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I already knew Ariel was her brother’s guardian, but I hadn’t been able to dig up much more than that yet.
Taking in his clean but slightly too small clothes, I wanted to help any way I could. “Do you need money?”
Lenny snorted. “If you’re thinking of offering Ariel money, don’t bother. She won’t take it.”
Maybe their problems were worse than I thought. “If you ever need anything, you come to me. No matter what you need or what time it is.”
His lips tipped up in a wobbly smile. “Thanks, Jude.”
The words were heavy with emotion. I decided in that moment that I’d do everything in my power to make his life easier.
But first we had ice cream to eat.
5
ARIEL
Fuck.I knew ignoring Mom’s letter wouldn’t end well. I should have talked to a lawyer. But now it was too late.
Getting out of my car, I shot a nervous glance at Lenny. He’d been engrossed in the comic I’d bought him for getting an A on his physics test the whole car ride home. But I watched with a heavy weight on my chest as he opened his door, his gaze falling on Mom, who was sitting on the bottom step of the stairs leading to our apartment.
She jumped up, holding her arms out. “There’s my baby.”
I cringed at her loud voice, grinding my teeth together to stop from saying anything.
Lenny frowned at her before recognition dawned on his face and his jaw went slack. I rushed in front of him, blocking her. “Hi, Mom. What are you doing here? I thought we had an agreement.”
Looking me up and down and wrinkling her nose in disapproval, she dismissed me. Craning her neck to see Lenny, she pushed past me. “There’s my boy.”
I was too slow to stop her from clutching a stiff Lenny to her ample bosom. She’d always been curvy, something I’d envied my whole life. My lithe body and small stature made me look like a boy. My only saving grace was my wild mane of red hair.
I wasn’t particularly fond of the color, but the thickness and slight waves pushed it into acceptable territory. Most days I didn’t care what I looked like. Unless I worked a particular job that required for me to put on makeup and get dressed up, I braided my hair, put on a little mascara and lip gloss, and I was good to go.
But lately I’d been catching myself looking in the mirror more often, wondering if I should add makeup to my daily routine—which would require learning how to put it on in the first place.
Mom finally released a stunned Lenny, pinching his cheek. “I’ve missed you. Did you miss me?”
He moved in closer to my side, and I took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Mom’s eyes shot to our connected hands and narrowed. Her face changed from pleasant to nasty in a second. Nowthisexpression I was familiar with.
I stepped in front of my brother in an attempt to shield him from her. “It’s late, and Lenny needs to go to bed. He has school tomorrow.”
I took another step forward, but she blocked me. “My lawyer said you haven’t responded to the letter.”
Lenny shot me a questioning frown, but I shook my head slightly at him. “That’s because I’m not sure what’s going on. You agreed to give me guardianship.”
“You forget I’m still his mother. I can revoke guardianship if I want.”
The bottom dropped out of my stomach, and I tightened my hand on Lenny’s. “Why are you doing this? You never had any interest in your children. What’s changed?”
I didn’t want to have this conversation in front of Lenny. I’d never told him what had happened. All he knew was Mom could no longer look after him. He hadn’t asked for her much since we’d moved out.
She’d never been a mom to him, pushing all responsibility on me. I’d loved Lenny from the first moment I looked into his wrinkled and angry old man face when Mom pushed him into my arms in the hospital.
I’d been the one to make sure he had food and clothes. I’d done his homework with him. Took him to the doctor when he had a fever that wouldn’t go down.
“I haven’t heard from your lawyer, so I’m guessing you don’t have one.” She looked around the apartment complex with a wrinkled nose. “And since you live in a dump, you probably can’t afford one either. So why don’t you just make this easier on all of us and let Lenny be with his momma again?”
She leaned down to Lenny, ruffling his hair. “Don’t you want to live with me?”
