The Ex Files

by Victoria Christopher Murray

  Sheridan frowned. Wondered why she needed to say anything to Quentin. They were divorced. He didn’t deserve any explanation of her heart. Sheridan glanced at her watch. “Mom, I’ve gotta get out of here. I didn’t leave anything for Tori to eat.” She hugged her mother. “Are you sure you don’t want me or Tori to spend the night? You know your granddaughter would love to hang out with her nana.”

  “No, sweetheart. I’m fine, and if I need you later, I’ll call.”

  Sheridan hugged her mother. “I love you.”

  “Ditto!”

  They walked to the front with arms entwined and then Beatrice stood at the door, until Sheridan waved.

  Sheridan hated leaving her mother alone, but she knew this was all part of what Beatrice had told her—letting go. Now all she had to do was find a way to convince the world that she had long ago let go of Quentin.

  Chapter Seventy-four

  ASIA

  Last week when she’d wrapped her arms around Angel and carried her from the Child Protective Services building, Asia was sure that she’d never be in this place again. But here she was, just seven days later, trailing behind Ms. Thomas.

  She’d been surprised when she’d received the call yesterday.

  “Ms. Ingrum, I am ready to file my deposition on your case. However, I need to speak with you. Can you be in my office tomorrow at nine, promptly?”

  Asia had frowned. “Can’t you just tell me over the phone?”

  Her answer was a simple no, and then Ms. Thomas repeated the time. Asia hung up, she needed a glass of wine—at ten in the morning.

  Now, as she followed Ms. Thomas down the hallway, the thoughts that had consumed her continued—there wouldn’t be all this drama unless Bobby had been found guilty of some wrongdoing.

  In the office, Asia slipped into the chair across from Ms. Thomas and pressed her hands together.

  “I’ll get right to the point, Ms. Ingrum,” Ms. Thomas said in her computer-sounding voice. “We have concluded from both the interview and physical examination of your daughter that no significant factors were found that would indicate any abuse has occurred.”

  “Okay.” Asia frowned. “Are you saying that Angel was not molested?”

  “That is correct. Your file will be closed under what’s called a ruled out. It will be an administrative closure meaning that Child Protective Services intervention is unwarranted.”

  Asia breathed deeply.

  “You look relieved, Ms. Ingrum.”

  “Shouldn’t I be? You just told me that my daughter hasn’t been molested.”

  “Are you sure that’s the only reason for your relief?”

  Asia frowned.

  Ms. Thomas said, “I hope you know how serious these charges were. We don’t take these reports lightly.”

  Asia folded her arms.

  Ms. Thomas continued, “I’ve evaluated enough of these cases to see the good ones from the bad.”

  Asia looked at her through narrowed eyes, but still said nothing.

  “Ms. Ingrum, your daughter revealed that you told her her father did bad things to her.”

  Asia opened her mouth, but Ms. Thomas raised her hand.

  “Your daughter also said her teacher told her the same things.”

  “Neither one of us did anything like that,” Asia objected, and then leaned back in her chair, not wanting to protest too much. But she was glad that she’d worn a vest over her button-down shirt, or otherwise she was sure Ms. Thomas would have seen her heart beating in the center of her chest.

  Ms. Thomas nodded. “We spoke with Angel’s teacher and she explained the school’s program. She said all the parents received letters and that you’d probably talked to Angel about what she’d learned in school.”

  “That’s exactly what happened.”

  Ms. Thomas bowed her head a bit, peered at Asia over the top of her glasses. Made Asia squirm. “We’re glad this is a positive conclusion. However, it is important to note that it is a crime to make a false report.”

  The muscles in her jaw contracted. “I told you from the beginning that I wasn’t sure about this. But you insisted that we continue. And I went along with it because other people told me the same thing—including my aunt, Pastor Beverly Ford.” She said the last part slowly.

