Page 23 of Light in the Dark (Heaven and Hell Duet 2)

“I know it makes sense for you to have your own place, but at the same time, I wish you lived here already. Somehow, it’s harder knowing you live down the road than when you lived across the state line.”

Idaline runs her hands through my hair, playing with it like that night she tried to lie to me and say she wasn’t. “We’ll get there,” she replies softly. “We always do.”

“Karen, you need to talk to her. I don’t care that you don’t want to get involved. She’s your daughter and she’s harassing me and my family. You got through to her the last time. Talk to her and tell her that she won’t accomplish anything here. Hell, find out where she’s staying, so the next time I call the law on her, I can tell them where she’s going.”

r />

Karen is quiet for a moment and I can feel the eyes of my family on me, even though I stepped off to the side to call her. It’s been a week and we came to my parents’ house for dinner. Karen says the one thing to piss me the fuck off.

“You told us that you wouldn’t keep Sawyer from us, that we could still see him. You haven’t upheld your promise. Why should I do this for you?”

My back straightens completely and my hand turns into a fist. “What the fuck did you just say? I’ve kept you from Sawyer? When was the last time you called me about him? When was the last time you asked to see him? Don’t throw that bullshit at me, Karen. You’ve made as much effort as Lila to see him since I moved to Raleigh. It’s not my job to make sure you’re in his life; that’s your responsibility. You should do this for your grandson. And if not for him, for your daughter. And if not for her, because you should have some fucking decency to do the right thing here.” I hang up before she can respond. She’s pissed me off enough for one day and I’ve said all I have to say.

When I face my family again, they all avert their eyes. Everyone but Idaline. The fury in her eyes is sure to match mine. She stands, leaves my family behind, and comes over to me. She takes my hand and leads me further down the hallway. I wish she was leading me to the liquor store. The one person I thought would be willing to talk some sense into Lila isn’t willing, and somehow, that’s my fault.

“This needs to end. This is stressing both of us out too much. I have an idea, but I don’t know if you’ll like it.”

Which means I won’t. “What is it?”

“We sort of trap her. You hang around my apartment complex when I go home tonight, see if she shows up. Then you can follow her, find out where she’s staying, and the next time she comes around you and leaves before the cops show up, we know where to direct them.”

My head shakes the entire time she talks. “I’m not using you as bait for her psycho ass. No way in hell, Idaline. We’ll figure something else out.”

“Then you be the bait and I’ll follow her.”

That’s not an option either. I don’t want Idaline around her any more than she has to be. Idaline reads the answer in my stony gaze and huffs. She storms back down the hallway. I hurry after her and watch as she politely steals Sawyer from my father and plops down on the floor to play with him. She may be upset with me, but I’m even more in love with her. She’s ready to take charge of the situation and run into it head first. Idaline’s ready to grab the bull by the horns, throw that bastard to the ground, and tie him up.

I’ve never quite seen her like that before. There’s a fierceness surrounding her, even with her pissed at me for not taking her up on one of her ideas. There’s something else we can do to get this settled; I just need to figure it out.

With the tension radiating from Idaline, it seems my parents are opting to stay out of it. We’ve already had supper, so we’re mostly hanging around and talking, up until my call with Karen. Idaline keeps Sawyer’s sole focus for twenty minutes until they both seem done. Sawyer walks over to me and Idaline stands.

“I’m heading home. Thanks for inviting me over,” she says to my parents. Idaline insisted on driving separately, so I had a feeling she wouldn’t be staying with me tonight like she has been.

“There’s no need to rush,” Dad tells her.

“I actually have my first day of work tomorrow,” she replies without looking at me. She didn’t say a word to me about getting the job she interviewed for.

My parents congratulate her, but I am stuck on the fact that she didn’t share this news with me. Why? I don’t understand. Idaline walks over, plants a chaste kiss on my lips, and whispers a goodbye. I’m tempted to follow her out. One, for the simple fact of walking her to her car, and two, to ask why she didn’t tell me, but something about the air around her tells me to leave her be for tonight.

Sawyer climbs into my lap, grunting all the way as if it’s a huge struggle, and then rests against my chest.

“You might want to head home too, son,” Dad says. “That one looks ready for bed.” He points to a yawning Sawyer.

I rub his back. “You ready to go home, Sawyer? See the fish and then go to bed?” Sawyer yawns once more, which I take for a yes. “Say goodbye to PaPa and MeMa.” A sure sign that he’s tired? He turns his head toward my neck to hide his face as I stand up with him in my arms. Mom and Dad stand since he obviously isn’t coming to them. When they ask for some sugar before he leaves, he almost reluctantly leans away just enough for them to kiss his cheek before he cuddles back into me.

There’s one thing for certain: when my kid is ready for bed, he’s ready and he doesn’t give a shit about anything else.

By the time I get him home and into bed, I expect to have heard something from Idaline, but no luck. Should I text her? Or leave her be? Maybe she’s still upset about earlier and wants some time to herself. I’ll give her tonight, but tomorrow? I want some answers.

I change out of my clothes into just a pair of pajama pants and collapse onto the couch for some TV time before bed. Today seemed like a rather long day at work. This is the first time all day that I’ve truly relaxed.

And about five minutes later, there’s a soft knock on my door. I seem to relax further, hoping it’s Idaline. Maybe we can talk about why she didn’t tell me about her new job. Instead, I make the stupidest mistake ever. I was so focused on the fact that it had to be Idaline that I didn’t double check with the peephole.

Lila stands on the other side. Before I can say one word, she’s talking. “What is it about her, FC? How is she better than me? Her name is Idaline for fuck’s sake,” she spits. “How can you love her more than me? You know I never meant to hurt you. I love you way more than she does and I can treat you better, I promise! Please give me another chance.” Lila actually drops down to her knees. She wraps her arms around my legs. “C’mon, FC. We are supposed to be together. Not you and that evil bitch. I’m Sawyer’s mom, not her. Let’s get back together, please!”

“Get up, Lila! I don’t have time for this shit.” I yank her arms from around my legs and do my best to make it a gentle push away from me. “Get it through your hard fucking head that we are never getting back together. We’re over. I’m with Idaline and I wouldn’t leave her for you. She’s who I want to be with. You’re nothing but a dirty piece of shit who needs to have power over someone and we don’t need that in our lives. Go back home. You’re doing nothing but wasting your time and looking pathetic in the process.”

All I see before I slam the door in her face is the same pissed off look I saw that night she beat the shit out of my back with the whip. I expect her to bang on the door so we can continue to argue, but nothing happens. I peer out of the peephole and it seems she’s left.

---