by Rye Hart
It felt weird being praised for doing something illegal well, but hey, given my track record with jobs lately, I took it. It meant I was going to be able to feed my family tonight. Hopefully, it meant I was going to be able to pay rent as well.
“That guy Harry,” I said, “he's – ”
“He's a fucking nutbag,” Tim said. “But, he's a good customer and always has cash, so he can be as big of a fuckin' nutback as he wants, as far as I'm concerned.”
Tim disappeared into the bedroom and came back a few minutes later. I saw the cash in his hand and felt a surge of excitement in me. I had no idea how much he was going to give me. Which, in hindsight, probably wasn't the smartest idea. I should have nailed him down to a figure before I accepted the job. But, desperation makes you do stupid things.
Tim pressed a small stack of bills into my hand. “Well earned, man.”
I opened the stack and counted it out, my eyes growing a little wider with each bill. Four hundred dollars. I made four hundred dollars for not even two hours of work. I looked up at him to see if he was messing with me again.
“Seriously?” I asked.
“What, it's not enough?”
I shook my head quickly. “No, it's just more than I expected.”
He shrugged. “You run the risk out there,” he said. “You get paid. Just remember, part of that money is for your discretion and silence. You get caught, I don't fuckin' know you.”
I nodded quickly. “Yeah, I get it.”
“Seriously, man,” Tim said, his voice more serious than I'd ever heard it before. “You take that money, there's no rollin' on me. You do, you pay some serious fuckin' consequences.”
The threat sent a chill through me, but I nodded again. I looked up, held his gaze firm.
“You don't have to worry,” I said. “I'm not a rat.”
He clapped me on the shoulder, his smile wide. “Good man,” he says. “Now, go buy your brother and sister a nice meal.”
“I will,” I said.
I felt a genuine surge of excitement running through me. I was going to be able to treat them to something nice tonight. They'd been through so much, the deserved it.
“And remember, there's always more where that came from,” Tim said. “I need couriers all the time. So, you in? Can I put you at the top of my call list?”
A slight wave of trepidation surged through me. Muling drugs. Not exactly the career path I'd envisioned for myself. It was risky. Really risky. But then, was it really? I'd cruised right by a cop – was five feet from him – and he'd been none the wiser. To them, I was just some upstanding member of Walter's community on my way somewhere on my bike. They didn't know I was hauling drugs. So, how big was the risk really?
And the payoff – it seemed like a hell of a lot more than the risk I took. If I were able to do just a couple of jobs a week, we'd be sitting pretty. Or, at least, a lot prettier than we had been since our folks died. I wouldn't have to stress so hard about the bills or putting food on the table. And that's just if I did a couple of runs a week.
This was all temporary. It was just something to get us by until something better – and legal – came along. This wasn't going to be my life. It would allow me to provide for my family, but it wasn't going to be my life. I would get out the instant I could.
“Yeah,” I said. “Put me at the top of the list.”
Tim laughed and clapped me on the shoulder again. “Good man,” he said. “Good man.”
Was I though? Was I really? I was doing something wrong. Illegal.
But, at least it would allow me to take care of my family. I guess maybe, that kind of made me a good man. Didn't it?
CHAPTER SEVEN
PIPER
The blonde woman on the other side of the desk was beautiful when she smiled, but a little hardened and angry when she didn't. She stared at me with frown lines on her face and her brow furrowed. She wasn't smiling. I cleared my throat and stared at my hands, folded in my lap, trying to fight off the feeling of dread threatening to consume me.
The woman was Sheila Appleton, attorney at law. One of the better family lawyers in Walter. Okay, technically, she was the only family lawyer in Walter, but she had a decent enough reputation. She was also fairly affordable compared to going out of town and finding a big-wig, high dollar attorney like Trent had done.
“What's the problem?” I asked.