  The way Ms. Thomas smirked, Asia knew the message had been sent—and received. But the way she kept her eyes trained on her, Asia knew that Ms. Thomas had a point of her own. “Well, Mr. Johnson will also be notified.”

  “What will you tell him?”

  “That molestation has been ruled out.” She said nothing more, stood, and offered her hand to Asia, but with her chin high, Asia stepped from the office without bothering to say good-bye. She sauntered past the other CPS workers as if she’d never had any worries.

  But once downstairs, she collapsed against the building. It took her a moment to breathe again. Thank God Angel’s teacher had collaborated her story. Finally, this was over.

  She needed to celebrate. She dug her cell phone from her purse and scrolled for Sheridan’s number. But then, she stopped. I need a real party, she thought as she made a different call.

  “Hey, girl,” she said when Noon answered. “Whatcha doin’ tonight?”

  Chapter Seventy-five

  SHERIDAN

  “Mom, thank you so much for doing this,” Sheridan said as she carried her mother’s suitcase into the guest bedroom.

  “No problem. I’m looking forward to spending some time with my granddaughter.”

  “And Tori is so excited about you being here. She didn’t even want to go to school this morning.”

  “Well, we’re going to have a wonderful time. Ice cream for breakfast. Potato chips for dinner and pizza in between. I think I’ll even take her to a club or two.”

  They laughed.

  “So,” Beatrice said, “I didn’t realize my little talk with you was going to drive you away.”

  “You said some things the other day that I need to think about. And I want some space to do that.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “Mom, there’s so much going on inside of me—Daddy, Brock, and even some of Quentin. I just want put everyone in their own piles. Once I do that, I can sift through everything more clearly.”

  “Good, you need a little vacation.”

  “This is not a vacation. I’m just driving down the coast. And I’m going to do a little work, too. It’s time to go back to the workshops that Daddy and I were doing.”

  “I’m really happy to hear that.”

  Sheridan wrapped her arms around her mother’s shoulders and they strolled down the stairs. “I’ll call you when I check in.” She hugged her mother again before she grabbed her suitcase.

  “Be safe,” Beatrice said as she opened the door.

  “Tell Tori I love her.”

  “I will, but she knows that.”

  Sheridan grinned. “Just like I know that my mom loves me.”

  “That she does.”

  Beatrice waved as Sheridan backed out of the driveway. She took a final glance toward her mother and then punched the accelerator and rode the curve around her cul-de-sac, eager to begin this journey.

  There had been so much noise in her head, but now as she gazed at the ocean that shimmered underneath the rhinestone-studded sky, Sheridan found peace.

  She turned from the window, sank into the bed’s thick down comforter and flipped through the resort’s directory. The amenities were plentiful, but she didn’t plan to take advantage of anything more than room service and the spa. She tossed the directory aside, leaned against the headboard, and closed her eyes.

  Then the noise returned. All of their voices.

  Maybe Quentin is your soul mate…sounds like you haven’t made up your mind about how you really feel about Quentin…you still have unresolved feelings for Quentin…I’ve always known that I still love you.

  Sheridan shook her head. Why couldn’t she find quiet? She needed a distraction. She picked up the room servic
e menu, sifted through the pages, then tossed that aside. That’s not what she was hungry for.

  She jumped from the bed, zipped open her suitcase, and pulled out her Bible. Searching the concordance, she found the scripture she was looking for in Psalms: The Lord gives strength to his people, the Lord blesses his people with peace.

  That’s what she needed, the blessing of God’s peace. She turned to the other scriptures, reading, not stopping until the voices were gone. Then she prayed. And for the first time in weeks, she slept with a smile.

  Chapter Seventy-six

  KENDALL

  With a frown, Kendall hung up the phone.

  Sheridan’s message said that she was going away. Her prayer partner sounded as stressed as she felt—almost made Kendall want to reach out. But she knew she wouldn’t.

  No connections, she thought. And anyway, there was no time to add another serving to her plate. Not with what she’d been going through.

