Page 49 of Imperfectly Perfect

“He doesn’t pay it,” Savannah finally admitted. “And I haven’t gone back to court to have his wages garnished.”

“Start there.” Athena pressed her lips together hard, pushing them out. “Was he abusive?”

“Five years ago I would have told you no. But now…” Savannah trailed off, flicking her gaze to the door as if she could see Fallon sitting outside. “Yes, he was. He’s narcissistic, he uses me to get what he wants, even now, and he takes advantage every chance he gets. He’s ruined relationships for me, friendship and romance, and his goal is to make me miserable.”

“Then I suggest starting here.” Athena pulled out her cell phone, snagged a number, and wrote it down on her legal pad. She then put a second number on it. “Then go here.”

“Okay?” Savannah stared at the names and the law firms.

“This isn’t going to be pretty if you sue him, and it’s going to get very nasty I suspect. The first is a family law attorney. Ask for Kevin Brock. He’s my ex-husband, so use my name, and tell him I told you to use my name.” Athena pointed at the second number with her pen. “And this is Heather Wolff’s firm. She’s a defense attorney, one of the best. You’ll need her to win a case with a narcissist.”

Savannah blanched.Defense attorney?She’d never thought about that before.

“They’ve worked together on cases before. It’s not impossible to win, but it’ll be a battle, and it’ll be really messy.”

“All right. Thanks.” Savannah folded the paper and slid it into her purse. She wasn’t going to lose those names and numbers, not anytime soon.

“Have a good week, Savannah. I’ll see you soon.”

Athena left her alone then.

Savannah stayed in the silence of the room. Had she really just asked that? She’d thought on and off for years about going back to change the current custody arrangement, but she’d never actually said those words out loud to anyone. Then again, Forrest had been particularly nasty lately, ever since he’d met…

Savannah stopped.

Ever since he’d met Fallon, and really ever since Fallon had stayed the night and spent some time with Brinley. No doubt Brinley had talked to Forrest about Fallon. It was her right, and she was nine and didn’t understand these things. Rubbing circles into her temple, Savannah finally dragged her ass out of the chair and stood up.

The weight of the world rested upon her shoulders right now. And there was no direction she could move without that weight shifting in ways that were impossible to recover. She couldn’t lose Kyla, not after losing Conrad. She couldn’t stand to think about losing Brinley even more than she already had.

But that didn’t mean any of these changes would bring about those resolutions.

Fallon glanced up when she stepped outside, a flash of concern in her gaze. She pushed up in her chair like she was going to stand up and come over, but Savannah shook her head and put her hand out to stop her.

“I’ll call you later,” Savannah said quietly, keeping her voice as soft as possible. She didn’t even pause as she headed straight for the main door to the hallway.

She had to get out of here. She needed to sit down with a strong drink and figure out what decisions she really needed to make, and she needed to do that on her own. The door clicked shut behind her, far louder in her ears than it had ever been before. She stepped toward the elevator, needing the escape.

“Savannah,” Fallon’s voice echoed.

She froze in place.

Fallon stepped next to her, a hand on her shoulder and then on her back. Savannah turned into her, lifting up her face with her teary eyes and meeting Fallon’s concern head on. Fallon said nothing. She swooped her arms around Savannah’s back and pulled her in, wrapping Savannah in a warm, comforting embrace.

They stood in silence, Savannah held firmly in place by Fallon’s compassion. She didn’t want to move. She didn’t want to leave or wonder if this was real or not. Because she knew without a doubt that it was. Fallon might have said there was nothing but sex between them, a surface level friendship, and a way to find some physical relief, but this was more.

So much more.

“I said I’d call you,” Savannah muttered into Fallon’s shoulder.

“Yeah, you did.” Fallon held her a little tighter. “But I didn’t think this could wait.”

Savannah breathed into this moment. Her heart stuttered, overwhelmed with grief and sadness, with guilt and shame, and with a pesky sense of hope she couldn’t get rid of.

“I don’t know what to do,” Savannah finally said.

Fallon lifted Savannah’s chin up with two fingers. “You don’t have to know what to do right now.”

“But—”

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