My nerves of steel had disintegrated under the withering power of just that one look from her. It damn near stopped my heart from beating in my chest. All this time, I thought everything was going to be okay. I'd felt good about our case. I felt like there was no way I could honestly lose this case or custody of my little girl, But, Sheila's eyes told me otherwise.
“Your ex has tested clean on every single drug tests he's been given,” Sheila said, handing me a small folder, “And he's actually gotten a job with proof of legit income. Turns out, he's actually making a lot of money, Piper.”
“Bullshit,” I stammered, opening the folder and flipping through the documents. “It's fake. It has to be. I know Trent.”
Tears welled in my eyes.
“Maybe, but from where I'm sitting, it looks legit,” Sheila said. “And even if it's fake, it looks good enough that it can probably fool the courts.”
“No,” I said. “I just spoke to him the other night. He was high as a kite.”
“It gets worse,” Sheila said.
“Worse? How?” I wish I hadn't asked. “It doesn't seem possible at this point.”
“He's claiming you're an unfit mother and he's seeking full custody,” she said. “Not just partial custody as before. He wants to cut you out of Olivia's life as much as possible.”
“That son of a bitch. He has no basis to claim that I'm unfit,” I said. “I've never done anything that would justify that.”
Sheila still wasn't smiling. She nodded toward the folder, so I flipped through the pages. Gasping, I stared at the photo of me with wide, scared eyes. I looked up at Sheila, who looked like a disappointed mother, and then back down at the file in my hands.
“What is – ”
I pulled it from the folder. It was a picture of me alright, a picture of me sitting around with some of his friends. I remembered that night very well. I'd put on a happy face because I knew I was leaving Trent's ass for good. I was smiling because I knew I wouldn't have to put up with anymore of his parties – or him – anymore.
Except, the photo he'd included was of me with several men sitting at a table, passing a bong around. I didn't partake, I never did. I was simply in the photo. There were beer bottles and empty shot glasses littering the table in front of us. I knew, for a fact, that at that time, Olivia was asleep in her crib in the ack of the house. Away from the mayhem, and soon enough, even further away. But, that night, she hadn't even woken up while the house was filled with people.
“He fails to mention that these are his friends at his party – not mine – doesn't he?” I hiss. And he also fails to mention that I never smoked pot. Especially, with his lowlife friends.”
“Yep. He claims he wasn't there that night. He says that he was working and says he can prove it,” he said. “He also claims you were left at home alone with the baby and chose to party instead.”
“Bullshit again,” I said, throwing the photo on her desk. “I was passing through on my way to Olivia's room. I usually locked myself in with my baby girl when things got wild, but I needed to make her a bottle first. Trent was the one who took the photo.”
“He has a written statement from his boss that he was at work that night.”
“He didn't even have a job,” I spat.
“According to his paperwork, he did,” Sheila said.
She crossed her arms in front of herself and studied me for a moment. I slammed the folder shut and threw it on her desk. Leaning back in my chair, I nibbled my thumb nail and tapped my foot on the floor, urging myself not to cry. I'd shed enough tears over this asshole already. He didn't de
serve anymore from me. What he did deserve was a swift kick in the balls.
“We're still going to win this,” I said.
“Absolutely,” Sheila said, still smiling, but sounding a little less confident than she had before. “He just made things a little harder for us. But, very rarely will a judge deny a mother custody as long as she's deemed fit – which you are. The picture won't hold up in my opinion, but we do have to make sure you stay on the up-and-up.”
“Of course,” I snorted. “I don't do anything illegal, most certainly not drugs. I don't even drink.”
Sheila nodded. “I know, which is why I'm confident we can win this, Piper. We won't give the bastard any material he can use against us, and he's going to fall on his ass. Mark my words girl, when we're done with him, he's not even going to be able to adopt a cat.”
Taking a deep breath, I told myself she was right. He was trying to scare me, trying to make my life more difficult so I'd end up running back to him. It wasn't going to work. I just had to keep doing what I was doing and stay out of trouble. If I could manage that – not a difficult feat to accompish in my life, really – everything would work itself out. Everything would be just fine.
