Oran
“What if Mom and you get into a fight?” Glancing over as we cruised the highway out of Seattle and toward the outer boroughs, I flexed my grip on the wheel tightly. I couldn’t get between May and her mother. I could take care of everything else, but this was her fight. As much as I just wanted to use money to solve this issue, it wouldn’t work, and that was a damn big pill to swallow.
“Sarah, if we fight, then we fight. I’m beyond worrying aboutMom’sopinion right now.” May was really starting to get bitter, resentful. I reached over the short distance between us to take her hand. Her fingers were cold and trembling, and she huffed a sigh. It’d take us another twenty minutes to drive to her parents’ place in Tacoma, and she was nervous, stuck between a rock and a hard place. “If Mom wants to go there, I’ll fucking go there. I love you, Sarah, but you’re my sister and I can’t keep this up anymore. I know you hate Seattle, anyway. So, we’re going to resolve this one way or another.”
“Do you think she’ll really make me leave?” Sarah sounded so uncertain and it reminded me of that night in Hansen’s so long ago. Pretty soon, it’d start getting chilly and the sun would start setting by four p.m. Normally, Sarah would be worrying about school, not whether she’d be sent to a juvenile facility because her mother is a heartless bitch.
“I don’t know much about guardianship or anything, May, but I just realized your mother can’t make that decision, can she? She gave up all her legal rights to you, so you’d be the one who has to sign everything and make the decision, right?” Sarah sat up a little straighter, hope blossoming in her face, and May frowned under deeply knit brows next to me. “I mean, she could get away with it for a few days until they found out, I’m sure, but . . . ”
“Yeah, I think you’re right.” The atmosphere became a smidgen lighter in the truck, and I nodded firmly as my mind churned over this problem. Sarah was bored— she didn’t go to school, she didn’t have a job, she took online classes that made up maybe three hours of her week . . .
The only thing she had was her passion for birds, so I understood how these issues could pop up.
“I should call my lawyer and have him come just so I have some back-up. I wish I thought of it a few days ago.” Squeezing her hand, I pursed my lips thinly at May’s grumble, and she sunk into her seat until her knees pressed against the dash. “I’m sorry, Oran.”
“It’s perfectly fine, May. If nothing else, you saved me from a day of back-to-back meetings.” Flicking on my blinker as we passed a Tacoma exit sign hanging above the highway, I merged into the right lane and touched the brakes before speaking up again. “We’re going to have to reschedule our date.”
“I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time when I get fired.”
“I wanted to talk to you about that, but I think we’ll get to it another time.” She cast me a dubious look, but I kept my eyes on the road as I pressed the brakes when the ramp became visible. The GPS on her phone spoke up, but I’d read the directions briefly beforehand, so I knew generally where I was supposed to go.
Honestly, I hadn’t been to Tacoma yet, but it was a very pretty city from the highway.
The closer we came to May’s parents’ house in Clyde Hill, the quieter the cab became, and I was thrown for a serious loop. These houses were borderline mansions, with expert lawn care, and no cracks anywhere in the sidewalks. Signs warned of kids at play, and every car we saw was shiny and new, parked in front of dual-capacity garages.
“Your parents livehere?” Disbelief shone in my voice, and May nodded out of the corner of my eye as a scoff escaped me. “What the hell?”
“They’re very well off. I must’ve forgot to mention that.” Irritation flooded my veins, but not because May neglected to mention where she grew up. That didn’t matter.
What pissed me off was the fact Sarah got kicked out of a place like this and sent toSeattle. These houses were big enough that if they wanted, they didn’t have to ever see her, but they chose to kick her out on her ass. At sixteen.
“At least you don’t have any college debt, I guess. Honestly, I never got the appeal of having a huge house. There’s a thing as too much space.” The GPS spoke up and I turned into a short, wide driveway in front of an immaculate home wrapped in baby blue siding. “This the place?”
“Yeah.” I turned off the truck, but neither May nor Sarah made a move to get out, and I sat back to glance between them. How much this must’ve hurt, on so many different levels, I’d never understand. After a heavy, hesitant moment, May moved to unbuckle, and I popped open the door to slide down onto the asphalt.
A woman who must’ve been her mother stepped out of the house, and I helped May down before Sarah came awkwardly scooting across the cabin. I didn’t know what to expect and anxiety buzzed behind my eyes as curiosity and dread burrowed in my gut. Shutting the truck door, I caught Sarah’s mother pause at the sight of her youngest daughter, and an ugly, black blotch spread across my chest.
