Part of me thought maybe she was right. Probably wishful thinking. Reaching for my backpack, I pulled out the first note. Sabrina’s interest rekindled at the baggy-protected Exhibit B. “I found this one at my house on Sunday, but I didn’t look at it until this morning. I thought it was trash from the neighbors.”
Sabrina’s eyes flicked back and forth as she read the short, interrupted message. “This was at your house?” When I nodded, she pulled her gaze from the paper and stared at me. “This could be serious, Greenly.”
“I’m taking them both to campus security before I run home to shower and change.”
She seemed to approve of my plan, but was distracted almost immediately. “How exactly did you get roped into babysitting the kid of the guy who never called you?”
Shaking my head, I stuffed both letters into my backpack and stood to leave. “I didn’t get roped into anything. Sammy is feeling neglected so I offered to take him out for a while to get away from the arguing.”
“And Mr. I Don’t Know How To Use A Phone was fine with that?”
I shrugged. “He never called to say he wasn’t.”
Yeah, she heard the hint of bitterness in my words. “Why are you still getting involved with his kid then? Are you just trying to complicate things?”
“No,” I snapped. I wasn’t the one who kept calling. Sammy needed someone to talk to, and for some reason, I was the person he trusted. “It’s just…I don’t know. Complicated, I guess. Sammy’s a sweet kid. I can’t just tell him to stop calling me because of Roman.”
Knowing my soft spot for my nephews, Sabrina relented. “Well, let me know how it goes. I’m dying to hear Roman’s response to why he’s been ignoring you in favor of Cruella De Vil.” She plopped down in the chair. “Seriously, I’ll die of boredom otherwise. This place is a ghost town on Friday nights.”
“Yeah, but it’s great for catching up on that thesis you’ve been neglecting,” I said with a laugh. “I’ll call you later. Sammy has a nine o’clock bedtime.”
Sabrina laughed and shooed me away. I left her there to die of boredom and marched myself across campus to the security HQ. When I asked for the guy who’d taken my original complaint, they told me he had already gone home. I got stuck with a balding man who seemed less than interested in what I had to say. Even so, he mechanically filled out a report and took the notes to make copies. He’d wanted the originals—probably so he didn’t have to get up and walk to the copier—but I thought I might need to show them to the actual police if things got weird, and insisted I keep the originals. Maybe the police would need to run tests or something. Could you get fingerprints off paper?
The whole thing took way longer than it needed to since Officer Balding Guy moved at the pace of a snail. By the time I finally left their office, I was sprinting across campus for my car. I had hoped to take a shower before picking Sammy up, but a quick change of clothes would have to do. Hopefully my mad dash across campus hadn’t left me too gross. Not that Sammy would notice. I did still have to face Roman, however. I sighed as I reached my car, really wishing I had time to shower.
Getting home was another race. Traffic was lousy, big surprise, and I was once again sprinting. Ditching my backpack next to the door, I turned toward my room. First step I took, my foot caught on the strap of my backpack and I starting falling. It really did feel like slow motion, slow enough for “oh no!” to turn into resignation. I think I got my hands out in front of me, but not in the right direction. My head cracked into the arm of my couch, and then I was sprawled out on the floor.
Throbbing on the side of my head told me I was going to have a monster headache later, but wasn’t too injured to pull myself back up. After a few seconds. My steps toward my bedroom were slower once I was upright again, but I still needed to hurry. The bare minimum of what I needed to do was running through my mind, along with how long each would take me.
Then I looked in the mirror and it all came to a bloody halt.
Yelping in revulsion, I squeezed my eyes shut. My reflection had no response, other than for a droplet of blood I could feel slithering down my temple. I counted to three, slowly in an effort to forget about the blood and my churning stomach, then began tearing off my clothes as I fumbled with the knobs for the shower water. I was under the water in less than a minute to get rid of the blood before I had to look at it again. Frenzied hair washing was painful when you had a giant lump on your head. By the time I was toweling off, the right side of my head felt like it was going to explode. Knowing I was going to be late, I grabbed my phone off the counter.
I’ll be a little late picking Sammy up. Sorry, crazy afternoon.
Then I was rushing through getting dressed, throwing my hair up in a sloppy bun, and downing a couple of aspirin. I almost forgot my phone in the bathroom. Careful of any other objects looking to take me out, I hurried back to the bathroom, grabbed my phone, and started back toward the front door. The blinking light pulsing at me seemed to match the pain throbbing in my head. Ignoring the pain, I checked my phone to find a reply from Roman.
