I breathed a little easier once I finally got home, the familiar space acting as an anchor. I was finally able to start sorting out my thoughts and considering my options.
I couldn't think of anything or anyone to help me out of this except Sage. I dialed her number, and she answered on the first ring.
"Hey, sis," she said cheerfully.
"Hey, can we talk?"
"Sure. I don't think I can read one more line from this humongous textbook," Sage laughed but sobered up when I didn’t laugh with her. “Jade, what’s wrong?”
"Robin's father is threatening to take him from me," I said, going straight to the heart of the matter.
"Robin'sfather? I thought you didn't know where he was," Sage said incredulously.
"He came back into town and is now determined to take my son."
"Wait, Jade, when did all of this happen?" I could hear a pen tapping in the background, indicating Sage was agitated.
I sighed. "I was going to tell you when you didn't have a lot on your plate, and it all just happened. I haven't even had time to process it yet."
"I understand."
"I can't lose Robin, Sage," I said, feeling hot tears spill down my cheeks.
Just the thought of losing my son was too much to bear, and it was not a reality I would be able to accept. I meant it when I said I had lived for Robin from the moment I held him in my arms.
"I know, and we won't let that happen. I'll talk to a friend specializing in custody cases, and we'll figure it out," she said fiercely. The pen was tapping again.
Michael had a lot of money to back him up, and I had no idea what his lawyers would pull to help him win custody.
"He doesn't have any ground to take Robin, okay? So, don't stress about that."
"People with means get away with a lot. You know that."
"But people with the truth on their side win many more cases than not."
I refrained from pointing out a percentage where the truth was lost.
"Let me talk to my friend. I'll see you tomorrow and we can discuss our next move."
"Okay, thank you."
"No need to thank me, we are family."
"And I'm thankful you spend all these hours with your head in a book. For family."
My sister chuckled. "Always happy to take one for the team."
"I love you."
"Love you too. Kiss Robin for me."
"I will."
"And don't stress, okay? We'll get through this."
"Okay," I replied, even though stressing was all I would do until I knew my son was safe.
After my sister hung up, I curled up in bed and just laid there. I wanted to call and talk to Robin, but I didn't want to alarm him if I broke down while talking to him, so I lay in bed and counted the steps that it would take me to get to the shower. I still smelled like Michael, and I wanted to wash that away and pretend that I hadn't just lost my mind around him again. What about the man and his gentle touch turned me into jelly, and where could I buy some resistance against his charm? I would give all that I had, which wasn't much anyway, just so that I could look at Michael and not feel a thing.