Page 61 of Lilith's Lawyer Daddy

It didn’t help that she was still living in the cabin. Even though Aster had an employee “bunk room" she could stay in that was actually pretty nice—her own room with a sink and internet access with a bathroom shared with three other women in the hallway plus a huge shared kitchen on the first floor—she couldn’t quite drag herself away from Mountain View.

Not because of the extra privacy and space either, although that was nice. It was more that she wanted to hold onto bits of Vance for as long as possible which was exceedingly unhealthy. Whatever, she was an emo masochist, what did people expect? Which was an entirely unfair sentiment to her fellow emo masochists.

No, I have a sitter.

What? Carey never got a sitter unless it was Lilith herself.

Don’t worry about it, let’s just enjoy and get the hell out of here. I’ll pick you up.

* * *

A few hours later, Carey was pulling her piece of shit minivan up to a very swank and very familiar townhouse in Clover City.

Lilith had started to be suspicious when they got on the highway instead of just hitting one of the sketchy roadside bars they usually crashed when they had a night out together, and then really fucking dubious when Carey pulled off at Vance’s exit.

Now she was just yelling at her sister.

“Carey, what the fuck? Why are we here? I know I told you I was really bummed about the break-up but that is no reason to set Vance’s house on fire. Also, arson is a crime and you do not want to leave your children alone with that worthless husband of yours while you rot in prison. Vance is a law-yer.”

She stretched the last word into two ridiculously distinct syllables and looked at Carey bug-eyed. Carey was her big sister, and as such she was supposed to be a good influence. Not…whatever this was.

“Oh, I am aware that man is an attorney. He’s very persuasive.”

What? True, but still.What?

“You talked to Vance? When? Why?”

“Yes, I talked to Vance. This morning. Because he called me.”

“How—”

“Jesus, Lil, you gave him my number when you started shacking up.”

Lilith felt her cheeks flush, and muttered, “That was not when we started shacking up. That was after I broke into his cabin and started squatting there and he caught me but let me stay anyway.”

“Yes, your behavior lately has been an A-plus example for my children. Thanks for that.”

Carey winked. No one in the Belladonna family was exactly the morality police.

“Anyway. He told me what happened, didn’t beat around the bush or try to make excuses. Begged me to help him ask you for another chance.”

Well that would explain who paid for the sitter.

“I hope you got him to pay for more than one night of baby-sitting.”

“Oh don’t you worry. He might be a lawyer but I didn’t fall off the turnip truck yesterday. Thistledon’s version of Mary fucking Poppins is coming to my house once a month for the rest of the year.”

Lilith snorted because she should’ve known. “That actually makes me less likely to think he deserves a second chance since I know you’d sell your soul to the devil for childcare.”

It was Carey’s turn to scoff. “A) I sold my soul a long time ago, and B) if I were selling my soul for this, you bet your ass I would’ve demanded a sitter at least once a week.”

They scowled at each other good-naturedly, and Carey was the first to break, setting a hand on Lilith’s shoulder.

“In all seriousness, you know I’d never try to talk you into giving some man a second chance unless I thought he—and you—really deserved it. That man is smitten with you. Misses you like crazy. You’re the only one who can decide if what he has to say is good enough but…” Carey shrugged. “And if he’s full of shit, I’ve got a tire iron with his Mercedes’s name on it in the back.”

“Oh my god,” Lilith muttered into the hand she’d slapped to her forehead. “Did we not just discuss this? Lawyer? Prison?”

Before she could launch into explaining to Carey exactly how much she could not afford her bail, there was a knock at the car window. And when she looked up, there was Vance.

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