OK
That was it. I sighed, more confused than ever. Figuring out what was going on inside Roman Carpenter’s head would have to wait. Or so I told myself. The whole drive over, it was all I could think about. Why hadn’t he called or sent a text? Was I that easy to forget? Maybe with Jen crowding his attention. I mean, she was gorgeous and had probably never once ended up with gum or peanut butter in her hair. Plus, she was stirring up trouble every five seconds. I really did understand how preoccupied he must have been, but it only took a minute to send a text. I thought we’d connected enough to warrant at least that.
Pulling up to Roman’s house, I put my car in park and just sat there. It was six-forty-five and I knew Sammy was probably anxious to get away. Getting out of the car was more difficult than I expected it to be. All the questions that had been swimming around in my mind as I drove were suddenly banging on the windows, demanding to be answered and dealt with.
I wanted to agree, demand a few answers myself, but there was no way that could happen tonight. Sammy had heard enough fighting this week. I refused to add to it. Breathing out slowly, I reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open. The last time I attempted walking up to this house, it hadn’t gone well. It had led somewhere unexpected, and ended in confusion. Knowing me, this wasn’t going to end any better.
There were no further incidents before reaching the front door. Progress. Well, except for the sound of raised voices. I wasn’t sure anyone would hear me over the argument going on, so I rang the doorbell instead of knocking. Instantly the voices stopped. The curtains nearest the front door twitched and Sammy’s face appeared. He waved, smiling but anxious.
When the door swung open, I wasn’t prepared for it and jumped. Roman stared at me, looking confused for some reason. His lips parted like he was about to say something, then his expression morphed into one of concern. Half a second later, his hands were cradling my face. “Greenly, what happened?”
The feel of his skin against mine temporarily muddled my brain. “Uh…”
“Did you hit your head? You weren’t in an accident or something, were you?”
Think, Greenly. “What? No.” I shook my head, which was easier said than done with him holding onto me. “I just fell. I’m fine. That’s why I was late.”
Roman’s brows pinched together. “Late?” His grip softened, one hand falling from my cheek to the back of my neck. If I hadn’t already been confused before, I certainly was now. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “I mean, it’s great to see you, but I...I know we talked about going out this weekend, but things got complicated and—”
I stepped back, forcing his hands to fall away as a sinking feeling developed in the pit of my stomach. “Sammy didn’t tell you about tonight, did he?”
Sammy, who was peeking out from behind his dad now, looked down sheepishly.
“What are you talking about???
? Roman asked.
Tamping down some frustration at my little buddy, I met Roman’s gaze. “I’m not here to see you, Roman. I’m here for Sammy.”
Roman didn’t get a chance to respond. “What?” Jen demanded as she threw the door open. “Sammy is not going anywhere with you.”
It took a lot of willpower not to respond to that. Ignoring Jen completely, I locked gazes with Roman. “Sammy and I have plans tonight. I thought he’d told you. When I texted earlier to say I’d be late picking him up, I thought it was you who responded to say that was all right.”
Roman shook his head. “Sammy’s had my phone since I got home. He said he wanted to play a game on it. Greenly, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” Jen snapped. “Why is she even here? Some woman you barely know shows up saying she wants to take Sammy out and you’re the one apologizing?” Her eyes narrowed at her ex-husband and I half expected Roman to burst into flames under that glare. “We were in the middle of a discussion. One she has nothing to do with.” She turned to look down at her son. “Sammy, go back inside.”
Aside from the one time I’d seen him shy away from her on Sunday, I had no idea what their usual interactions were like. The way Jen’s face turned an ugly shade of red when Sammy stepped over to me and took my hand said she wasn’t used to being disobeyed. Jen leveled a menacing finger at the boy. “Did you hear what I said?” She was scary as hell, but Sammy’s hand only tightened around mine. “Go back inside, young man, or you will be punished.”
“Jen!” Roman snapped. “This is not your decision to make.” Roman was seething, furious to the point that his fingers were curled into fists.
“Not my decision to make?” Jen shrieked. “He’s my son!”
Roman closed his eyes and I got the impression he was choosing his words very carefully, for Sammy’s benefit most likely. “That may be true,” he said slowly, “but I have full custody. What he does and who he does it with is my decision. Not yours.”