***
As I was leaving Sheila's office, my phone rang. It was Shane. I couldn't control the smile on my face when I picked up the phone.
“Hey, you,” I said.
“Hey,” he said. “So about that second date we talked about? I think I want to take you out to a real dinner this time. Just you and me.”
“Oh yeah?” I giggled.
I climbed into my car and leaned against the seat. Everything would be okay. Stay out of trouble and Trent didn't stand a chance – and hang out with Shane more too. Life was going well, I had nothing to complain about. All things considered, I was feeling pretty confident. Pretty happy.
“So what were you thinking?” I asked.
“Perezzis. The best Italian food in town,” he said.
“And where we ate before prom,” I said, my cheeks hurting from smiling so hard. “But it's expensive, isn't it?”
“Not too bad. I can handle it,” he said. “A special girl deserves a special night out, after all.”
The idea of a night out at a nice place did sound nice, I wasn't going to lie.
“Did you find a job?” I asked.
“Yes, actually I did. Just a temporary gig, but it pays well enough,” he said. “Enough that I can spoil the hell out of you for one night at least.”
I laughed, feeling giddy and silly, like a schoolgirl all over again. “I'd love to, Shane. We can celebrate your new job too while we're at it.”
He was quiet for a moment, but then answered, “Yeah, sounds good,” he said. “We'll do that. So when are you free?”
“Tonight, actually,” I said. “I took the day off to meet with my lawyer to go over some stuff for the custody hearing.”
“Pick you up at six then?”
I couldn't believe this was happening to me – now, after all these years. Shane Jackson and I were going on a real date again. We were going to the place we'd shared dinner before our senior prom. It all felt too romantic and sweet for words. It almost felt too good to be true after all the crap I'd been through the last few years.
It was just surreal to me, how quickly life could turn around. How quickly you could move from your lowest depths, to unimaginable highs. It was amazing to me.
“I can't wait,” I cooed.
***
“Another date already? Think things are getting serious?” mom asked, smiling at me as I examined myself in the hall mirror.
This time, I'd picked out a soft pink dress with a bow cinching my waist. It brought out my hourglass figure, accentuating my curves very nciely, and made me look pretty amazing, I had to say.
“I don't know,” I said, but I couldn't stop grinning like a fool.
The other night, that kiss at his place – it had been pretty magical. It honestly felt like old times, like we were still the two love-drunk teenagers who couldn't get enough of each other. That fire and passion we'd had for each other back in the day didn't seem to have dimmed in the least with the passage of time.
To be honest, after Shane left, and then after Trent, I wasn't sure I'd ever find that again. I wasn't sure it even existed of if I honestly even wanted to try again. Yet, despite all that, there I was. Grinning like a lovesick idiot.
A knock souned at the door, and I giggled as my mom patted me on the rear, giving me a knowing smile. I scurried off toward the front door. Olivia was sitting in the living room, playing with her dolls, looking up at me and smiling as I entered the room. This was it. He was going to meet her, whether I was ready for it to happen or not.
Letting out a long, nervous breath, I answered the door, and instantly felt like my heart was about to beat straight out of my chest. He'd gotten a cut, so his chestnut brown hair was trimmed and neat, just like I'd remembered him. He was freshly shaven too. His brown eyes were sparkling and the warm, inviting smile on his face said he was happy to see me. I nearly melted into a puddle when I saw what he had in his hands.
“Lilies?” I gushed. “You remembered. I can't believe you remembered.”
“Of course I did,” he said. “They were always your favorite flowers.”
I welcomed him into the house, and Olivia stared up at him with big eyes, wide with a little hint of fear in them. She stood up and walked over to me, hiding behind my leg with her thumb in her mouth.
