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“Because it’s not her fault, either.”
“Dammit, Iz!” She hurries behind and catches up just as I hit the main entrance. We jog to the parking lot and stop at the sight of her squatting low beside a shiny SUV. Her children snuggle in close, her back is pressed to the car, and all three sob into each other’s arms.
My stomach turns.
“I’m sorry, baby, I’m so sorry.” Lindsi rubs her son’s arm. “Mommy’s sorry for hurting you. I didn’t mean to squeeze so hard.”
“I want to go home,” he cries. “It’s time to go home.”
She shakes her head and looks blindly to the sky. “We can’t, but we’ll go to our new home, okay? Let’s go see Aunt Andi, then we’ll get a new bedroom. You’d like that, right?”
I look back to the SUV, to the packed to the brim windows. The suitcases. All her worldly belongings packed up into one car.
“Fuck.”
“Iz. Don’t.”
“Lindsi.” I step forward slowly in an attempt not to scare them. Useless, though, when she shoots to her feet and shoves her babies between her and the SUV.
What the hell am I going to do? Lindsi and her children are living out of a car. I broke a family. I forced her out of her home.
“Did you leave him?”
“Why? Are you gonna call him? Go fuck on my side of the bed?”
I sigh. “No. I’m not. Please believe me when I tell you, we’re good people. I’m a good person that made a shitty choice, but I can be your friend. I swear I didn’t know he was married. You and me, we were both burned. I want to help you.”
“Why would you want to help me?”
“Why not? You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“I hit you!”
“She hit me, too.” I turn to Kit with a smile, but she’s not laughing. She’s pissed that Lindsi hit and called names.
She’s a tough nut to crack if you hurt her family.
Lindsi’s shoulders droop. “Yes, I left him.”
“Do you have somewhere to live?”
“I don’t need your charity! I came here to hit you. Mission accomplished. I don’t want a damn pen pal.”
I blow out a frustrated breath. “Stop being so fucking snotty. We’re just talking.”
She steps back from my tone and stuffs her children tighter between her and the car. Taking a deep breath, she nods. “We’ll find somewhere to live this afternoon.”
“Why’d you leave the house? He’s the cheat. You should’ve put his shit on the curb.”
“He doesn’t know we left yet,” she whispers.
My heart gallops in my chest. “Why not?”
Her blue eyes latch onto mine. “Because he’d never let us go.”
“Lindsi…” My stomach twists in angry knots. “Does he hurt you?”
“Not anymore.”
