“What are you doing?” Mason asked as I pulled on a pair of latex gloves and grabbed the disinfectant.
“I can’t just walk out and leave that mess here. Todd might … Todd might … but I can’t. I can’t do it.”
We both knew I was bordering on a breakdown, but where I was powerless to stop it, Mason was clueless how to avoid it.
“Charlotte,” Mason pleaded as I walked by him and dropped to my knees trying not to gag. Thai food left on the rug for a week wasn’t something I’d recommend.
“Charlotte,” he tried again.
Again, I ignored him.
I had to.
As I picked up the slop, tossing it back in the plastic bag, I felt Mason’s hands under my arms as he scooped me up off the floor.
Once I was on my feet, Mason peeled off my gloves and dropped them in the disgusting mess at our feet before pushing the hair out of my face. I could only imagine how bad I looked and when I glanced up and looked at Mason, seeing the pity in his eyes made me sob even harder.
“Come on. I can get people to do this. Let’s go.”
While Mason collected my purse and suitcase, I stood there staring down at the engagement ring on my finger. Everything I ever knew about love had turned out to be fake. Everything I thought I knew about Todd and now, I couldn’t help but wonder if the diamond on my finger was as fake as the man who’d given it to me.
4
LUKE
Thank fuck it was Friday.
This week had been rough. Between Isla acting like a spoiled brat and constantly telling me how amazing Katie’s mom was, I was feeling pretty worn down and shitty. Then add on top a few long shifts that had ended in the worst possible way.
It was the hardest part of being a paramedic. Showing up to a home, putting on a band-aid was the best possible outcome. Delivering someone’s mother, father, brother, sister, son, or daughter to the morgue was the worst. A part I’d done more times this week than any one person ever should.
“You coming for a beer?” Franklin asked.
“Do I ever?” I countered, faking a chuckle.
Some days I wished I could be that guy. The one who knocked off for the week, hit the bars for a few drinks, and maybe even find someone to snuggle with for the weekend. But I wasn’t him. And I had something better waiting for me at home. Someone better. Isla. Tomorrow we had swimming lessons, then I’d promised to take her out for lunch, and we had to go shopping for a new pair of shoes. Then somehow, I’d managed to let her convince me to watch Frozen with her for the millionth time. Seriously. Disney should be forced to pay for the therapy I need from that movie. There are only so many times a month you can let it go before you want to let the TV go right out the window.
“You’re no fun,” Franklin grumbled.
Franklin was a good guy. The best actually. He was my partner and everything I went through, he was always right there beside me. And we’d been through some shit. He just couldn’t wrap his head around the fact I had a daughter and she came first. She always would come first, and I made no apologies about it.
“You coming over tomorrow night?” I replied.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m bringing popcorn, don’t worry.”
“You’re not game to show up without it.”
“Hell no! Isla’s scary when she gets her movie without popcorn.” He laughed.
Since Franklin and I had partnered up years ago, he’d become basically a surrogate uncle to Isla and she had him wrapped around her chubby little finger. Franklin had learned things I don't think he ever wanted to. Like all the words to Moana. How to correctly brush a Barbie doll's hair and that there was such a thing as the wrong color purple.
It was just after lunch, at least we were just finishing lunch. In this job, time was irrelevant. You ate when you could, and you took a leak when you found a free moment when my phone rang. I never answered personal calls while I was at work. It just wasn’t me. But when I saw it was the elementary school, I accepted without thinking what I was doing and walked straight into the door.
“Luke Steele.”
“Mr. Steele. This is Rose from Parkview Elementary.”
“What can I do for you, Rose,” I asked brusquely. I know I sounded like a brash douche, but I needed her to get to the point. If something was wrong with Isla, I needed to know and get it sorted and I had no idea how much time I had before our next call came through.
