“Don’t talk to her like that. She hasn’t done anything wrong.” In comparison to the two women in front of me, my voice was surprisingly calm. Though the icy look I earned from Erin sent a chill down my spine.
“Don’t tell me what to do with my daughter.”
“Our,” I said in a voice so low, she barely heard me.
“What?”
“Ourdaughter,” I repeated. “She’s mine too.”
“Then why did you have the brilliant idea to leave her home alone?—”
“I’m seventeen!”
I turned my attention to the floor. I’d rushed home after seeing all the missed calls and texts from Hannah, only to find Erin’s SUV in the driveway. Hannah sat on the couch with Carlos in her lap, tears streaking her face while her mom angrily pacedin front of her. Then I walked in, getting the verbal beating of a lifetime when she caught sight of me.
Hannah had decided to take Carlos for a walk. It was dusk, but not too dark, so she didn’t think anything of it—until she realized she was being followed. Knowing Erin would freak out, she’d called me. Only, I’d left my phone in the car while I was dealing with the police.
I made sure Hannah was okay before addressing Erin. I asked if she’d recognized the person following her, but she admitted that she hadn’t seen anything to identify them except for the dark shadow of their jacket.
“… I’ve told you,” Erin was ranting, “when you have a kid, you can’t just run off to hook up with your boyfriend.”
“How dare you?” I snapped. “We weren’t hooking up!”
“Then what was so important that you ran off leaving your teenage daughter home alone on a Saturday night?”
I closed my eyes and took a deep, centering breath. I was about to channel the side of my parents I never liked—the one where they treated me like a child. “Hannah, take Carlos to your room, please.”
“But—”
“Don’t tell her what to do!”
I ignored Erin’s indignation. “Hannah, please. I’m only asking for five minutes. I need to have a word with your mother. Okay?”
Reluctantly, and with worry filling her blue eyes, she picked up the puppy and disappeared down the hall. I waited until I heard the door click shut before I turned back to Erin, who stared at me with her arms crossed. “Care to explain what that was about?”
I didn’t want to talk about this at all, let alone to Erin. My encounters with Luke made me feel weak and vulnerable. Ihated those feelings, but I needed her to understand that I’d never do anything to put our daughter in danger.
“Earlier today there was a break-in at the bar, and they’re pretty sure Kian’s brother did it. They needed me down there to give my statement.”
Erin’s face softened, albeit only slightly. She quickly turned away, running a hand through her hair. “It couldn’t have waited? You couldn’t have called me?”
“Think about where we were at seventeen. Did you want to be treated like a kid? We were doing far crazier things than being left home alone, or taking a fucking puppy for a walk.”
She held up a finger at that. “We’ll talk about the puppy later.”
“No, we won’t. This is my house and if I want to get a dog, I’ll get a dog. I can’t tell you how sorry I am this happened. I feelhorrible. I didn’t want to leave her, but…”
Erin stood her ground. “But what?”
I sighed. “Would you rather I’d taken her with me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Both of you, stop it!” Our heads snapped to the hallway where Hannah stood with hands on her hips. “You’reacting like children. I’m fine. I was a little scared, but I’m fine.” She turned her eyes to me. “Can we just get back to our night? I’m starving.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Erin cut in. “You’re coming home with me.”
“No, I’m not.”
