Page 34 of The Me I Left Behind (Tuckaway Bay #4)

Eighteen

“Mom? You hear me?”

Maggie shivered, shaking off the old memory. She’d not conjured up that piece of her past in an exceptionally long time. “I’m sorry. What?”

“Logan is taking me to school this morning. I don’t need a ride.”

“Oh, right. Sure.” The remembrance had shaken her a little, leaving her a bit discombobulated.

“So,” Julia called out from the family room. “This boyfriend, Carol. I need details. What’s his name? Logan?”

“Hey, Aunt Julia.” Carol looked into the family room. “I didn’t see you there. I’m glad you stayed over.”

Julia looked up from her laptop and smiled. “And here I am sitting here, thinking I’m invisible.”

“Naw.” Carol smiled. “I like when you’re around. You’re never invisible.”

“And this boyfriend?” Julia prodded. “Details, girl.”

Maggie watched Carol blush and grin. “Well. He’s nineteen, really tall, dark hair. Super cute.”

“Nineteen? Older guy.” Julia winked. “Where’s he going to school?”

Jason snickered.

Carol stuck out her tongue at him. Maggie noticed her expression fall. “Oh, he’s not. He works at the engine plant over in Whitakers. Nights mostly, so he swings by in the mornings to see me before school.”

“Goodness. You’ll miss him then when you go off to ECU in the fall.”

Carol froze, looking away from Julia. Maggie watched her fiddle with her cell phone. “Maybe. Not sure of my plans yet, to be honest.”

Those words cut rather deep. “Excuse me?” Maggie said. “You’re going to ECU. It’s where we go.”

“No big deal, Mom. I might just go to the community college.”

“That’s not up for discussion, Carol.”

The look her daughter aimed at her then was obvious disapproval. “Oh, we will definitely discuss.”

“Well.” Julia interrupted, not missing a beat. “I can’t wait to officially meet him.”

“Ditto,” Maggie muttered. “Officially.” She was amazed, actually, at the information Julia had extracted in just a few seconds.

Carol glared. “Mom, I forgot. Did you know there is a For Sale sign in our yard? What the fuck?” Obviously, she felt the need to change the subject.

Maggie shot her a warning look. “Language. Little ears.”

“But what?”

“I don’t know. It happened last night.”

Julia set her laptop aside and stood. “I’m on it. I’ve already left a message with the agent, so I hope to get a call back later this morning. I’ve also left a message with Max’s attorney. I don’t think your dad can do this, but….”

Carol interrupted. “But dad is an asshole. Who knows what he’ll do?”

Jason piped up. “Dad is not an asshole.”

“He is, Jason. Stop defending him.”

“He’s just trying to make sure he gets what is legally his.”

Maggie’s heart literally jerked, and she gasped, locking eyes with her son.

Julia stepped into the kitchen, also looking straight at Jason. Maggie waved her off, though. She didn’t want Julia stepping into this.

A horn honked from the driveway, breaking her concentration. To say it was an unwelcome intrusion was an understatement. Suddenly, Maggie’s anger at Max and frustration with Jason turned elsewhere. “Goddamn it, Carol! Tell him not to do that. I have asked repeatedly.”

“Of. Course.” She headed for the door. “Abso-fucking-lutely, Mother.”

Shit. “Do I need to pick you up from graduation practice?” she called out after her. “Do I need to be there?”

Carol waved her off with a flick of her hand. “No to everything. See you later.”

Maggie watched her go, heard the front door slam, and then after a minute, the pickup truck roared out of the driveway.

“That girl is going to be the death of me,” she murmured. “My best friend one day and my nemesis the next.”

Julia touched her arm. “Let it go.” She nodded toward Jason, as if to say, we have more fish to fry here.

Maggie centered herself again, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly. “Jason, talk to me.”

He stood up. “I gotta get ready for school.”

“Jason. Stop.” Maggie rounded the island. He halted, but didn’t look at her. Maggie crouched a little to look into his face. “Look at me.”

He slowly lifted his chin.

She peered into his eyes. “What do you mean he wants what is legally his?”

Jason let go of a sigh and blurted out, “He just wants what is his, Mom. His name is on the house, and he bought it with his own money. You didn’t help. He should be able to sell it if he wants to. You paid nothing. It’s his. We just live here. Besides, he’s going to buy something else.”

You never paid for anything. Wrong. I paid for it with my freedom, my life.

Maggie glanced at Julia, then back at her son. “Jason, I want you to think carefully before you answer me. How did you know that only your dad’s name is on the house? I’ve never told you that.”

He stood frozen before her, their gazes locked. Finally, he took a breath and said, “I talked to him. He told me.”

“When?” Maggie shouted. “When did you talk to him, Jason?”

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. ”

Maggie wished Julia hadn’t gone there—she didn’t want Jason to get on the defensive any more than he was—but what’s done was done.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He eyed his mom. “I need a shower. I’ll bring it down later.”

“No.” Maggie stood firm. “I’ll come up with you now and get it.”

The look on his face told her all she needed to know. He was pissed. Confused. Annoyed. Maybe even a little defeated. Not a good place for a fourteen-year-old boy to be, and that worried her.

“Fine,” he said. “Take it. Just take fucking everything.”

When Maggie returned home after the school drop-off, she found Julia huddled over her laptop at the kitchen island, her leather briefcase spilling open with papers, her yellow legal pad full of scribbles, and several wadded-up pieces of paper littering the counter.

“You’ve been busy,” Maggie said.

“I’ll have more to do when I get home.” She looked up. “I’m going to leave in an hour, if it’s okay with you.”

“Sure. I know you need to get back.”

“I want to make sure you are okay, though, Mags, and I have a few things I think we should discuss.”

Maggie noted Julia was making a list on the legal pad. She leaned in, reading over her shoulder. “What’s this?”

“Just things I want to make sure I mention.”

Maggie gave Julia a nod. “Alright. Have at it.” She had to admit she was curious about some things on the list. House. Attorney. Storage. Sell things. Kids.

“Have a seat. I will belabor nothing. I just want you to know what I know… What I’m getting a sense of….”

Where was she going with this? “You’re alarming me, to be honest. Just spill it.”

Julia sighed and nodded. “I spoke with the agent about the house. It’s listed as coming soon, so it’s not officially on the market and people can’t request a showing yet—but they can request a viewing as soon as it goes on the market.”

“How long is it on ‘coming soon’ status?”

“The agent said a few weeks. I’ve asked her to keep me in the loop.”

“Did you explain the situation?”

“Vaguely,” Julia said. “Max is her client, so I don’t want to overstep boundaries. My gut says he’s going to hold it on there for a while. Probably just to annoy you.”

She figured that was right. “But I don’t have to worry about showings, or inspections, or moving, and all that right now. Correct?”

“No, you don’t. And if anyone shows up, tell them to contact the agent. If that doesn’t work, call me.”

Maggie thought about that. “Sure. What about the attorney?”