NICK
The headlights shoneon my garage door as it slowly lifted, and I drove into the garage. My anxiety had not subsided at my appointment. If anything, I felt worse. At the end of my session, Dr. Lavine made it clear that I needed to speak to my mother.
Was he right?
Did I need to have a conversation with my mother?
I didn’t see the point.
He also hadn’t provided any clarity on the Skye situation, which was fucking with my head as much as my relationship, or lack thereof, with my mother.
“Hey, Squirt! Were you good for Jada?”
My appointments with Dr. Lavine were always on Sunday evenings. We’d tried other days and times, but something always came up with my schedule, so we’d landed on Sunday evenings. Since I did my best to give Parker weekends off, Jada had volunteered to sit with her for my therapy. She called it their girl time.
“Yes, I was!” She beamed up at me.
“Someone is up past her bedtime.” It was only five minutes past her bedtime, but she hadn’t even gotten her pajamas on. We usually start the routine at seven thirty.
She smiled and glanced over at Jada, who winked at her.
“Go get your pj’s on and brush your teeth.”
She grabbed her blankie off the couch and skipped down the hallway.
“Thanks for staying with her.”
“No worries.” Jada grabbed her bag, and I saw an address written down on a piece of paper on the coffee table.
“What’s this?”
“Oh, that is the address where Skye is staying now. I already let Kurt know that’s where he’d be picking her up.”
“She moved?”
I realized that we’d only shared one night together, but it felt strange that she hadn’t told me. As ridiculous as it sounded—and it was ridiculous—I didn’t like that there was something that big going on in her life and I had no idea.
“Temporarily. She was evacuated from her apartment.”
Times like these, when I wanted more information than the basics, were when Jada’s lack of fluff and small talk was frustrating. It was like pulling teeth to get the entire story.
“Why?”
“The brick façade detached from the building, making it structurally unsound. She had to evacuate immediately.”
What kind of shithole did she live in? I was mad at myself for not knowing. How had I not known that? After asking Maddox to look into her, I’d felt guilty and a little creepy, so I’d backed off. Now, I was wishing I hadn’t.
“Is she okay? Is her daughter okay? Her mom?”
“I think so.”
I think sowasn’t good enough.
“Does she need anything?”
“I didn’t ask. She just called to let me know her new address, so Kurt—"
I lifted the paper and cut her off. “Is this where she is now?”