“Well hey there,” Shane said, kneeling down so he was at eye-level with my little girl. “You must be Olivia. I've heard an awful lot about you. My name is Shane.”
My heart almost couldn't take it. Seeing him looking at her with such sweetness and gentleness in his eyes made my heart swell to the point it felt like it might burst. It as almost too much for me.
“She's a bit shy,” I said, running a hand through her silky black hair, as she leaned her head into my leg. “But she'll come around.”
“I'm sure she will,” he said. “She's beautiful. Just like her mama.”
My cheeks flushed with color, and I just stood there, grinning like a fool. Footsteps sounded in the hallway behind me and a moment later, I felt my mother's hand on my shoulder, giving me a gentle squeeze.
“Shane, it's been way too long,” mom said, a warm smile on her face.
“It has, Mrs. Anderson. How have you been?”
“Good,” she said, giving me an approving smile. “And you?”
“Been better,” he said. “But, no use complaining about it. I'm making it work.”
“Sorry to hear about your parents. They were good people,” mom said.
The two of them made small talk as I transferred the flowers over to a vase. Olivia was like a magnet, stuck completely to my side.
“Its okay, baby,” I said. “He's mommy's friend.”
She didn't say anything, but her wide-eyed gaze moved over to Shane. He caught her staring and gave her a wink and a little wave. Olivia's face lit up and she smiled back at him, but buried her face in my leg again, still not willing to leave my side.
“Well, we better get going,” I said.
I stepped in to save him from my mother's endless chatter. She could literally talk to anyone for hours at a time, which was great in open, free-flowing social settings. But, when we had reservations, it wasn't always her most helpful or charming personality trait.
Shane waved at Olivia as we left my place, and we climbed into his car. He drove us over to the restaurant which was in the center of town. Mostly we reminisced about days from our high school youth – the stupid senior prank our class pulled where we painted the sidewalks around the school in our team's colors, about friends who had moved on from Walter, and how they were doing according to town gossip, and the like.
It had been so long since I'd been there – maybe even the prom had been the last time – so, I was shocked that Perezzis looked almost identical to my memories of the place. Nothing had chang
ed. The carpet was still the same wine red, the furniture all antique, dark wood. Soft classical music played in the lobby, and a petite teenaged girl greeted us upon entering. She smiled back at us with teeth bracketed by braces, and it reminded me of the summer I worked at the diner down the street. I'd been a gangly, awkward girl with braces too.
God, it felt like eons ago.
“Jackson, party of two,” Shane said.
I raised my eyebrows. “You even made reservations,” I said.
“Of course I did,” he said.
He took my hand in his and laid a gentle kiss upon the knuckles. The hostess led us to our table, and as soon as I saw it, I almost died on the spot.
It was the same exact table we'd sat at all those years ago.
A corner table, tucked away in a private little nook with a water feature separating us from the rest of the place. It was a little bit private, a little bit cozy, and a whole lot intimate. The waterfall was calming as it splashed down upon the stones in the wall, providing nice ambient noise that brought back so many memories.
Before I could say anything about it, Shane scooped me up into his arms and pressed himself against me. I let out a soft yelp of surprise, but then laughed as he pulled my face into his, where he kissed me passionately. I took his face in my hands as well, stroking his baby soft cheeks and held him as if I'd never let him go again. God knew, I didn't want to.
I sensed the tightness in his pants as he reacted to my body, then felt him accidentally brush me with his hard cock. Embarrassed, he shifted himself so he wasn't poking me with it, but I too was having a reaction of my own to his body. I felt the wetness in my panties and almost suggested we sneak out of there and skip dinner entirely – both of us obviously eager to make up for lost time.
Shane had gone through all the trouble to do this for us though, and it was such a sweet gesture. When the kiss ended, he stared deeply into my eyes while stroking my cheek. The tenderness and passion in his gaze set my insides on fire and I swear I could almost have an orgasm just from the burning intensity I saw in him.