Page 21 of Is It Casual Now?

Siena: Yes. She’s okay. I’ll call later. I’m going to start looking for new schools immediately.

Tori: Come on over and talk to me about it before you start doing that.

Siena wanted to scream at her phone. She wanted to scream at herself. She knew what Tori truly meant behind those words.Come on over before you waste time being stupid.But of course, Tori would never say it like that.

To be fair, the part of Siena’s brain currently not in control knew Tori would never even mean it that way. Tori would hear Siena out and find a way to make her feel good about whatever they decided, together. Because of course she wouldn’t be able to just move Harley from the school. She would never do something like that without being on the same page as Tori first.

But that didn’t mean she had any intention of backing down from getting Harley as far away from this shit as possible.

This shit that you created.Her mind unhelpfully added.

“Ms. Frazee?” Jessie said, and it was obvious in her tone she had tried to get Siena’s attention more than once.

“What?” Siena snapped far harder than was necessary. Seriously, she needed to pull herself together, to reel back her anger and frustration. But for the first time in her life, or at least the first time in more years than she could remember, she struggled to find that control she’d always been so proud of.

“I’d like to show you some things Harley has done over her first few days at school.”

“Why?” Siena asked, not buying into the sweetness that radiated from this woman’s eyes. Though she did feel like she had just kicked a puppy. “So you can convince me to keep her here?”

In true Siena style, when she fucked up, she went all in.

Sisters, identical on the surface, but they were unequivocally opposite in many other ways. But that didn’t change any of this. Siena needed to keep Harley away from it all.

Dread uncurled in the pit of her stomach.

Her divorce with Tori had been so ridiculously amicable, even if she’d never touch tequila again thanks to their divorce sex, but amicable during and since. She hated the idea of fighting with Tori now. But when it came to Harley, she would clamp down and do what was right for her daughter.

But was this right?

Yes.

She argued silently with herself as Jessie looked at her, a softness in her eyes and around her mouth. She was gorgeous, in a far more sweet and innocent way than Jamie had been.

Siena looked over to see Harley focusing her entire attention on the piece of art she was creating.

“Fine.” Through clenched teeth, Siena agreed to be shown around the classroom.

After every piece of art or photo Jessie showed her, Siena would look over at Harley, checking she was still happily drawing. After the third item, she turned and noticed Harley’s seat at the drawing table now empty.

Her heart screamed in her chest. It was so loud in her ears, she wondered how everyone could continue as they were as though they heard nothing. Her breath caught and the panic set in.

“She’s over with her friends at the building blocks.” Jessie’s voice cut through the panic, and with a quick look where Jessie pointed, Siena located her daughter laughing with several other children.

“Thank you.” Siena turned to Jessie, the first real smile on her face.

It didn’t last long, when over Jessie’s shoulder, she saw theperson responsible for all her current problems step into the room.

“What the hell isshedoing here?”

Jessie threw a look over her shoulder before turning back to Siena.

“I called her. I think you and Jamie need to sort out some things so that Harley and I aren’t caught in the crossfire.”

Jessie had seemed such a soft pushover. The quintessential kindergarten teacher. But the tone in her voice brooked no argument, and Siena wondered how much she needed to reevaluate Harley’s teacher.

Jamie’s eyes widened as they landed on Siena. After a beat, her head gave a single solid nod and she walked toward Siena and Jessie.

This is going to be a shit show.

---