“Everything alright, Brenton?”
“Everything is pretty much in shambles right now, but I’m hoping you can help me fix it. The kid isn’t mine. He can’t be.”
“Thank god.”
“I always used protection with her,” I continued. “The timeline checks out, but she has to be bluffing. It’s been five years. Why is she just showing up now? Unless she just needs some cash in the form of child support or a straight up payout to keep quiet.”
“I see. Well I’m happy to help. What can I do?”
“Can you just talk to her? Scare her a little. Explain all the court fees and testing fees she’ll have to pay, not to mention how long it’ll take for her to ever see a penny in child support from me. We’ve been through this once with Amber. I’m not doing it again. I want to get her to admit she’s lying.”
“Hand me over to her.”
I thanked my best friend and handed Sabrina the phone. I crossed my arms and smirked, waiting for her response to our reconnaissance.
Eventually, I saw her small frame tense up. She listened to Charlie intently, hanging onto every last word. I noticed her hand clutching the phone in a death grip. Finally, she looked up at me with a stare that would melt an iceberg, while Charlie continued to talk her ear off.
She hung up the phone after barely saying a word to Charlie the entire time.
“Fine. You win.”
Sabrina turned away from me and walked in the direction of Brian.
“Hun, we’re leaving!” She yelled.
“Wait a second.” I grabbed her upper arm.
“What? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“What I want is for you to admit that Brian isn’t mine.”
Brian came running out of the office. She put his backpack over his shoulders and practically dragged him out of the house by the handle on it.
“Sabrina!”
“Ugh, fine! He’s not yours! He belongs to some dirtbag I met on a dating app. I got drunk, we got a motel room, and then I never saw him again. Can you blame me for wishing he were yours? We should have never broken up.”
“Oh my god. Do you even hear yourself?”
“I’m serious, Brenton. I miss you. I was hoping you’d be excited about Brian, but it seems you have your eyes on someone else.” She looked over to Helen’s house.
“This has nothing to do with her. We were not a good match, Sabrina. Need I remind you it was under your watch that my son broke his leg and I lost full custody. How could I ever be with you after that?”
“Jesus, will you ever stop holding that over my head? It was one lapse in judgment!”
“We’re polar opposites, Sabrina. Even if it hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t have lasted.” I softened my tone. “I wish you and Brian all the best, but I already have two children to support and one crazy ex up my ass for money.”
“Hm,” she huffed and marched down the driveway to her car, clutching Brian’s arm as she dragged him behind her.
What a goddamn mess!I didn’t know which pieces to pick up first. Candace was with her friend and clearly needed some time to calm down, so I sent her a quick text and walked to Helen’s.