30. Present
Chapter thirty
Present
Fuck.
I knew this day would come, and in my mind, I’d run through a million ways it could have gone down.
Unfortunately, finding Leyla on the couch flipping through my scrapbooks, judging my most precious memories with a bowl of cereal in her lap was not on my list of possibilities.
Especially since Matt and Brett just saw her on Facetime—from California—the night before.
The thing is, we never discussed this part.
“Hi Bretty Bear.” Leyla smiles, setting the bowl down on the coffee table, pushing the book off her lap carelessly and opening her arms to give her little girl a hug.
The grace card slides out from the pages and falls to the floor.
Brett runs to Leyla, illuminated by the wonderful surprise of seeing her mother in the flesh.
As she holds her tightly, Leyla’s eyes offer me a blank stare over Brett’s shoulder.
My stomach clenches, twisting like a pretzel.
“You must be Taylor,” Leyla says, straightening herself and holding out a hand to shake. Cold and clammy, I accept.
“And you must be Leyla,” I echo.
“I understand you’ve spent a lot of time with my girl, here,” she continues, a lopsided smile plastered on her Sephora-perfect face.
“Yes, Mommy! Taylor’s the best. She took me to camp!” Brett chimes in.
Leyla nods. “How wonderful,” she replies, in a tone dripping with falsehood that any adult would be able to pick up on. Luckily, our target audience at the moment is a single 6-year-old child, so nobody needs to bring their finest acting chops to the table.
“She’s a great kid,” I say.
“I know,” Leyla replies, giving Brett a side squeeze.
“Where’s Matt?” I ask, trying to ignore the tremor in my voice.
“Oh, he stepped out for a bit,” Leyla answers flippantly. “Hey, Bretty Bear,” she continues. “I got you a surprise. It’s in your room. Why don’t you go check it out?”
“Really?” Brett squeals. “Yay!” She runs off to her bedroom in search of whatever awaits her there.
Where is Matt?
With Brett out of sight, Leyla looks at me and her fake smile drops. “It’s over, Taylor.”
“What is?”
“All of it. I’m home now, and I told Matt everything.”