for more money, even though there won’t be any after Devin and I cash our checks.
I sign my name on each of the required lines, initialing in other places. But I make sure to read them all thoroughly. It’s making it so I’m spending more time here than I need to, but my mom would have my head if she knew I signed legal documents without reading them.
“You know, your dad was really proud of you,” Lawrence says, breaking the silence.
I snort. “Don’t really know how you can be proud of someone you have nothing to do with, but okay.”
He leans back in his chair, not at all affected by my response. “I know what your feelings toward him are, and I respect that. I don’t want you to think that I don’t. I was friends with your father for many years. He made his mistakes, I’m not denying that, but he also had his issues.”
He pauses to take one of the signed documents from me, then continues.
“You may not believe a word that comes out of my mouth, but he loved you and Devin very much, regardless of if he was there or not. He was just battling demons that he thought were best kept as far from you two as possible.”
I honestly don’t know what to say to that, so I don’t say anything at all. My eyes skim through the rest of the documents and I sign them, ready to get the hell out of this place. And once I’m done, he hands me a check for more money than I’ve ever had at one time in my life.
