What? I look between both of them, confused. Elena’s pained face flinches. “Not yet, and you’re not leaving yet. Sit down, we all need to talk.”
Nate shakes his head. “Nah, fuck that. You know where I stand.”
“Nathanial! Sit!” His mother points back to his chair. Shit.
God, I’m so not ready for this. I can’t leave because I couldn’t take Micaela with me. He’d have me arrested for kidnapping if I do, so again, fuck my life.
Nate glares at me, dropping down to his chair. “Mom, I got shit to do today and tonight. I’m sorry, but can you rush this along? Fuck.”
Joseph enters, takes one look around the table and then looks at me. “Tillie, might be a good idea if I take Micaela, yeah?”
I chew my lip and then nod, knowing he’s right. Once Joseph has bounced a happy Micaela out of the room, I look directly at Nate. “What’s happening?”
He searches my eyes, and then says, “We’re going to have shifts between both of us on who gets her. Just like joint custody if you weren’t living here.”
I clear my throat. “Why? I haven’t tried to stop you from seeing her?”
I’m confused why he would feel the need to do this. We live together, for fuck’s sake.
He leans forward, his eyes flat. I already know that he’s about to say something hurtful. “I don’t want to see you, Tillie.”
“We run in the same circles, Nate,” I shoot back using his own tone.
He looks to his mom. “She’s right. But I still want guaranteed nights that I get her alone.”
Elena seems to be watching both of us. I shrug. “I can agree to that, Nate.” Then I flinch. “All you had to do was ask. You know, communication.”
His hate for me is real. He’s been so up and down and right to left that I don’t know how to take him anymore.
“Okay, then it’s settled.” Elena reaches for my hand.
Nate’s eyes follow her gesture, but he doesn’t display how it makes him feel.
“What days do you want?” I ask him, my head pounding slightly.
“Every Tuesday night, Thursday night and the whole day on Sunday. I’ve already spoken with Hector, and he’s cool with it.”
I forget he’s a King. I nod. “Sure.” Because I don’t want to be difficult. Then mainly because I’m tired of fighting with him and generally feeling reckless as fuck anyway lately. I stand from the table, ready to leave.
Elena’s hand comes out to stop me. “Can I speak with you for a second?”
I smile down at her. “Sure.”
Nate keeps his eyes on me as he stands. “I take it you’ll be with Madison tonight?”
I shake my head. “No. I’ll stay in with Micaela.”
He grins. “Good.” Then he storms out, leaving me confused as fuck and still without answers about his broken knuckles.
I exhale, taking a seat back on the chair. Elena clears her throat. “We know you don’t have a car right now so since we have too many to count…” She grabs a set of keys off the table and hands them to me. “Use one of ours to get around in, you know, if you ever need a break from my son or just to take Micaela out in general.”
I shake my head. “I can’t accept that, thank you, though.”
“Tillie,” Elena says, her eyes coming to mine. They’re so much like Nate’s, only gentler. “Please. I would hate for you to think you’re ever stuck here and unable to get away for a bit.”
I sigh, slowly reaching for the keys and taking them from her. “I have no way that I can ever repay you…”
“Oh.” Elena looks over her shoulder but sighs when Nate has already left. “About that…”
Oh no.
She must read the expression on my face because she laughs. “No, no, I’m not about to offer you an absurd amount of money“ —she clears her throat— “but Nate is, I mean has. I’m sure if you check your account you’ll see. It’s the first month’s child support and you’ll get your payments on the first of every month. Another thing is we have a trust account for Micaela set up already. She is included in the same accounts Nate has, but she also has her own for college and anything else she will need for as she gets older. They get more demanding the older they get.”
I’m stumped. Speechless. Child support didn’t even cross my brain—at all, and the fact that Nate did it without me telling him—”Wait!” I freeze. “How did he get my bank details?”
Elena stands from her chair and makes her way to the coffee pot. “There is nothing that boy doesn’t and can’t know, honey.”
Joseph comes back in, bouncing Micaela. He hands her to me, and I thank both of them for the car and again for allowing me to live here. I take Micaela back to the pool house, my thoughts so confuddled and murky from all of the revelations.
After changing her diaper and putting her in her day clothes, a cute little denim tracksuit with a few tears here and there—realizing it’s one of the things Nate bought her—I turn the TV on and put Netflix on as background. Turning Micaela onto her tummy time, I open my bank app to check my account and shoot off the bed when I see the amount.
“Holy fuck!” I look down to a shocked Micaela. “Sorry, baby,” I whisper and wink at her. She smiles and brings her hand back to her mouth to suck on it. God, she’s so cute, and of course she has her father’s dimples. My eyes go back to my phone.
Available balance: $20,468.
The $468 was mine, but he paid me goddamn twenty thousand dollars! I start pacing around the place and then flip Micaela onto her back before continuing to walk around the small apartment.
I need to call him.
I hit dial before I know what I’m doing. I don’t know why I’m doing it, he has made it
