Chapter 17 #2
“I think maybe it’s time I had a talk with both Sophie and Walt about the custody arrangements.
It feels like it’s not really my place, but I hate seeing them like this.
You can feel Lou get anxious and upset when she knows she has to see them.
You should have seen how happy she was when he cancelled their plans last month.
He hasn’t seen his daughter in two months.
I just don’t understand it. Why bother with custody at all?
” I had kept a lot of it in, not wanting to overstep, knowing it was already a delicate situation that Sophie wasn’t thrilled with.
The urge to jump in front of them and protect them from people who so clearly didn’t deserve them ate at me. Since I couldn’t fight all her battles for her, though, standing by her side, making sure I had both her and Lou’s backs, was the next best thing.
“Alright. We know Ma is gonna have tickets for all of us by the time she’s off the phone. Why don’t you show me what shit you want moved around?” Any anger that was on his face before was wiped away as he grinned. He stood up, and I followed him, confused as we headed to the garage.
“Tada!” he said, waving at all of our instruments, put away in their containers.
“You’re renovating the garage? What about the drum set? Lou will be so upset,” I said as I looked around the empty space.
“No, she won’t, ’cause it’s going to your house!
Our gift to you, to make that house more Lou-friendly,” he said, and I realized I had been set up.
I couldn’t complain, though. I wanted to have Sophie and Lou over more.
Over the years, I had let a ton of junk pile up in the spare bedroom.
Everything from power tools and construction materials to my high school diploma was stuffed in there.
It wasn’t exactly safe for Lou, so I had spent the past few weeks cleaning it out with the hope of turning it into a space for her.
Dad had just helped me do a final sweep, as well as priming and painting the walls purple—Lou’s favorite color.
I found it suspicious that Dad was so eager to help, but with this loud gift, his participation finally made sense.
“Alright, old man, you win. Help me load up the truck.” He patted me on the back.
By the time we finished packing, Mom had secured tickets to the event for the entire family.
As I was driving home, my phone rang, an unknown number appearing.
I hit the button on my steering wheel to answer, distracted by plans on how to set up the music room for Lou.
“Hello?” I asked once I heard the phone connect. There was a beat before a woman’s voice came over the line.
“Lincoln? Is it really you?” I froze. The voice was familiar, but I didn’t fully recognize it.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“Really, Linc? You don’t remember what your wife’s voice sounds like? Ouch.” Turning onto my street, I was grateful I was almost home, completely unprepared for that conversation.
“Lindsey?” I replied, needing confirmation as I steered my car into the driveway. Once in park, I grabbed my cell, switching it from bluetooth to handheld so I could talk directly to her.
“Ding, ding, ding, and we have a winner! It’s been a long time, Linc,” she replied, something in her voice making me nervous.
“A very long time. For a very good reason. Why are you calling me, Lindsey?” I asked, trying not to get sucked into the past or let bad memories sour my mood.
“What, we can’t talk? You’re still mad at me? Come on, Linc. It’s been years.”
“Linds, I’m only going to ask once more. Why are you calling me?” I asked, gritting my teeth against all of the things I wanted to say to her.
“I’m coming home. I want to see you,” she cooed, her voice giddy, as if it were exciting news.
“Hard pass. Don’t call this number again.” I hung up, my heart beating faster than I cared to admit. It wasn’t that I missed her or that I was hung up on her. I didn’t like the unknown. I didn’t trust her, and I was afraid her coming back would somehow tarnish what I was building with Sophie.
A feeling of dread settled in me, and I thought about asking Mason to run a check on Lindsey to see if she was hiding anything.
Trying to shake off the ominous feeling hanging over me, I got to work unpacking the truck.
Working up a good sweat by the time I got everything inside and upstairs, I didn’t even realize I’d left my phone in the car.
Tired and dirty, I ran out to grab it, only to see several missed calls from Sophie and Walt. Panicked, I called Sophie immediately.
“Linc?” she answered after the second ring. Her voice wobbled.
“Baby, I’m so sorry. I left my phone in the car. What’s going on? Did something happen?” I asked, terrified as the words left my mouth. Sophie inhaled sharply, sniffing.
“I got a call from the school. Lou fell off the monkey bars. They think she might have broken her arm. She just got to the hospital.” I could hear noise in the background, and a cold sweat broke out down my spine.
“Go. Take care of Lou. I’m heading there now. Stay strong for me, baby. She’s gonna be okay. Our Lou is tough,” I told her as I scrambled into the car, throwing it into drive.
“They’re gonna take her for X-rays now. I have to go. I’ll text you the room number once we have it.”
“It’s gonna be alright. Take care of our girl.
I’ll be there soon.” I cursed myself every name under the sun as I drove to the hospital.
The familiar roads seemed impossibly long, the phone calls to my family doing nothing to quicken the ride.
Every car was driving at a snail’s pace.
First Lindsey, now this? They said bad things come in threes. What are we facing next?