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“Look at this badass,” Roger barks out, signaling to a fuming Trey.
Trey’s jaw is clenched, and his hands are knotted into fists. There’s afinally fed upexpression on his face. Roger pressing him will make things worse between everyone.
“Fuck you,” Trey bites out. “We don’t want to leave with you.” His attention swings to Claudia. “I refuse to stay with you and your”—he tips his head toward Roger—“piece-of-shit boyfriend. You’ll have to drag me out.”
“That can be arranged, you little asshole,” Roger grits out before lunging toward Trey.
I kick my foot out, tripping Roger, and the floor vibrates when his body hits it. I use Trey’s shirt to pull him to the other side of the room while Roger gets up, and I rush to my purse.
“Stop!” I yell. “I’ll give you the fucking money. Hold on!”
The angry look on Roger’s face is why I’m giving in. I’m not risking the kids’ or my safety.
“Twenty-two hundred dollars,” Claudia demands, kissing Roger’s cheek in celebration of their win. “We’d prefer cash, but a check will do if you don’t have that much on you.”
“I’m not giving you twenty-two hundred dollars,” I say, shuffling through my bag until I find my wallet.
“If you want to keep them, that’s how much I want,” Claudia replies. “Take it or leave it.”
Trey takes a step forward and scowls at his mother in repulsion. “Whoa, whoa. Are yousellingus for twenty-two hundred dollars?” He peers over at me with disbelief. “Is that what you’re giving her the money for? So we can stay here?”
Instead of answering him, I collect all the bills from my wallet, step forward, and shove it into Claudia’s chest. “There’s three hundred dollars. That’s all I have and all you’re getting. If you take it, you’ll leave and let the children stay here. You will not come tomorrow, begging for more money. This is your one chance. Take it or leave it.”
Roger snatches the money from her hand, counts it, and motions to the door.
“Fine,” Claudia draws out. “But I want them for the holidays.”
I nod. “I’ll let them spend a few hours with you.”
“I’m not spending a minute with her!” Trey screams.
“I don’t want to spend the holiday with your selfish ass,” Claudia spits out. “I only want to see your sister.”
“I want to see Mommy!”
Our attention goes to the hallway where Gloria is standing.
Perfect.
Hopefully, she didn’t witness too much of what just happened.
“Of course, honey,” Claudia says, leaning down and gesturing for Gloria to come over. “I’ll be here to pick you up.”
Gloria barrels down the hallway, right into her arms, giving her a hug. Claudia wraps her arms around her and squeezes her tight. It’s moments like this: where Claudia attempts to be a decent and loving parent that I somewhat feel bad for her, but then I remember how she operates. She’ll promise Gloria everything under the sun and then disappoint her. Then, I’ll be the one to pick up the pieces.
Gloria is the only person who says good-bye when they leave.
25
Kyle
Two Weeks Later
Unless fireworks are involved, holiday shifts are uneventful.
So far, this Thanksgiving, there hasn’t even been a failed deep-fried turkey attempt, so for the past two hours, Gage and I have been sitting idle in the car, talking shit to each other.
“Go talk to Chloe,” Gage says, repeating the same thing he’s said daily. “You look like hell.”
