“Did your mom pick you up from school?”
“Yes.”
“Did she leave after she dropped you off?”
Lacey shakes her head. “She’s on the phone.”
I glance toward the window, as if I have X-ray vision and can see outside. I’m sure there’s a new boyfriend on the other end, someone else to take time away from Lacey and Ally’s job. Every day, I wish Ally was independent and nothing like our mother.
The door opens and Ally comes in. She’s carrying some boxes with her, reminding me they have to move soon. They still haven’t found a place to live, at least one they can afford, and it’s looking like I’m going to have to move with them, which means I need more hours at the bar. Which means . . . well a laundry list of shit I won’t be able to do.
Ally sits down on the couch and sighs.
“How was work?”
“Not good. Made a whole forty bucks in tips.”
“That’s forty more than you had this morning.”
“Yep, paid some of my phone bill so at least it won’t get turned off.” Ally covers her face and I know she’s trying to fight back the tears. It would be easier for her to work at night, in a bar or bigger restaurant where she can make a couple hundred in tips. But it’ll also mean paying a babysitter, which is going to defeat the purpose. Single parents don’t have it easy.
I think about the check Adam Nelson gave me and how I left it on the table at the house. That money will go a long way to help out Ally, but the thought of cashing it turns my stomach. I don’t want that smug bastard to think he owns me. He doesn’t. I can make my own money, somehow.
There’s a knock at the door. Ally and I stare at each other with nervous trepidation. No one comes here, ever. Ally doesn’t invite anyone over, and I’ve never brought anyone here. There’s another knock.
Lacey sighs and crawls off my lap. Before I realize what she’s doing her hand is on the doorknob and she’s pulling the door open. Ally is right behind her but not fast enough. Lacey says, “Hi,” but Ally stands there, looking from whoever is on the other side to me.
“May I come in?” The female voice is unfamiliar to me, but not to Ally. She looks back at me, as if I’m supposed to do or say something.
“Um . . . my brother. He’s not feeling very well right now. Maybe another time?”
“What I need to say, won’t take up much time.”
“Who is it, Ally?” I finally ask, growing tired of the stalling.
“It’s Mrs. Nelson,” she says as her voice cracks.
The mere mention of that last name has me off the couch, injuries be damned. I stride toward the door, moving Lacey out of the way. “What do you want?”
Mrs. Nelson blanches. Either at my harsh tone or my appearance. Both are pretty bad. She stands tall, unaffected it seems. “I’d like to speak with you and Ally; it will only take a minute.”
I nod but not in agreement with her. “Ally, take Lacey into your bedroom.”
Ally does as I tell her. Once I hear the door close, I look at Mrs. Nelson. “Look, we’re not stupid or naïve enough to let you in so you can use this in your fight for custody. I think you should leave.”
I start to close the door, but Mrs. Nelson sticks her hand out, halting it. “Please,” she says. “I understand you don’t want me here. But I have some things to say, and I’d like the opportunity to say them. It’ll only take a moment.”
“Let her in, Ky.”
Against every fiber of my being, I hold the door open for the woman. Ally has the audacity to apologize about her living situation as she turnsAladdinoff. “Please, have a seat.”
Mrs. Nelson sits down on the couch, also known as my bed, while Ally sits at the other end, leaving me no choice but to stand. I want to yell at Ally and remind her I’m hurt, but figure now is not the time. We have to show a united front, for Lacey’s sake.
“I have a lot to say, so if I could have the floor for a moment.”
Ally nods. I glare.
She clears her throat and tries to smile, but her lips barely move. “I want to apologize to you, Ally, because I had no idea about Lacey until my husband pulled up to the skating plaza and we went in. All morning, he and my son kept saying they had a surprise for me, and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why we were at a skating rink. When I saw . . .” she pauses and inhales deeply. “The fear on your face when my husband approached you.” She shakes her head. “Needless to say, that day I realized I’m married to a very evil man, and not one I want in my life.”