89

89
HAYLEY’S P.O.V

I stared at her for a moment.

If anything, I was actually proud of the fact that she came all this way to ask that her mother’s charges be dropped. It was a ballsy thing to do, especially for a fourteen year old and that was the only thing that kept me listening to her.

“You don’t understand how these things work,” dad began but she shot him a bored look.

“I’m fourteen, I know how things work. I heard what she did, I know she assaulted someone but I don’t know who.”

“Don’t you want to know?” I asked and she groaned.

“Look, I’m not going to defend her because I know what she did was wrong. It’s clear you didn’t want to see her, I saw how you reacted at the funeral. I know my mother and she can be a bit much sometimes but she has issues, okay? I found out she went off her meds-”

“What meds?” she fell silent immediately. “Look, Kayla, if you want me to help you then I need to know why.”

“I can’t tell you her business. All I will say is that she is a good mother. She has never gotten a parking ticket, she has never been to jail before. She was at every dance recital I had and every graduation.”

With every word, I felt a part of myself chipping away. I had convinced myself that I didn’t need a mother, that I had all the family I ever wanted but it still stung knowing that she had the potential to be this good of a mother, she had the makings of it and yet, she couldn’t do it for me.

“I know she abandoned you, I know you hate her and you have every right to do that but you said it yourself, she isn’t your mother but she’s mine. Please drop the charges. I’ll make sure she never bothers you again.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“I’ll do everything possible then,” she argued.

I was silent for a moment before clearing my throat. “You’d make a good lawyer.”

I turned to Jake. I couldn’t tell him what to do, especially not in this situation. He was the one she hit, not me, it was his house that she tried to vandalize, if he didn’t want to drop the charges then there was nothing I could do about it.

“Is this what you want?” he asked me and I shrugged.

I just wanted the girl out of the house. All I could hear when I looked at her was how she praised her mother. She was a constant reminder of everything I didn’t have growing up. I suppose that was hypocritical and maybe even a little selfish, I had money, I had it all, I never lacked a single thing.

“Fine,” Jake said finally. “I’ll drop the charges but if she comes within fifty feet of us again, she will never see the light of day again.”

Makayla sighed with relief. “Thank you so much. I better go-”

“Not so fast,” I stopped her. “You’re fourteen. Unless you want your mother charged with negligence, you better come with me.”

“But-”

“Where is your sister?”

“At home alone. I couldn’t bring her with me.”

I muttered a small curse under my breath. “Come with me, I’ll take you home while Jake handles the police.”

Makayla was not exactly pleased about the arrangement but she stopped complaining the moment she laid eyes on my car. Her eyes widened to the point of saucers and she touched it carefully like it was a fragile egg ready to break beneath her fingers.

She sat in one spot, almost as if she was scared to move. The only time she spoke was to give me directions to where they lived. It was almost amusing that they lived here, in the same city I lived in and until now, I hadn’t known that.

“We didn’t always live here,” Kayla spoke up causing me to turn to her. “We moved here about two years ago.”

“Two years is a long time. How did you know your mum was in jail?”

“She used her one phone call to call me- well, herself. I had her phone,” she explained before adding. “We always knew about you. We didn’t know who you were but she told us she had another daughter. She said she-”

“I don’t want to know,” I cut her off.

She frowned but didn’t say much. The next time she spoke, it was to tell me where to stop.

Their house was beautiful. It was a little house with a small garden in front of it but it looked lived in. There was a bicycle by the side of the house and on the door was a small painting that said welcome in horrid colors.

I walked her to the door and watched her open it.

The inside was even worse, there were toys everywhere and it smelled like cookies. There were pictures lining the walls of Andrea and her daughters, some of those pictures had a man in them who I assumed was their dad.

“Are you going to come in?” Kayla asked but I shook my head.

She wanted to say more but was cut off by hurried footsteps. Her sister rushed up to the door, she looked more like their father. She couldn’t be older than ten but as soon as she saw me, she froze in her tracks.

“Mum isn’t here,” she told me, her eyes wary and hard.

“I know, I’m not here to see her.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Fran, stop,” Kayla hissed at her sister. “Sorry about her, she tends to hold grudges.”

There was something awfully domestic about this and I hated it so I took a step back. “I’m leaving now, do not leave your house, please.”

“Aren’t you going to wait until she comes back?” I shook my head and Kayla sighed. “You’re not going to come here again, are you?”

“No, but it was nice to meet you.”

“You don’t really mean that,” she frowned.

“I do, you’re a good kid.”

“Not good enough for you to want to know, obviously,” she made to shut the door but I stopped it with my hand. “What do you want?”

I crouched down so I was at eye level with them.

“You got the picket fence life, you got the mother who loved you and who was always there but I didn’t. I don’t hate her for it and I’m not here to change your opinion of her because she was a wonderful mother to you but that’s just not my experience.”

“You had money. Your dad is famous and you’re dating this super rich guy. You’ve met all these amazing celebrities. I could never do that.”

“That is true,” I smiled softly. “But we’re not talking about money right now. Where you see your mother, I see a woman I never knew.”

“Why did she leave you? When did she leave?” Fran asked. “She never said why.”

“I think that is a conversation that you need to have with your mother, not me.”

“You can tell us,” she argued and I smiled softly.

“No, I can’t, it’s not my place,” she wasn’t pleased with that response but at least she stopped arguing. I stood to my feet. “Stay safe, both of you.”

Without another word, I turned on my heels and got into my car. They watched me as I drove off down the street and I waited until they got back into the house before I turned around. I was many things but heartless wasn’t one of them. I wasn’t going to leave two children at home alone irrespective of how I felt about their mother.

I parked a few houses down and watched them.

Jake texted me as soon as Andrea left the station but I still didn’t leave. I waited until I saw her approach the house in a yellow taxi. I watched her stand in front of her house, her head buried in her hands. I couldn’t tell if it was shame or annoyance.

She looked down the street and I could have sworn she was staring straight at my car. I braced myself to drive off if she tried to approach but at the last moment, she turned away and walked into her house.

I stayed there for maybe a minute more before finally driving home.

Dad was pacing in Jake’s living room when I finally walked in. As soon as he saw me, he breathed a sigh of relief and rushed over to me.

“You took too long,” he frowned. “I should have come with you.”

“I’m fine, dad,” I assured him with a smile. “I just wanted to make sure the children weren’t left alone.”

He froze, his eyes assessing me in a way that had me feeling uncomfortable. “Are you alright?”

I nodded. “I’m tired. I don’t think I have the energy to drive back home. I’ll probably stay here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very,” I gave him a weak smile. “Goodnight, dad.”