Chapter 80 Annabelle
Annabelle
It had been two weeks since Tara had come to the house. Annabelle had thought of nothing else but Lucas.
She was tired of waiting. She picked up her phone and called her.
“Hi, Annabelle,” Tara answered.
“Tara, I’m trying to be patient, but this is killing me. I need to see my son.”
She heard a sigh on the other end of the line. “I was going to call you. I’ve spoken to Lucas. He doesn’t want to meet you.”
Annabelle’s breath caught. “What did you tell him?”
“The truth. But he says he’s not ready. I’m doing my best to talk him into it, but his therapist says I need to let him go at his own pace. His entire world has been thrown upside down. I promise I’ll keep trying.”
What could Annabelle say? She wasn’t about to force Lucas.
She hadn’t told the authorities that James had switched the babies because she wanted to protect Scarlett and Olivia.
She didn’t want her children to see their father in prison, so she would go along with the lie that it had been a hospital mix-up.
She thought of Lucas having to deal with Chase’s arrest. Tara was right: It was too much. She had to give Lucas time.
“Can we meet for coffee?” Annabelle asked.
“Um, okay. I’ll meet you at Sugar’s in an hour.”
After getting off the phone, Annabelle scrolled through Lucas’s Facebook page again, riveted to the images in front of her.
He was a beautiful boy. Her beautiful boy.
Her heart ached to know him. Light brown hair and brown eyes specked with gold—like her mother’s.
He had Annabelle’s nose, Randy’s smile. Tall and lanky, yet with none of the typical teenage awkwardness.
He seemed like a popular kid, but not stuck-up, at least from what she could tell on his page.
She’d been surprised he even had a Facebook account, but Tara told her that he had one so he could access his basketball team’s page where important info was shared.
He also had an Instagram, but it was set to private, so Annabelle couldn’t see what he posted there.
She suspected he was much more active on that platform, as most kids were these days.
He didn’t post often, but there were pictures of him with basketball teammates, friends at a barbecue at the beach, as well as some family photos with Chase and Tara.
She stopped at one of the three of them celebrating Lucas’s most recent birthday at a restaurant and felt a pain in her chest. He should have been celebrating all those milestones with her.
Chase’s image made her seethe. It all came rushing back—the way he’d drawn her out, making her feel like they had so much in common.
How he’d faked his grief over losing those babies.
All a facade. He must have ice in his veins.
To be the reason Scarlett was in the hospital and then call every day to check on her.
It was mind-boggling. She was so full of anger, and she had nowhere to put it.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself. Annabelle closed her laptop and left the house to meet Tara.
—
Tara was already seated, looking at something on her phone when Annabelle arrived at Sugar’s. She put the phone down on the table and stood up as Annabelle approached, leaning over to give her a hug.
“I got you a coffee and a muffin. You look like you need to eat something,” Tara said, smiling.
Annabelle sat down. “Thanks. I haven’t had much of an appetite lately. How’re you doing? I saw the article in the paper about Chase. I hope it hasn’t negatively impacted you too much.”
Tara shrugged. “Some of my clients have dropped me, but what can you do? Everyone loves a salacious story. They’re making him out to be some sort of pedophile with the texting thing.
It’s been hard.” She sniffed and brought a tissue to her face, dabbing at her eyes.
“I don’t care for myself so much, but poor Lucas. ”
“I’m sorry. This is so unfair. People can be so cruel.”
Tara’s lip trembled. “I’m grateful that I’ve found a friend in this.
” She grabbed Annabelle’s hand and squeezed it.
“Your support means so much to me. And I can’t tell you how much it takes the pressure off, your deciding not to do anything official in terms of Lucas.
” Annabelle had spoken to her lawyer, who had strenuously advised her to seek legal status as Lucas’s biological mother, but she didn’t have the heart to do it.
She kept imagining how she would feel if the situation were reversed, and she had to give up legal custody of Scarlett or Olivia.
Or how Lucas would feel if he had to leave the person who’d been his mother all these years.
And Tara seemed to have been a good mother.
It wasn’t her fault that James had switched the babies.
Both their husbands had done horrible things, and it wouldn’t do any good for them to be at odds with each other.
They needed to stick together. “We’ve both been betrayed by our husbands. We have to support each other.”
Tara took a sip of her coffee. “I appreciate that. This has been particularly hard on Lucas. All this publicity has caused problems at school. Honestly, I’m thinking it might be wise to move.”
Annabelle’s heart skipped a beat. “Move? Where?”
“Oh, not move. Just take a little break. My parents have a house in Paris, and I was thinking maybe I’d take him there for the rest of the school year. To let him get away from all this and get a reset. Homeschool him.”
“Um, that seems extreme.” She couldn’t let Tara take Lucas out of the country. “Tara, listen, I know I said I wouldn’t take any legal action, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to take him to Paris right now. Surely you can understand that.”
“It was only a thought. Living in such a small town makes it even harder. You must understand how awful this is for Lucas.”
“It’s awful for all of us. But you can’t run away from the problem.”
Tara was about to speak when a woman rushed by and knocked her tote bag from the back of her chair. All the contents were scattered across the floor. Tara’s face turned red, and she jumped up. “Watch where you’re going!” she yelled, then murmured under her breath, “Idiot.”
Annabelle was taken aback by the comment. She leaned down to help her.
“Are you okay?” Annabelle asked.
“Yeah, fine. Just wish people were more careful.” She gave Annabelle a bright smile.
They sat back down. “Where were we?” Tara asked, her good humor seemingly restored.
“I was saying I don’t think you should go to Paris right now.”
Tara waved a hand. “Oh, right. Don’t worry, it was just an idea.”
But Annabelle was worried. She had a bad feeling.
She had to be careful, though. Even if she decided to assert her claim, it would take time.
And if she made Tara angry, nothing was stopping her from taking Lucas and leaving the country.
“I’m sorry. I’m being insensitive. Maybe some time away would be good, but can you wait a little bit?
I’d really like to meet him before he’s away for an extended period. Could you try again with him?”
Tara smiled. “Of course.”
They finished their coffee and walked outside, saying goodbye. Annabelle went to her car and slid behind the wheel. The next thing she did was make another call to her lawyer. There must be something she could do.