“You barely know her!” It was gratifying to see her face turning blotchy as her anger rose. I figured she’d be one of those woman who could be a sobbing, hysterical mess and still look like a Barbie.
Roman had a response, but Sammy’s voice shut them both up. “I know her!” he shouted. “She’s the only one who’s been nice to me all week!”
Just as startled as his parents, I didn’t know what to say. Roman was the first to respond. “Sammy, what are you talking about? You haven’t seen Greenly since Sunday.”
Visibly upset now, Sammy couldn’t answer. I felt like my heart might give out any second. Swallowing hard, I said, “He’s been calling me. Every night.”
While Jen simply looked confused and disgusted, Roman’s eyes widened. “He has? When?”
The fact that he hadn’t noticed even once that week when his son would disappear for hours at a time shoved away everything else as my anger rose. “When?” I snapped. “How about as soon as you two started fighting and forgot he existed?”
Jen scoffed, but I couldn’t care less about her feigned affront. Roman had the decency to look ashamed. “Sure, we’ve had a few arguments, but—”
Rolling my eyes, I faced Roman down. “Just because you’ve apparently forgotten how to use a phone, doesn’t mean Sammy has. A few arguments? How about every night, usually starting around seven, lasting for an hour at the least, closer to two most nights.” My gazed flicked over to Jen, who was refusing to look at me, nose turned up like one of a dozen girls I knew in high school. I turned back to Roman. “If you’re wondering how I know all of that, just check your phone log. While you two have been screaming at each other for the last week, I’ve been listening to chapter books of The Clone Wars, hearing about Sammy’s day, and explaining what custody means.”
That made them both flinch.
“Now, I know you can stop me from taking Sammy if you really want to,” I said to Roman, not Jen, “but given that it sounded like I was interrupting another fight and I really don’t think Sammy needs to be exposed to that again, I’m asking you to disentangle yourself from the manipulative pull of your witch of an ex-wife and think about your son for five minutes. Forget I exist all you want. It seems to have been easy enough. Don’t forget about Sammy and his needs.”
I didn’t wait for a response, because even though I was pissed at Roman right now for putting Sammy through all of this, I knew deep down he was a decent guy when he wasn’t buried up to his eyeballs in Jen’s madness. Sammy and I were halfway down the sidewalk before I heard Jen huff angrily and stomp back into the house. A huge breath of relief seeped out of me, until I heard footsteps pound after us.
When his hand gripped my shoulder, I shook him off. I was afraid to look at him. He’d see how false my bravery really was, how I was so surprised at myself for saying what I did and calling Jen a witch even though I’d wanted to call her something much worse. He didn’t try to stop me again, and instead waited until I had Sammy buckled into the backseat. As soon as I turned around, he was there.
“Greenly, I’m so sorry. About everything.”
I shook my head and started walking away. “Don’t.”
“Greenly, please.”
Spinning on my heel, I forced myself to face him. “Roman, don’t. Not right now. I am so frustrated and disappointed right now, I don’t even know what to say. I am here for Sammy, not you. Maybe if you ever figure out how a phone works, we can talk, but not right now.”
I started walking again. Roman didn’t follow, but he did ask, “Where are you going?”
Opening the door, I stood there for a moment. “The original plan was to take him out to dinner and then see a movie. Given the size of the knot on my head and the fact that he’s probably not in a very festive mood, I think we’ll pick up burgers and watch something on Netflix at my apartment.” I was still feeling a little shaky, but I met Roman’s gaze. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yeah,” Roman said quietly. “I’ll know you’ll take care of him.”
A huge weight evaporated from my shoulders. “What time should I bring him home?”
“Just whenever you finish the movie. You don’t need to rush.” He looked back toward the house, his shoulders sagging. “Could you let me know when you’re on your way?”
He didn’t say he’d make sure Jen was gone by the time I dropped Sammy off, but I suspected that was the reason behind his request just as much as wanting to make sure Sammy was okay. “I’ll text you,” I said.
Roman’s gaze flicked back to mine at the word text, but he only nodded. “Thank you, Greenly.”
I didn’t respond past a quick nod. I was pulling away from the curb a minute later. From the backseat, I heard a heavy breath flow out of Sammy’s body. Looking back at him from the rearview mirror, I saw the redness in his face, the fear that Roman wouldn’t let him come with me, as it slowly drained away. His eyes were red from holding back tears. When I reached back for his hand, he took it without hesitation.
“I love you, Greenly,” he said quietly.
“I love you, too, buddy.”