Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all good, the situation is still new. Eventually, they’ll settle in; it’s just going to take time.”
“Have her and her boyfriend been together a while?”
“About a year and a half, but he just moved in with her, so that changed the dynamic; now he’s not just a guy who shows up on occasion, he’s the guy living in their space.”
“Big changes like that are hard.”
“Yeah, but I think the biggest issue is they thought their mom and I would get back together, and her moving Aaron in crushed that dream.”
“Oh,” I say lamely. I want to ask if that was a possibility, but it feels like we are entering territory we shouldn’t be in with this conversation.
When my cell phone starts to ring, and Mom appears on the screen he sees it and gets to his feet. “I’m going to take off so you can check in with your family. You have my cell number, if you need anything just call or send me a text.”
“Thanks, and thanks for everything today.” I push up from the couch.
“I’m glad I was there.”
“Me too,” I admit, and his face softens as he looks down at me.
“I’ll talk to you later.”
“Sure.” I walk him to the door and open it up for him.
“Later, Nalia.”
“Later, Logan.” I hold my breath when he reaches out and touches my cheek then with my lungs burning, I watch him walk to his jeep and get in before I close the door and lock it. Only then do I answer the call from my mom.
Seven
LOGAN
Staring at my daughter, I try to process what she is telling me, but I’m so pissed that I can’t. This afternoon, with everything that happened, I didn’t think to get into what actually happened with Zuri, or how she ended up needing to go to the hospital for stitches. I knew that she said she got pushed and fell and ended up hitting her head. I didn’t know she was shoved by some boy who did it with the intention of causing her harm. And that is not something she said when we were at the hospital, and the doctor asked her what happened.
“Then the kid, like, totally laughed when he saw that she was bleeding and took off with a group of boys on their bikes, one of the boys was Jacob. He’s in my grade. I think it was his little brother who shoved her; they look almost alike.”
“You’re sure about this?” I ask, and she rolls her eyes.
“Yes, Megan and I saw the whole thing happen.”
“Do you know Jacob’s last name?” I ask as Coop comes into the kitchen.
“Stevens.” My jaw gets hard. I don’t know a Jacob Stevens, but I do know a Willie Stevens. He’s my age, maybe a couple years older. His wife is known for causing issues around town, not to mention they are both racist fucks who have no issue using the N word or telling people who don’t look like them to go back to their country.
“Matthew Stevens pushed her?” Coop asks, and I look at my son when his eyes come to me. “He’s the kid in my class who is always picking on her. He picks on everyone.” He frowns, looking at his sister. “Was it Matthew?”
“I don’t know who the kid was,” Billie tells him.
“I’ll talk to Nalia and have her ask Zuri who the boy was,” I say, and leave out that I’m also going to tell her that she needs to file charges against the kid who shoved her. There is a difference between shit happening between kids and someone accidentally getting hurt in the process, and someone intentionally setting out to harm someone else. And I might be old school, but that shit is absolutely unacceptable when it comes to a boy putting his hands on a girl, and I don’t care what age they are. And from what Billie told me, what that kid did was intentional.
“But Zuri’s okay, right?” Coop asks.
“Yeah, bud, she’s alright,” I assure him. “And I’m sure you can call her later to check on her yourself.”
“Okay,” he agrees.
“Now.” I look between him and his sister. “The three of us need to have a talk.” When I was able to check my phone after I left Nalia’s house, I found a long ass text from Kristy telling me that I need to insist the kids spend time with her, like it was somehow my fault that they have been avoiding her. When I read that message, I wanted to tell her to fuck off but starting a fight with my ex won’t do anyone any good. I know at the end of the day the kids need their mom, and I’ll always do what I can to make sure they have a relationship with her.