Page 51 of The Pucking Wrong Date

“I’ll talk to you later,” I said, my voice trailing off before I hung up.

I sat there in tense silence, ignoring my phone, and watching the doors. An hour later, she came out, her head turned down, her arms wrapped around herself.

I picked up the docs again, looking at the terms of the conservatorship that Jeff had gotten from the court file.

Davine and Olivia’s bitch looking mother basically had complete control over her.

What the fuck?

Nothing about that woman had seemed like she needed to be watched over. She’d been sad, flighty, twitchy…yes. But nothing that even hinted at the claims the two fuckers had presented to the court.

Drug addict.

Mentally incompetent.

A danger to herself and others.

I trailed the car back to her apartment, dying inside as I watched her walk into the building…at least without Marco.

I stayed there, waiting for any sign of her.

Minutes turned into hours, and still, she didn't reappear. Eventually, I went home.

I tossed and turned that night for hours, one of her songs playing on repeat, the soundtrack to my agony…and what must have been hers.

I'm trapped in a cage of my own design,

Lost in a world where the sun won't shine.

My heart cries out, but my voice is stilled,

In this prison of sorrow, my dreams are killed.

Every day, I paint on a smile,

Hiding the tears that I've cried for a while.

I'm a bird with clipped wings, unable to soar,

In this cage of regrets, forevermore.

CHAPTER 8

OLIVIA

Buzzz. Buzzzz. I opened my eyes blearily, trying to see past the fog of the deep sleep I’d been in.

Who the fuck was calling?

No one ever called me.

No one I really everwantedto call me at least.

I squinted at my phone, finally coherent enough to press accept when I saw that it was Harley calling.

The screen lit up, Maddie and Harley’s smiling faces filling the phone as soon as I accepted the video call.

Maddie held up her hand, an enormous sparkling rock on her finger. She was like an excited puppy as she danced on the couch next to Harley.

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