Page 37 of Trust In Me

“Excuse me, Miss. What can I get you?” shouts the young lad behind the coffee cart. I’m so caught up in our discussion, I didn’t realise I’d reached the front of the line. I place my order and step aside, joining an equally long queue to collect my coffees when ready. Shayla joins behind me and pulls my arm to gain my attention.

A sinking feeling I can’t explain begins in my stomach, nausea twisting my insides as I wait for what she has to say, knowing nothing good will come from this. “Did you know his mother filed for sole custody, claiming he’s an unfit parent?”

Hearing her say those words causes me to fly into a fit of rage, anger rippling away beneath the surface, as this woman brings out my bad side. Terrified she could turn my whole world upside down, I step forward until I’m right in her face, grabbing hold of her t-shirt at the same time, trying not to make too much of a scene.

“Don’t ever fucking say that. Kellan’s the best parent that little girl could ever ask for. His mother is a spiteful bitch who wants what she can’t have. The worst thing for Hallie would be for anyone to take her away from the only family she’s ever known.” I let go of her t-shirt, taking a slight step back now I’ve regained some composure. She looks at me like I’m telling her what she wants to hear, so I decide to be honest, and hope it works. “Did Kellan struggle as a single parent for a while? Yeah, he did. Hallie was going through a phase where she didn’t sleep any longer than an hour at a time. When she was getting her first tooth and was in pain, she would only sleep in Kellan’s arms. He felt like he was drowning, and so he asked his family for help. His mother babysat on three occasions, and each time she brought a nanny to do the work. Kellan didn’t want Hallie being looked after by a stranger, so he turned to the only person in his life that’s never let him down…”

Just as I’m about to say the final word, Shayla beats me to it. “Liam.”

Hearing us both say the same word results in matching small smiles. My heart aches as there’s no denying this girl knows Kellan. I can’t deny that it makes me crazy jealous.

“Liam and his fiancée, Bree, who’s over there with Hallie, took them in and helped Kellan become the amazing father he is today. I’m Bree’s best friend and I needed somewhere to stay. Kellan needed someone to watch Hallie when he was at work. I’m doing my early years educational qualification through an online university. This job’s part of my university placement, and without it I can’t graduate,” I explain.

“I’m sorry to hear that, but it’s not going to change what I have to say.” Shay tries to hold herself taller, taking deep breaths before continuing. Clearly terrified to utter the words, but she wants to sound strong. I knew I wasn’t going to like anything she has to say.

“Which is what?” I snap. I know I sound like an asshole, but this is my family, I have to protect them.

“My lawyer contacted me when Marianna put in the custody request. I’m not sure if Kel ever read the papers I signed giving away my parental rights, but they clearly state that if ever Kellan can’t be a parent, for whatever reason, or his ability to parent is ever brought into question, I will be contacted to have a say on who cares for her. This isn’t to get her back, I just didn’t want something to happen to Kellan, and for Hallie to end up with strangers. They’ve asked me if I think Kellan or Marianna is the better parent, so I started doing my research. I figured there had to be a reason why Marianna would do this, there’s no smoke without fire, as they say.”

“There’s so much wrong with what you just said. Firstly, if you’re not part of Hallie’s life, what the hell makes you think you know enough to have a say over who raises her. As for Marianna, she’s nutty as a fruit cake. She abandoned Kellan at six years old, so what will make her a better parent this time around? I’ve only seen Marianna with Hallie once, despite living with them a couple of months, and she never even held her. I promise you, there’s no better parent for Hallie than Kellan. That shouldn’t ever be in question.” My voice is stern, but if ever there’s a time to fight, it’s now for the people I care about.

Shayla gives me a small smile. “I already know that. I just wanted to see how much you love him. I want to know if you love him enough to do the right thing.”

Her eyes flick across to Bree and Hallie, obviously looking to see if they’re coming over here soon. I don’t need to look, I can recognise Hallie’s shrieks of joy from across the park. Hearing her talk about my feelings for Kellan, causes my anger to bubble again.

“Why is that any of your fucking business?” I snarl, as the lady making the coffees calls my name.

I head forward, ignoring whatever Shayla was about to say, grabbing the takeaway bag holding our muffins and the cups carrier with our coffee in it. Thankfully, the picnic table I pointed out to Bree is still available. If Shayla has any sense, she’ll leave now. I don’t want her anywhere near Hallie, and if Bree learns who she is, she may just kick her ass, and I might let her.