  Kendall rested her elbows on her desk and massaged her temples. Exhaustion flowed with her blood. It was the waiting that made her tired—all the waiting that yielded nothing. Her hopes were still high, but it wasn’t based upon facts. She didn’t know what she expected when she started—definitely more than this. All of the bases were covered, but there had been not a bit of news.

  “Two weeks is a very short time,” Gilbert Aniston told her this morning. “Most people wait for transplants for years.”

  There was nothing short about two weeks to Kendall. Not when she’d spent the over three hundred hours thinking of little more than her sister.

  And then, there was Mr. Quimby. “I don’t have anything yet, little lady. With the small amount of information you gave me, it would be a miracle if I had anything this soon.”

  Didn’t he know that a miracle was exactly what she expected? Especially since the stress of the situation had actually sent her to her knees. The first time she dropped to the floor and raised her hands to God, she’d heard her pastor’s voice: People use prayer as a last resort, when it should be the first thought.

  Well, going to God hadn’t come first, but it was a major feat that she was going to Him at all. Every night she begged Him to make this happen. And then something happened—He gave her peace. She didn’t know the what, where, how, or when, but she had no doubt that this would work for Sabrina. So her prayers turned from begging Him to thanking Him for what she was sure would come.

  She heard her office door open, but she stayed in place, too tired to move.

  “Kendall?”

  She opened her eyes. Offered a hardly-there smile to her pastor. “I haven’t seen you in a while.” Pastor Ford settled into a chair.

  “I’ve been kind of busy.”

  Pastor Ford nodded, let her eyes rest on Kendall. “I spoke to your dad; he said that you’re all still waiting.”

  “I know they’re waiting.” She spoke as if she weren’t part of the family.

  “Have you seen your sister?”

  Kendall lifted her chin. “No,” and then with her jaw tight, she waited for her pastor to reprimand her for not being a good Christian and an even worse sibling.

  Pastor Ford said, “I heard about the bone marrow drive you’re doing.”

  “Not me,” Kendall said. “Janet, she has a cousin—”

  The pastor held up her hand. “I got the e-mail and I noticed the posters as I came into the club.” She stopped, eyed Kendall some more. “Interesting how Janet has a cousin who needs a bone marrow transplant.”

  Kendall said nothing.

  “Just like Sabrina.”

  Kendall did nothing.

  “I’m going to announce this drive—for Janet’s cousin—in church on Sunday.”

  “Janet will appreciate that, Pastor.”

  “You know, Kendall, God listens to our cries, our prayers. He answers knee-mail.”

  Kendall had always wondered about her pastor’s powers—how she could just look at someone and know what they were thinking, what they’d been doing. Did Pastor Ford know about her prayers?

  Pastor Ford’s face warmed with her smile. “There is good news coming.”

  Before Kendall could respond, the office door swung open and banged against the wall. “Kendall!” Janet burst into the room. “Mr. Quimby’s on the phone. He’s found Sabrina’s mother!”

  Chapter Seventy-seven

  ASIA

  This was the call she’d been dreading.

  “Asia, I need to speak to you.”

  Maybe it was because he had waited five days before calling, but still his too-calm voice made her too anxious. She would have known what to do if he were ranting and cursing. She’d been in that place with him before. But this Bobby—this was new, different, scary.

  “Sure, Bobby,” she said. “I hope you understand why I didn’t return your calls. I couldn’t—not while CPS was involved.”

  He ignored her words. “Is Angel in school? I want to come over now.”

  “She won’t be home until two. But you can wait and come then, so you can see her.”

  “No!” he said. “I don’t want to see her…not yet. Not until I figure out…” He stopped, leaving her to wonder about his words.

  “Come anytime you want,” she said softly. “I’ll be here.”

  She placed the phone on the receiver, but stayed on the edge of the bed. She always said she lived with no regrets, but she wouldn’t be able to say that anymore. She really was sorry for what she’d done.

