Except there was someone standing on the front steps, and my stomach dropped before I'd even fully registered who it was.
My mother.
“Fuck,” I said under my breath, and Rook immediately clocked that there was a problem.
“What's wrong?”
“You should go.” I was already unbuckling my seatbelt, moving on autopilot toward a confrontation I'd had a hundred times before. “Thanks for the walk, but I need to handle this.”
“Handle what?” Rook's eyes were on the woman standing at my door, and I could see the tension creeping into his shoulders. “Who is that?”
“My mother. And she's only here because she wants money, so I really need you to leave before this gets ugly.”
“I'm not leaving.”
“Rook—”
“I'm not leaving you to deal with this alone.” His voice was firm enough that I knew arguing would be pointless. “So let's go.”
I climbed out and walked toward the steps with Rook right beside me, and my mother's eyes tracked both of us with the kind of calculation that made my skin crawl.
“Soren,” she said, like we were old friends instead of people who barely tolerated each other's existence. “Been trying to reach you.”
“I know.” I stopped a few feet away, keeping distance between us on purpose. “What do you want?”
“Can't a mother check in on her son?”
“You're not here to check in. You're here because you need money.” I said it flatly, without emotion, because I'd learned years ago that showing how much this hurt only gave her more ammunition. “How much this time?”
Her expression shifted into something that was probably supposed to look hurt but mostly just looked annoyed. “That's a hell of a way to greet your mother.”
“How much?”
She named a number that made my chest tighten with anger I couldn't afford to show. It was always like this. Every few months, one or both of my parents would show up with their hands out, expecting me to bail them out of whatever financial mess they'd created. And I always did, because saying no meant they'd go after my siblings instead, and I'd rather bleed myself dry than let them touch my siblings.
“I'll transfer it tomorrow,” I said.
“I need it tonight.”
“Then you should have asked earlier.” I pulled out my phone anyway, because arguing would just drag this out longer. “Give me your account info.”
She rattled off the numbers, and I transferred the money while Rook stood next to me radiating protective tension that my mother definitely noticed. When the transfer went through, I pocketed my phone and crossed my arms.
“We done here?”
“For now.” Her eyes flicked to Rook, assessing. “You gonna introduce me to your friend?”
“No.” I turned toward the door without waiting for a response. “Go home, Mom. We're done.”
She left without another word, and I stood there on the steps watching her walk away until she disappeared around the corner. Only then did I let myself breathe, and the exhale came out shaky enough that I hated myself for it.
“Soren,” Rook said quietly, and his hand was on my shoulder, warm and steady. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I wasn't, but admitting that felt like weakness. “This is normal. They show up when the money runs dry, I give them what they want, and they leave me alone for a while. It's been like this since I got custody of the kids.”
“That's not normal. That's fucking awful.”
“Yeah, well. Welcome to my life.” I unlocked the front door and stepped inside, needing distance from the street and the ghost of my mother's presence. “Thanks for being here. You didn't have to stay.”