Sadly, she doesn’t take the hint, and I hear her footsteps running after me. She places a hand on my shoulder and I spin around. Meeting her gaze, I let her know how serious I am, and she has the good sense to look embarrassed, her eyes shifting around to make sure nobody’s watching our exchange. I need to make it clear we’re done here. I tried the nice approach, now I need to be more forceful.

“Bree will be here any minute. Either you leave now, or I’ll tell her who you are. I’m sure if you know Kellan, and have done your research, you’ll know who Bree is.” Shayla takes a step back, appearing almost startled by the growl in my tone.

“I know who she is. It’s you I’m worried about. I know who your father is, Mia. I know what type of man he is, and I don’t want you or him anywhere near Hallie. So, you have a choice. You can stay on as Hallie’s nanny until you finish your course, and then you have to leave. Leave the house and never speak to Hallie or Kellan ever again. Let me be very clear, I’m only saying you can stay on as her nanny, as long as that’s all it is. You end your relationship with Kellan, and stop playing mum to her. You are not her mother and I don’t want someone like you pretending to be.” Her words aren’t said nastily, yet I feel as though she’s just slapped me around the face. I can’t help but take a step back, and my breath catches in my throat.

“No,” I mutter, shaking my head as I bite down on my lip, trying to stop the tears from welling up in my eyes. I hate the fact that this woman is judging me on my past, using it as an excuse to stop me from being happy. My brain feels fuzzy, and I can’t find the words to reply to her.

“If you don’t agree to my terms, I’ll tell the judge Kellan’s an unfit father and ask for custody to be given to Marianna. I have evidence of Kellan’s criminal activities. The Reapers keep track of people they work with, as they never know when they’ll need dirt to use on others. I hate to do this, but—”

She hasn’t even had the chance to finish when I interrupt her lies. “No you fucking don’t. Don’t lie. You are using my past, of which you really know nothing about, to blackmail me into staying away from Kellan and Hallie. How fucking pathetic are you? Is this about keeping Hallie safe, like you claim, or is it more to do with making sure Kellan doesn’t find happiness? Is it a case of you can’t have him so nobody else can either?” I shout, my hands physically shaking now. I feel like I’m fighting for my life, and I really don’t know what to do.

“Think whatever you like. You’re right, I don’t know you, but I do know your father and I don’t want him in my daughter’s life. So, if you love Kellan the way I think you do, and you want Kellan to keep custody, you will do the right thing. I have an appointment with my lawyer in half an hour, so I need an answer. And don’t even think about telling me you’ve dumped him and still crawl into his bed every night. I have my ways of finding things out. If you break our arrangement, I’ll have Hallie taken away instantly. If you know anything about me, you’ll know I have no problems hurting Kellan if I’m trying to keep Hallie safe,” she states, her eyes seeming almost sad at the end. Like she feels bad about hurting him, but that doesn’t make any sense.

My head’s swimming, my breathing ragged. Why now? I’ve literally just become happy, for the first time in my entire life, and I feel it all being ripped away in the blink of an eye.

“You can’t take Hallie from him. He wouldn’t survive without her.” Every word I say is the truth. He adores Hallie, and I don’t think he’d survive without her. The question is, can I live without them?

Shayla’s face morphs into a scowl, and this is the first time she actually looks like the evil bitch Kellan claims she is. Before, I saw the broken girl, lost and confused, and I could relate to her. I always thought Kellan's views about Shayla were tainted by how she treated him, that she couldn’t really be that malicious. But, right now, that’s exactly how she looks.

“So, you’re done with them?” she questions, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Bree looking our way. Thankfully, Hallie’s still on the swing, but it won’t be long before they come over.

“You can’t stop me from caring about him. Keeping my distance isn’t going to change how we feel about each other. You’re hurting him all over again. Do you not give a shit who you hurt?” I snap as she tries to avoid eye contact, I place my hand on her arm to get her full attention. “You’re a heartless bitch, and I hope you live a long, lonely life. You can chase me away all you want, but Kellan will fall in love again. He will date, and you can’t chase everyone away. What you are doing here is wrong and judgemental. I cut my father off years ago and have nothing to do with him. Not only do I truly care about Kellan and Hallie, I would never hurt them. You should want them to be with someone who loves and cares for them, and that’s me.”

“Look…”

I cut Shayla off, needing her to hear everything I have to say. “When you first came over here, I recognised something in you. You have the same haunted look in your eyes that I’ve had for years. I thought you, of all people, would understand that when you find someone you care about, who cares about you, you should hold on to that. But, apparently you’re a sick, twisted bitch who’s so incapable of love you couldn’t even hold your new baby, and cared so little it was easy for you to abandon her.”

“It was never easy,” she mumbles, her eyes glazing over with unshed tears.

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