Page 88 of Lillian

It’s empty, save for her laying in the bed, eyes closed and looking like she was run over by a train. The many machinesbeeping sound loud in the quiet, dark room. It’s the middle of the day, but the blinds are drawn. As if the room didn’t already screamdeath, they decided to help it out a little.

My dress shoes squeak against the polished floor as I approach her bedside. Ruddy brown eyes pop open at the noise. It takes a minute for her to focus on me, the drugs still wreaking havoc on her system, I guess.

“Look at me.” I snap my fingers inches from her face. Her head jerks a little, but she does. “Do you know who I am?”

A small shake of her head is all she can muster.

“I’m Grace’s dad. You know her at least, right? The little girl you took away from her mom and then left to fend for herself while you went on a three-day fucking bender. Ring a bell now?”

My tone is scathing, and I swear I can feel my lip curling more with each word. The bitch has the nerve to swallow hard like she’s the one that is scared and not the four-year-old fucking toddler that just spent days with a near stranger, with probably little food or water, completely neglected.

The only thing stopping me from laying into her more is the little bit of contrition I see in her eyes.

There is also a thin sheen of sweat covering her body. Small shivers take over every ten or so seconds, too. What a fucking mess. If I were a good person, I’d wait for what I’m about to do. At least until she is better or more coherent. Or not right off an overdose. But I’m not. Not where Grace is concerned.

I can’t be, because I made Lillian a promise that I intend to keep.

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” I start, calming my tone just a little as I pull the papers that I had grabbed from my desk out of my breast pocket. “You’re going to sign these papers giving up your parental rights to Grace. Because we both know it's the right thing to do.”

I had Michael draw these up after Lillian left the courthouse. Just in case. Now I’m so glad I did. When Talia looks like she might argue, I continue. “You are, and I’m going to sweeten the pot. Not that you deserve a fucking dime after what you put my girls through.” I swear to fuck her eyes light up when she hears there might be money involved. “Not so fast.” I stop the joy in her eyes. “This isn’t going toward your next fix. After you sign, I’ll pay for you to go to rehab. Whatever place you want, I don’t fucking care. Then when you get out, and you get clean, you’re going to sign an affidavit stating that you didn’t sign these papers under duress and you were of sound mind. Only then will you get anything else.” Because no way is she coming back after signing these and playing her sob story to the judge to get custody back.

I cringe as I watch her swallow a few times before speaking. “How…much?” Her words are slow and broken, throat raw sounding.

“You’ll get a fixed monthly stipend until Grace turns eighteen because we also both know that the only reason you wanted Grace back was for that check from Uncle Sam to keep you in supply.” And at that point, there won’t be any custody to fight for because Grace will be an adult in the eyes of the law. “Now,” I say and drop the papers in her lap, producing a pen from my pocket and placing it in her hand. “Sign the fucking papers.”

“Where’s your coffee?” Lillian asks when I make my way back to them in the emergency room empty-handed, save for the signed paperwork in my pocket. A weight feels like it’s been lifted offme, and I’m going back to work for a few hours to make sure these get filedtoday.

“I couldn’t find any,” I fib, but she doesn’t seem to care to call me on it. She simply shrugs and goes back to watching Grace. Becca is sitting on her hospital bed with her and playing thumb wars.

“The doctor came by and said she put a rush on the labs so we can get out of here,” Lillian says quietly.

Good.

I don’t tell Lillian about the papers. Not yet. Not until it’s good news for sure and Grace is ours. We’re at the hospital for another thirty minutes waiting on the labs before a nurse comes over with them. She lets us know the doctor looked them over, they’re clean, and she said Grace is okay to be discharged. No drugs were in her system. Though they were sure to tell us about the dehydration and to make sure she was getting enough to eat and drink the next few days.

The cops get a copy of the labs for the police report, and I make sure both of them are forwarded to me, too.

Heading out the doors of the hospital, Becca is walking in front of Lillian and me with Grace wrapped around her middle like a monkey. I throw my arm around Lillian as we both watch the two of them take to one another like they’ve known each other all their lives.

Lillian looks up at me with silver lining her eyes, and I get it. Everything about this scene just feels incrediblyright.

“I love you,” she tells me, a tear falling free. With my thumb, I brush it from her cheek and whisper the words right back.

Then we all pile in my car. Together. Like a family.

“Come on,Mommy! I want to see Riley,” Grace shouts, running back into the house for the fourth time in three minutes.

“We’re coming, sweetie. Hold on,” I laugh as she darts back out to where she’s been waiting by the car door, beyond excited to see her new cousin. Kim had Riley at least a month ago now—shortly after we got Grace back, actually—but has only just started getting back into a daily routine.

We all got to visit and see them after the birth, but she felt overwhelmed those first few weeks, so we’ve all been coming over only when she has been up for it. Now, every time Grace hears we have the opportunity to see baby Riley, she starts bouncing on the walls like the Tasmanian devil on speed.

Very quickly, my little girl has found a new best friend. So much so that I think Becca is starting to feel a little jealous. Their own relationship blossomed after that night in the hospital. Becca couldn’t go anywhere without Grace wanting to tag along, much to her delight. As much as she loves her big brother, I think she cherishes the big sister role she found herself in.

“Alright, I’m ready. Got everything?” I ask Becca and Lincoln as I walk into my kitchen. Well, notmykitchen for much longer. Lincoln and I both put our places on the market and decided to start completely fresh. A new home, but still here in Flagstaff near my family. Lincoln had no desire to stay in Phoenix, where his mom and dad are, so he applied to a few jobs down here near me. Even though I know there is no love lost between him and his parents, I still asked him if he was sure quitting was the right move. It’s a good job, one he’s worked hard at for longer than I’ve known him.

That’s when he dropped the bomb: his parents paid off Judge Whittington to rule in Talia’s favor. Just to spite me for coming back into their son's life.

I knew there was some outside factor involved—whether it was his parents or a private investigator Talia’s lawyer hired—because how else would they have known about my relationship with Lincoln? And that we had spent several weekends with him.

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