Ryland #2
I turned completely and Miranda Tyler, my mother, walked into my space, quietly demanding a hug.
Without thought, I wrapped my arms around her.
When she let go and filled the stool next to the one I occupied, I turned my body in her direction.
She proceeded to explain everything about how they’d found out about Rylee, had been paying her tuition for the past year, and the teacher she had been pawned off on after Felicia left her.
Just up and disappeared, leaving Rylee to fend for herself at six years old. A gotdamn child and she’d left her.
There was no way to feel anything for this woman but anger.
“Would you like to see a picture?”
I yanked a hand down my face. “Yeah, you got one.”
My mother smiled and I saw she already loved my sister. That same smile I knew meant Rylee owned her heart.
“I’ll be right back.” She left the kitchen and my gaze moved toward my father who gauged me before he spoke. “You okay, son?”
“No. How the fuck can I be? I know what her life is or what it was…” Was because I didn’t care what it took, she would never have to be in that place again. I didn’t know what that meant or what it would look like but I was going to make things right for my sister.
“You’re angry.”
“Hell yeah I’m angry. She didn’t want me. Why the hell would she have another kid? Make that shit make sense.” My tone was clipped and laced with venom. My father allowed me to express those feelings with no judgment.
“I don’t have an answer to that question and you can’t focus on things you can’t change.
She’s here and she needs you. The three of us need to figure out what we’re going to do for Rylee,” my father stated calmly with finality.
He had always been a man focused on solutions and not the problem.
He’d raised me to be the same but this situation sent me to places I hadn’t visited in a long time. It was hard to separate the two.
“Yeah, I hear you,” I mumbled.
My mother returned to the space beside me with her phone.
She held the device up and swiped through a few photos of who I assumed was Rylee.
All of them were in school settings, taken from a distance, except the last one, a closeup of Rylee smiling from ear to ear holding up some type of certificate.
Her energy attached to me, killing my anger and making me smile too.
She looked happy, big ass curly ponytails sprouting from the sides of her head.
Dimples in her cheeks matched mine and her two bottom teeth were missing.
She was pretty as hell and had my entire face.
“So what do I need to do?”
My mother’s expression turned serious. “I’ve made some calls, and since you’re her blood relative… Well, the only one we know of, you can request temporary custody and we’ll keep her.”
“No, I’m not doing that.”
“Sweetheart, if you don’t, she’s going to end up in the system and I know that’s not what you want.”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I’ll get custody but she’s going with me.”
“Son, that’s not a good idea. You don’t have time to keep up with a six-year-old,” she rushed out.
“I’ll find the time,” I said before even considering how I was going to incorporate being a professional football player along with being a big brother guardian but I would figure it out.
“You don’t just find time…” my father stated calmly.
“I will because what else is there?”
“Ryland, sweetheart, your sister is deaf. It’s not just about finding time. She’s going to need things, resources, for school, for home. You…” my mother said carefully before I cut her off.
“I’ll figure it out,” I stated, looking at my mother first then my father because he would make her back down. “Where is she?”
My mother sighed. “With her teacher.”
“Why the hell is she with her teacher?” All I could think about was somebody taking pity on my sister because they assumed she didn’t have anyone who loved and cared about her.
“Somee is deaf and works at Harrington.” I frowned and my mother added, “It’s the school Rylee attends. The school is for the Deaf and hearing impaired. Somee is really good with Rylee. Leaving your sister with Somee was the best option until we were able to discuss this with you.”
I nodded. “Aight. I can get her tomorrow.”
“Can we just take a minute to think about all this?” my father asked calmly before his eyes shifted toward my mother.
I studied his face before I searched hers.
Now I understood. My mother thought she would be the one to keep my sister.
Although I knew if that was how this played out, Rylee would be loved.
Miranda and Orlando were the absolute best parents anyone could dream of.
They would do anything in their power to make sure my sister had a happy life, but this wasn’t on them.
“We can talk about it but I’m not changing my mind.
I know why you want me to and I appreciate that y’all want to step up but I gotta do this.
She has to be with me. For six years, I’ve had a sister I didn’t know anything about.
All she had was Felicia. I need to make things right. You may not understand…”
My mother placed her hand against my face and smiled. “We understand.”
She lifted from the stool and kissed my cheek. “While she’s at school tomorrow, you can work on getting temporary custody. Maybe Van can help. I’ll get in touch with Somee and let her know we’ll be there when school lets out.”
“Aight, I’ll call Van in the morning.”
“I’m gonna head up. You need anything?”
“Nah, I’m good. I love you,” I said, pulling her into a hug.
After my mother left, my father brushed a hand over his head and sighed, leaning against the counter.
Another reminder that he was my father. The only one I would ever claim.
I mirrored his actions more often than I realized, simple from watching him.
Brushing a hand over my head was my go to move when I needed a minute to process my thoughts, same as he had just done.
“You sure you want to do this.”
I snorted. “What I’m sure of is that I shouldn’t have to…”
“You don’t. Your mother and I will take her.”
“I know you will and me not wanting you to doesn’t have shit to do with me not believing you will be the best option, because trust me, I know I’m not but I need this.”
He nodded. “Then we’ll figure out how to make it work.”
“Thank you, Pops.”
He crossed the kitchen, placed a hand on my shoulder, and squeezed. “Get some sleep, son. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”
My father left me in the kitchen and I removed my phone to get this process started.
I was seconds from dialing Vanessa, who was going to have a fucking field day with this one, when I felt a presence enter the kitchen.
I glanced over my shoulder and caught the tense expression on my mother’s face as she neared me.
“What’s wrong?”
Her eyes softened as she extended an envelope toward me.
My brows slammed in when I realized it was an electric bill with Felicia’s name on it.
The address was the same as it had been years ago when I was in her care.
A two bedroom apartment on the south side that was decent at best back then, so I could barely imagine the state the complex was in now.
“The back,” she stated quietly, sensing my confusion.
I accepted the envelope and flipped it over, scanning the words scribbled in blue ink.
Miranda,
With you paying the tuition and all, I’m sure you’ll be the first call they make.
That fancy school doesn’t even know my name.
You might consider me a bad parent and honestly you’d be right but I’m also self-aware enough to know that as horrible as my decision is, this is the best decision I can make for Rylee.
I can’t do this and I know you can. I know you want to, so she’s yours.
You were good for Ryland, so maybe you can be that for Rylee too.
My chest tightened from the anger pushing through my veins.
She really fucking left her without a second thought.
I closed my eyes and massaged my temple, feeling the stiffness in the back of my neck.
My eyes already felt the sensitivity from the bright lights in the kitchen, so I inhaled a few cleansing breaths.
I felt pressure building behind my eyes, which she didn’t miss.
“It’s okay, baby…” My mother’s hand soothingly moved over my back to comfort me but there wasn’t anything anyone could do to calm the rage burning through every inch of my body. “Sweetheart, relax. You have a migraine coming, don’t you?”
Considering what I was currently dealing with, how could I not?
She fucking left her…
Her own child…
A six-year-old…
“She didn’t even say she loved her or ask you to love her in her absence. What type of shit is that?” I gritted, trying not to direct my anger at someone who wasn’t deserving.