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“What’s in your head, pumpkin?” He asks, resting his cheek on the top of my head.
“What if they give Steven full custody, and I lose Zander? I can’t take that. He’s everything to me. He’s been my whole world, until recently,” my voice shakes with my pent-up emotions.
“Oh, Heather. There is no way that’ll happen. You’re a good mom with no history of drug use, or any priors, and you have a home with a stable income from your shop. Steven has your abuse reported against him. Sure, he’s got lots of money but with that against him, I don’t know a judge that will give him full custody. Partial, yeah, but you're not going to lose Zander. I promise,” He says, then kisses me softly.
The elevator stops, and thedingrings just before the doors open to our floor. We get off and the receptionist greets us, then leads us down the hall to a conference room. There’s already a tall man inside with blond hair as white as mine, dressed sharply in a three-piece suit.
“Mr. Tate, this is Mrs. Black and mister,” she trails off, not haven gotten Orin’s name.
Orin holds out his hand for Mr. Tate to shake, “Daron, Orin Daron.” They shake hands, and then the receptionist leaves, closing the door softly behind her.
“Pleased to meet you both,” Mr. Tate addresses me, then turns his eyes to Orin, “Any relation to a Detective Daron?”
“Yep. Twins,” Orin says.
“Ah, I’ve never met him in person, but his name comes up on a lot of the reports I have to get from the station. Please, have a seat and call me Lawson. I’m not very formal, and I hate being addressed as mister.” Lawson says before sitting down, picking up a pen, poising it over a legal pad. It’s very old school, but I admire it.
Orin and I take seats next to each other, across from Lawson.
“Now, what is your main goal and or concern you want to have me focus on?” Lawson asks me.
“My son,” I blurt without thinking.
“Okay, what are your goals for him?” Lawson asks, jotting down notes. I go over everything. Lawson only asks clarifying questions every so often. Orin sits silently, offering his support while holding my hand.
From there, he transitions us into assets and all the other nuances once more, that go into the divorce process.
At the end of the meeting, I feel much better about things, and am confident that Steven won’t get full custody of Zander.
We exit the building, and walk to Orin’s parked truck. He opens the door for me, but before letting me get all the way in, he moves so my legs bracket him and hugs me, secure in his warmth.
“See I told you, you had nothing to worry about, pumpkin,” he says, then pulls back and his mouth captures mine in a soft, languid kiss that is so tender, it makes my teeth ache, and my stomach settle.
His tongue strokes mine, and he slowly stokes a fire inside me.
My ringing phone interrupts our kiss and I pull it out, more focused on the way Orin's lips made me feel than on who is calling me.
“Hello?” I say into it.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Steven’s voice spits his venom at me. It crawls over my skin even through the phone.
I stiffen in Orin’s arms and respond with, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Steven.”
He barely waits until I get his name out before he’s yelling at me, and I have to pull my ear away, “I’M TALKING ABOUT YOU FILING FOR DIVORCE!”
Orin takes my phone and tucks my now shaking body into his side.
“You’ve got Orin. Listen up, motherfucker. You’re done. From now on, if you call Heather, she’s not going to answer. You go by her shop, her apartment, or Zander’s school when it’s not your turn to have him, she’s calling the police. She doesn’t feel your abuse anymore.” Then he hangs up as I hear Steven trying to respond. He shoves my phone into his pocket, and I can hear it ringing again. I know it’s Steven, but Orin ignores it and pulls me in close.
My stomach cramps and I pull away, resting my head on his broad shoulder. I try to breathe through it, but my breathing is ragged now, not only from my conversation with Steven, but the pain in my abdomen.
“I need to know what’s happening with me,” I whisper with my eyes closed because if I don’t see it, then it’s not real, yet. He hands my phone back to me, his fingers lingering on mine.
“Okay, let’s go get you a test and we’ll find out,” He says, then kisses my lips quickly before stepping back and letting me swing my legs in. Once I’m safely clear of the door, he pushes it shut and goes around to get in to start up the truck.
It rumbles to life and he backs out, taking us to the closest drugstore. On the way there, my cramping gets worse. I have to kick off my shoes and curl into a tight ball to alleviate it down from a ten to a seven.
“I’ll be right back,” Orin says as he parks, leaving the truck running. He kisses me and his eyes hold concern for me, then he gets out and goes inside. I wish I wasn’t the reason for the look in his eyes, but right now, I can’t do anything to stop it. Once I know for sure if I’m pregnant, then I’ll be able to take the next steps and contact a doctor.
