AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lachlan had a pained expression on his face.
“Jason promised that none of the ‘particulars’ mattered, and he would always support us and always make sure we were comfortable. But when push came to shove…” I shrugged. “One month he was giving us the six hundred he was supposed to, and the next it was only one-fifty. And he forbade me from moving outside the one-hundred-mile radius. For Calla’s stability, he said.”
“Wow,” Lachlan said, his brows knit together.
“I know. I’m pathetic. I get it.”
“No,” he said, his anger starting to radiate from him in tangible waves. “Youare trusting and caring, andhetook advantage of that. It’s not a weakness to trust people, Laurel. The weakness is his—for abusing it.”
I shrugged, unconvinced. I wouldn’t be in this mess if I’d been smarter. “Well, anyway, I did get a defiant hair in my brain, and I moved as far inside the radius as I could. Montpelier is near the edge of that boundary, and I was able to find a job as a resource teacher here. My mom lives here, too, which,” I cringed, “is fine, I guess.”
“Hm,” he said. He brought his knee up and rested his forearm on it, turning his phone idly in his hands as he thought. Wearing those glasses and staring off into the distance, I imagined him younger and in school, rocking all his classes and getting an A in chemistry. We would have never even looked twice at each other in high school.
Hell, I didn’t get why he looked at me now. But he had kissed me first. And he had kissed me like he fucking meant it.
“And you never took him to court over it?”
I brought my knees up and groaned, pressing the heels of my hands to my eyes. “I did.”
“Oh God, it gets worse, doesn’t it?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said tightly.
“Tell me.”
I forced a breath out through my lips and flopped back on the pillows to avoid looking at him. “I filed a motion to have the distance thing revoked and drained my measly savings to get the world’s crappiest lawyer. Jason came at me with everything his new, enormous salary could afford, and they weresoinvasive. They made me give up my diaries, my social media data, my texts with everyone I’d ever known, my whole life. They scrutinized every decision I made with Calla, and he started building a case to take her from me. I wigged out and settled out of court.”
“Mother of God,” he muttered. “What did you agree to?”
“He gets to call every day. And I have to talk to him and conference about Calla whenever he requests, within a twenty-four-hour notice, which he does at least twice a week without fail. He gets her for three months every summer when she turns six. I have to tell him when I switch jobs, move houses, or enter a relationship with someone who could be ‘significant’ in Calla’s life. Also, I have to find a way to pay for half of Calla’s plane tickets to Norway three times a year. He gets her for Christmas and Thanksgiving on alternate years and every spring break. And nothing on the old settlement got fixed, so I’m stuck with all of that, too.”
“Jesus,” he said softly.
“Yeah.” I stared at the vaulted ceiling. “I fucked up.” And that’s not even the worst part. I can’t tell him the rest of it.
Show me how much it means to you, Laur.I banished Jason’s ghost of a voice back to its locked box, but it kept wanting to writhe out.
“And when you can’t meet those stipulations—because let’s be real, you probably can’t—then, what?”
“That’s how he gets to tell me what to do.” I turned my head to look at him. “To keep him from holding me in contempt of court.”
“Holy Hell,” Lachlan said. He had a hand on his chin and rubbed his mouth. “That’s a God-awful mess, love.”
My heart trilled at his endearment. “Yeah,” I breathed again.
He let loose another breath, and then suddenly tipped himself over, stretching out his long body with his head supported by one hand so he was pressed against my side and looking down at me. “Well, that’s a tangle. But we’re going to stop thinking about it, okay?” He brushed a hand up and down my arm at my side and sent goosebumps skittering along my arms. “Neutral zone. Don’t get worked up about it.”
I forced the gnashing demon inside of me to get back in its box. “Got it.”
“I mean it,” he said, his voice taking on that commanding edge that gave me giddy shivers. “Men like that… they bluster and threaten, but he’s not going to take you to court just because you missed a few calls. So, check in with Calla and your mom tomorrow, but otherwise, stay off the phone.”
I gasped, sitting up fast. “Oh my God, my job.” I scooted myself toward the edge of the bed, but Lachlan hooked an arm around my waist and dragged me back.
“Whoa, Turbo.”
“No, I need to go! I called off on Friday, but I have to be back there tomorrow.”
He laughed, and his arm tightened, forcing me against his broad, solid chest. “No. That’s not happening.”