  There was only one way to handle Bobby—to make it up to him. She stood, slipped her nightgown from her shoulders.

  Naked, she stood in the center of her closet. She didn’t want to wear anything obvious. But she needed something that would get her point across—something that would get him into her bed and let him know how truly sorry she was.

  Asia adjusted her bra under the sheer black top, then twisted in front of the mirror to see the backside of her jeans. Perfect!

  She wondered why she hadn’t taken this approach before. After Caroline’s berating, she never seriously considered bedding Bobby again. She’d been so focused on exacting revenge that she’d forgotten about her other talents. Between the sheets, she and Bobby made magic. Sexing him should have been her plan all along. But she couldn’t think about a new plan right now. Today was just about making up.

  The chimes reverberated through the apartment and she trotted down the stairs. With a breath, she opened the door.

  It had been over a month since she’d seen him. And way more than that since they’d made love. Yet he still made her salivate. It was the way he wore black—today, a simple T-shirt tucked inside black jeans. She couldn’t wait to feel his legs around her.

  He stepped inside without a word.

  “Let’s talk in there.” She turned toward the living room and moved with extra strut in her stuff. She was sure his eyes were plastered to the best part of her. But when she faced him, all she saw was a frown—the same glower he wore when he walked in.

  She spoke before she sat. “Bobby, I am sorry about what happened, but I’m glad it’s fine now.”

  He moved as if he were going to sit, but then shot back, straight up. He paced in front of her.

  She said, “I always believed in you. I knew you didn’t do anything.”

  He moved toward the mantel. Soaked in the photographs of him and her and them together with Angel. When he faced her, she shifted back a bit on the sofa, wanting to avoid the anger that exploded from his eyes.

  “What were you trying to do to me?” Again, it was his too-calm voice.

  “Bobby, I—”

  “Were you trying to ruin me? My career? My marriage? What, Asia? What was your plan?”

  She swallowed. “Bobby, there was no plan…. Angel said…but it wasn’t her fault…. It was what she was learning…and—”

  His quiet calm was gone. “You are such a liar!”

  She gripped the edge of the couch, kept her eyes on his hands clutched into fists.
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br />   “After everything we were supposed to mean to each other. After everything I tried to do for you.”

  “Bobby, this wasn’t my fault.”

  His glare pierced her. “I know you, Asia. I know you had something to do with this.”

  “I didn’t. We figured out that it came from things Angel was learning in school.”

  He shook his head. “I know you. You were trying to destroy my relationship with my daughter; you were trying to ruin me!”

  “Angel told me and my aunt that you had done bad things to her. If my aunt hadn’t been there I wouldn’t have thought anything about it. But you know my aunt.”

  “I know you. It was you.”

  “Why do you keep saying that?”

  “I. Know. You.” He glared at her with unbelieving eyes. “I should have seen it coming. But I didn’t because I thought you were different.”

  “Bobby…”

  “When I met you, I never thought we’d have a relationship. It wasn’t supposed to go on like it did. I was never going to leave my life, never going to leave the woman I loved.”

  It was as if he’d taken her heart into his hands and squeezed it.

  “But I started caring for you because you were different, Asia. You didn’t play games; just accepted me the way I came.” When he paused, Asia tried to think of something to say. But she was paralyzed with hurt, with fear. He said, “But now I see that you were nothing more than…the trash that they pick up on the side of the road every day in Compton.”

  She trembled more. Caroline had probably told him her secret.

  He said, “I don’t want my daughter growing up with someone like you.”

  She frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t want her anywhere near a woman who would destroy a man who’s only trying to do right.” Then suddenly, he stomped toward the door.

  “Bobby!”

  He turned back. “I hope there’s only one more time that I’ll have to lay my eyes on you.” He spoke, she shuddered. “I’ll see you in court, Asia. When I get sole custody of Angel.”