“It’s for the safety of the children. What I do in this situation will set precedence.”
“In my sister’s defense, she probably wasn’t in the best state of mine when she filled out that pick-up form.”
“And I’m assuming since you aren’t calling her that there’s a very serious situation in the works. Which is all the more reason for me to keep these children underneath a safe and neutral roof until CPS calls back,” she said.
“Or, there’s our other option.”
“I’m not going with you,” she said.
“Miss Gentry, I’m hungry,” Zoey said.
“How does pizza sound?” she asked.
“But I wanna eat pizza and watch a movie.”
“I’ve got movies here,” she said.
“But Uncle Ryan has the awesome couch,” Hunter said.
“And the best apple juice,” Benjamin said.
“And my favorite pillow,” Zoey said.
“Plus, the pizza that delivers to my place makes those square slices. They really are the best,” I said with a smile.
Emma flashed her eyes up to me as she cradled the kids close to her. The fight in her was admirable, and her wanting to make sure my niece and nephews were protected gave me hope that Valentina really had chosen the proper school for them. But I was growing tired of our argument and I needed to get the kids home. I had to figure out where the hell they were going to sleep and how much homework they had. And I was getting hungry myself.
“Please, Miss Gentry?” Hunter said.
“Come with us. I promise you’ll like Uncle Ryan’s apartment,” Benjamin said.
“And you can watch the movie with us,” Zoey said as a smile crossed her face.
I watched Emma mindlessly stroke her fingers through Zoey’s hair as her eyes danced across my face.
“I’m not leaving your apartment until CPS returns my call,” she said.
A wave of relief cascaded over me as the kids ran towards my body. They wrapped me up in hugs and planted kisses on my cheeks. I loved these three and my heart ached for them. I knew I would eventually have to tell them about their mother. I was thankful for the few outfits of theirs I had at my place already. It would prevent me from having to step foot in my sister’s drug-addled house to get their things.
Because I knew going over there would only serve to make me angrier.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Miss Emma.”
“Emma’s fine,” she said as she picked up her purse. “Lead the way.”
“Will you be following us in your car?” I asked.
“I will be, yes.”
> “What kind of car do you drive?”
“The rust bucket parked at the end of the lot,” she said.
Bitterness saturated her voice, and I studied her closely before Zoey took her hand. The boys hung onto mine as we all walked down the hallway, Emma’s heels clicking softly along the floor. We all dumped out into the parking lot and I looked across the way, taking in the sight of the nasty car sitting in the corner.
“Where’s your car?” Emma asked.
I nodded my head in front of us. Towards the shining red Jaguar. Not the car you want kids riding in, but they would be safe until we got back to my place. I could see the look in Emma’s eyes. Part of her was ready to roll them in my direction and part of her was lost in her thoughts. I wondered what she was thinking about as her eyes danced along my vehicle.