Page 105 of The Me I Left Behind

She wanted to shake him—wanted to scream and rant. But she pulled everything she possessed inside her together to avoid that kind of scenario. “Jason?”

“We text sometimes.”

“I asked you not to.”

He cocked his head. “See? Dad said you would try to keep me away from him.”

“Jason, you don’t understand. This is complicated. You have to do what I ask. Do you understand me? There are things you don’t know, and you are going to have to trust me.”

He huffed. “Right.”

“Did you actually talk to him or just text?”

“We talked once.”

“When?”

“Last night. Late.”

“And that’s why you didn’t sleep.”

He nodded. “I called him.”

“Why?”

Maggie could see the emotion welling up in his eyes, on his face. “Because I’m confused, Mom! Dad texts me things, and I don’t know what is right or wrong. He tells me things about you, and you and Carol say things about him, and all I want to know is the truth.”

“The fucking bastard.” Maggie pivoted away, running her hands through her hair. “That motherfucker.”

Julia interjected. “Language. Little ears.”

She glanced at Chloe, who was preoccupied with her food, peeling her second banana and dipping it into her granola. “Right.” She turned back to Jason. “Give me your phone.”

He shook his head. “Mom, I need my phone.”

“I’ll get you a new one as soon as I can. But right now, I need for you to go upstairs and get your goddamn phone.”

“You taking Carol’s, too?”

“Probably. You both are due new phones, anyway.” She glanced at Julia, who nodded. How she could afford them, she didn’t know. “We need to keep a tight circle here. I don’t trust your father and I especially don’t like that he is confusing you, Jason. That’s unfair to you, especially if he is lying.”

“Are you lying?”

She stood still, stunned. “Jason, I told you days ago I would not lie to you.” She paused, studying his facial expressions. “And you can’t lie to me, either. Got it?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Good.”

“My phone is crap. I do need a new one.”

“Alright. Go get it, please, and I’ll take care of it.”

Julia stepped forward. “And Jason, don’t delete anything. Okay? I know you probably don’t want your mom to read your dad’s messages, but it’s important that you keep them.”

He twisted and glared at Julia, his eyes narrowed. “Why? So you can use them against him in court?”

She took a step closer. “If there are things there that can be used against him in court, things you don’t want your mom to see, then Jason, it’s important not to delete them. And all the more reason for your mom to protect you. Your dad is twisting things to his advantage and frankly, it’s unfair to you and everyone else.”