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I leaned into the side of the truck and watched as the rest of the SWAT team, including me and Tai, gathered around to go over the plan of action.

“Everyone good?” Luke asked a few minutes later.

We all nodded.

“Tai,” Luke said. “You’re here in case we need you. Drew, you’re with us.”

My stomach tensed as it always did right before I went in with the team, but this time was different.

I used to think of Attie right before I went inside, but this time, there was another person added to my worries.

If I didn’t come home, there’d be two ladies devastated, not just one.

And I found that I kind of liked that.

A lot.

Chapter 17

All my life I thought air was free. Then I saw The Lorax and it all finally makes sense. You pay for the air as well as the potato chips when you buy a bag of Lays.

-Aspen’s secret thoughts

Aspen

“What’s wrong?” Attie asked as I closed the door on the man who’d just served me papers.

“I’ve been served,” I muttered in the same voice that the man had just used on me.

Attie blinked, her eyes going wide.

“Like, you’ve been sued, papers?” She asked worriedly.

“I don’t know,” I tried to be calm, taking the papers from the manila envelope and taking a seat at the dining room table so I could spread them out.

My eyes scanned the words of the first page, and the more I read, the more anger that built until I was about ready to scream.

“What…” Attie muttered as she read over my shoulder. “Abandonment? Who did you abandon?”

I gritted my teeth.

“Apparently, my ex thinks that I’ve abandoned him, and he’s suing me for support. When he’s the one who left me,” I said dryly. “And the court date is in two weeks. On a Tuesday, no less.”

“How are you going to get there?” She asked. “You can’t leave.”

I looked down at where she was indicating: the ankle monitor that was sticking out of my sweat pants.

“I can’t,” I agreed. “I guess I’ll either have to see if they will let me get off for the day. That or I’ll have to request a different day from the judge.”

She bit her lip, her finger twirling around a lock of hair that’d fallen down from her high ponytail.

“What?” I asked.

She shook her head, causing another piece of hair to fall from her ponytail.

“You look a mess,” I said. “Do you want to take a shower or something? Your mascara is dried to your cheeks.”

Her horrified gasp had her bringing her hands up to her cheeks in a manner only a vain teenager who cared about her appearance would.