Page 46 of The Me I Left Behind

Tyler flipped his over and read the text while Maggie watched. He simply stared at the phone for several long seconds afterward.

Then she read her message.

Carol:Mom. Tell him to go. I just broke up with him.

Maggie lifted her gaze. Tyler still stared at his phone. “Tyler? You okay?”

He gave her a blank look. “She just broke up with me.”

Her heart went out to the kid. “I’m sorry, Tyler.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Me, either. Want me to talk to her?”

He rose, unsteadily, and drifted toward the front hallway. “No.”

He said nothing more as he left. Maggie followed him to the door and watched him amble down the sidewalk, get in his car, and drive away. What in the hell had Carol actually said to him? Turning toward the stairs, she yelled up. “Carol!”

Immediately, the girl appeared, her hair and make-up done, wearing the new jeans and top they’d shopped for a few days ago. She scrolled through her phone as she skipped down the stairs. “Whew. Finally. He’s gone?”

“Yes. What in the world…? He left in shock. That was terrible!”

“Mom. He was getting annoying.” Carol halted at the bottom step and made eye contact, obviously registering Maggie’s disapproval. “What? He deserved it.”

“Why did you make him come all the way over here and then not even come downstairs?”

“Because he pissed me off on the phone earlier.”

“How?”

“He said I was acting like a spoiled brat.”

Maggie arched a brow. “Were you?”

Carol’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “Mom! Whose side are you on?”

“Good God, Carol,” she gasped. “I’m on no one’s side. I don’t even know what is going on.”

Her daughter rolled her eyes and huffed. She reached for the car keys in a wooden bowl on the entry table. “I’m going out.”

“No, you can’t. I need the car tonight.”

They shared one car. Max had bought an older model Toyota Camry with the insurance money from the wreck. He had agreed, reluctantly, because he didn’t want to buy her anything, but Julia’s strong nudge to his attorney was successful.

Pausing at the door, Carol slowly turned. “This is such shit. Dad promised me a car for my senior year and now nothing. He said he would pay if I picked one out. What the crap, Mom? I need a car. I’ll be going off to college in the fall.”

“You know we’ve talked about this. It’s a divorce negotiation. Julia says it’s best to wait.”

The look on Carol’s face nearly frightened her. “It’s your divorce, Mom. You and Dad. That shouldn’t have anything to do with me, or Dad getting me a car. He is still always going to be my dad, even if he is a jackass, even if he’s not your husband. He has the money, and he has to provide for me. He’s just dragging his damn feet, and Julia won’t even bring it up.”

Her poor child. She didn’t get it. Did she? “Carol, the system doesn’t work that way. You and Jason and Chloe are very much a part of all of this. I’m trying to fight for you too, so your needs will be met.”

“Well, my needs right now are not being met. We need another car, Mom. Can’t you drive Dad’s SUV?”

Maggie shook her head. “You know I can’t. He insured it only for himself.”

“I really don’t think that matters, Mom. It’s insured, so it’s good.”