“May, Sarah, what a surprise.” Blonde hair bounced as she walked down the pathway to the driveway, and I leaned on the truck to fold my arms over my chest. They had the same eyes, May and her mother, and they flashed a murky green when they landed on me. “Who’s this? Your boyfriend?”
“Yeah, but that’s not important. Mom, I need you to take Sarah for a few days. The sewage backed up in my apartment, and I need her out of my hair for, like, a week tops, just until I get everything settled with my landlord.” Fudging the truth, May spoke sternly, but her mother clearly didn’t hear anything she’d said after ‘yeah’. Turning to me, the older woman scanned me up and down, and I kinda liked the disapproval that flooded her eyes. My sleeves were still rolled up, and she frowned, deepening the wrinkles around her mouth.
“I guess you have to start somewhere to help your self-esteem, May.” Clenching my jaw at that, I frowned as May exhaled a horrified gasp and she planted herself right in front of her mom to prop her fists on her hips.
“That’s not what we’re here for. Did you hear anything I just said? My apartment is unlivable and I need your help, Mom.” My cell rang, so I rounded the front of the truck as May struggled to deal with her mother. Fishing the device out of my pocket, I shook my head wildly as Landry’s name flashed on the screen before taking the call.
“Did you contact the tenants yet?” Speaking low to avoid being overheard, I glanced over my shoulder to catch May throwing her hands up in frustration, but I hadn’t heard what she said.
“Yes, I did. They’re pretty upset, but it was surprisingly easy to negotiate. I’m going to bring the papers by tomorrow morning for you to sign. Both families were honestly pretty practical with the settlement.” I’m sure Landry knew my question before I had a chance to ask it, and he shuffled around on the line before continuing. “One guy was about ready to move into a home with his kid and pregnant wife, anyway, so the total for him will be $1.3 million, and the third-floor tenant decided this was a sign to relieve his misery and is moving to Florida, so that’ll be about $600,000.”
“Really? Alright then. I thought they’d jump at the opportunity to squeeze me.” Surprise flattened my tone, and I rubbed my jaw and neck as Landry hummed in acknowledgment. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for getting that done so fast. What about that contract I had you working on over the weekend?”
“I’m still working on it. Should be ready by Friday.” Nodding curtly, I hung up to turn back to the drama. May and her mother were arguing loudly. Sarah just stood there, clearly unsure of what her role in all this was, and I frowned as I focused on what May and her mom were saying.
“Need you to take her for no longer than a week, Mom. Sarah’syourdaughter, and you don’t even want to do that much for her? Seriously? If you won’t do it for her, do it for me, at least!” Her voice trembled with anger, and I resumed my position leaning on the driver’s side door as her mom shook her head.
“You and I both know a week is never just a week. It’ll end up being months, and you know it, May. I have more important things to do tha—” The incredibly loudslapof palm on cheek echoed through the whole damn neighborhood, and May’s mother stumbled back and clutched her face. Wincing as May heaved massive, shuddering breaths, I watched them glare at each other with unease roiling my gut.
“Don’t you dare say what I think you’re going to say. Who thefuckdo you think you are, huh?” May was yelling as loud as she could and I tilted my head as the neighbors next door came out to sit on their porch and watch the scene. “You decide one day that you . . . you just don’t want her? You send Sarah to Seattle when I told you it was a bad idea, and you abandoned her with no friends, no family, and struggling to be a functioning human being through the boredom. You won’t even take her for a week? All I need is a damn week, Mom. And you won’t even do that!”
May’s mother was red in the face, and all the yelling attracted attention from the house. A rather bulky, graying man came rushing out, and I suddenly realized where May got those red strands from. The dude was full-on ginger— pale skin, freckles, with a trimmed red beard and redder hair.
“What’s going on out here?” May flipped her hair back, straightened her slender shoulders, and took a deep breath as her father flew down the pathway. Her strawberry blonde waves shimmered in the sunlight, and she turned to Sarah, marched over, and grabbed her forearm.
“Nothing. You two are disgusting. Come on, Sarah.” Before they could march off toGod only knew where, I took May’s shoulder and her blazing eyes snapped to mine. “We’re leaving, I said.”
“I know you’re stressed and tired, May, but you can’t give up.” I had a feeling May’s father would be much easier to talk to as he cradled his crying wife, and I nodded insistently at May. “Right? Why don’t we all go inside and talk about this calmly.”
“Talk about what? What happened?” Turning to the older man, I left May to hold out my hand, and his face rippled between worried and confused. We shook hands and May’s mother stormed up the path into the house before he spoke up. “I hope you don’t expect the girls to be calm, Mister . . . ”
“Call me Oran. And no, I don’t, not that this particular moment, at least. I’d like to explain the situation, if you’re unaware.”
