Page 57 of My Turn

“I’m going to try.”

With a dry laugh, I pressed my fingers back against the car. “You gonna be a dad now, Jayce? You don’t want kids.”

“No, I’ll be an uncle and I’m not going to try for custody. My parents will, though. After what I told them, they’re going to talk to a family law attorney. It’s more than likely going to be a nightmare, but Jake’s lawyer thought he had a good chance, so I’m hoping they will too.”

“Alright, cool. Thanks for telling me.”

I swung the door open, but he grabbed me and turned me back around. “There’s another thing I need to tell you.”

“Do you run around in a mask in New York city and seek vigilante justice?”

He laughed, then covered his mouth and cleared his throat. “No. It’s about Alicia’s mom.”

“I don’t want to know, Jayce.”

“You need to know. Her mom was Hailey.”

Putting a hand on my chest, I struggled to draw in a breath. He moved closer and rubbed his hands up and down my arms.

All of my emotions morphed into anger. I shoved him backward and climbed into the vehicle, slamming the door before he could try to pull me out again. I brought my feet up to the seat and perched my chin on my knees as I stared out the front window.

Jayce got in the truck and started it without a word.

Hailey. Fucking Hailey.

“Before or after?” I asked.

“After.”

I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to keep from exploding or jumping out of the vehicle at sixty miles per hour. He reached over, but I immediately associated him with Jake and leaned away. It wasn’t something I could help. He had the same goddamn face. My mind had to torture me with that.

Jayce’s jaw ticked, but he returned his hand to the wheel. We drove in tense silence and neither of us attempted to break it. When he pulled into my apartment community, I didn’t even wait for him to stop. I jumped out, nearly falling over. He slammed on the brakes and called my name, but I ignored him.

It wasn’t until I was safely inside with the door locked that I acknowledged what was happening inside of me. With a scream, I threw my purse against the far wall. The contents spilled everywhere and it made me pause. I knelt on the floor beside it and moved my wallet, finding a Hershey’s kiss there. I pulled out my phone, fueled by pure rage at this point.

Alana:Stay the fuck away from me. If I see you, I will fucking kill you.

Erebus:Lol.

My grip tightened on the phone. I didn’t respond and he didn’t send anything else. After an hour, I navigated to hiscontact and blocked him. I should’ve done it a while ago, but we were here now.

Would it do any good? Of fucking course not, but it made me feel better for a moment.

Chapter 22

Alana

Did I want to be here? No, but Ron and Sara needed my support. They lost their son only a year ago and now they were dealing with this. I wasn’t the only one.

When I walked into the office, Luna smiled brightly. “Miss Weste, it’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s Monroe,” I corrected.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Slip of the tongue.”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. At one point, being called that would have made my stomach flutter instead of triggering nausea.

“They’re already back there,” she said. “Do you remember which office?”

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