“Easy for you to say, you have a place to rest your head,” she grunts out in aggravation.
“Don’t even start with me. It’s your fault you got yourself into this situation. I tried to help you so many times, but you keep doing the same things.” Maybe if she came here to help when my grandmother was sick, she might’ve been able to get the small cabin in the forest, but my mom can’t ever be bothered to do anything for anyone besides herself.
“I shouldn’t have even called you,” my mom huffs before hanging up on me.
“Charm! I need to vent about some shit, stat!” my best friend, Fern, yells from the foyer, causing me to practically crap my pants. Jesus. Why she can’t announce her presence like a normal person is beyond me.
“Good, ‘cause my mom just called me and I have stuff to vent about too,” I tell her as I turn around. She cocks a brow and I know the sass is coming.
“You shouldn’t even be answering her calls. She’s nothing but a money-hungry hoe.” Fern glances down and quickly realizes she doesn’t have something. “Crap, I’ll be right back. Forgot my phone in the car, and you know everyone at work uses me as their lifeline when shit goes haywire.” I wave Fern off and go into the living room, taking a seat on my comfortable new sectional couch.
The doorbell rings and I figure it’s Fern, that she accidentally locked herself out, so I get up from the couch and head toward the front door. The second I’m able to get to the door and swing it open, I’m a bit taken aback by what’s right in front of my face.
“Can I help you, officers?” I question the two men in police uniforms standing on my porch. One is tall with sandy blond hair, while the other is built like a tank and has a black buzz cut. For a second, I wonder if they’re strippers because they look that good.
The one with the buzz cut takes a step forward. “Ma’am, I think you should have a seat.”
My gut instantly clenches at those words. Officers only say things like this when someone’s died, or something horrible has taken place. God, what’s going on?
“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather stand. Now, what’s the meaning of this? Something’s obviously happened.” I don’t mean to sound so stern, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t being a bit sassy with them. There’s nothing I hate more than waiting or surprises. Absolutely nothing.
“Alright, well, I hate to be the bearer of this news. Your neighbor, Amanda, has been killed in a car accident. We’ve reached out to her sister, Ashley, and obtained approval from the aunt of the children to have you sit with the children and wait for their father to get here. From what we’ve gathered, he won’t be able to get here until mid-afternoon tomorrow, given he’s across the country.” The officer continues speaking and tells me what this means, that he’s so sorry, and asks if I’m alright.
But I’m stuck trying to process this.
Amanda’s dead.
The only woman on this street who’s been kind to me while others have whispered about how I’m a witch, or mongrel . . . she’s dead.
“Please tell me this is a mistake,” I murmur lightly while tears spill from the corner of my eyes.
The blond officer grabs my hand and frowns. “I wish we could, but you know as well as I do, this isn’t. As much as I hate asking you this, we need to know you’ll go over and keep the children company until their father arrives. Otherwise, we need to call DCF and get someone over there.”
I nod, understanding what he’s trying to say. “Yes, of course. I’ll head over as soon as you both leave. I just need to lock up and walk over.”
“Thank you. I’m sure the children would appreciate you being there versus some stranger,” the one with the buzz cut says. I nod, not sure what else to do.
Both of the officers walk off the porch and I grab my keys from the hook. I lock the door before heading over to Amanda’s house, knowing these kids will probably be a complete wreck.
Fern comes up to me and widens her eyes. “What the hell was that about?”
“Amanda, my neighbor. You know her, right?”
“The one with the three kids, yeah?”
“I nod, she’s dead. They asked me to go sit with the kids until their dad gets here tomorrow.”
“Oh god, I’m so sorry. Want me to tag along? Obviously we can’t bitch, but I’m sure there’s tons of other stuff we can do.”
“Yeah, this is going to be so hard. I feel so bad for them.” I accept her gracious offer and we both walk across the property. A few weeks ago we created a little path through our yards, especially since Amanda and I had become such great friends through my grandmother’s illness.
Inhaling a deep breath, I relax as much as I can and prepare to go mend these little hearts. I can’t imagine the way they’re feeling right now.
Chapter Two
Fenrir
The entire time it took for Marker to get the club’s plane ready to go, I’d called the police at the Tallahassee department to inform them I was on my way. They confirmed my kids were with a friend of my ex’s at the house.
Runes made sure I knew we’d discuss shit after my brothers and he joined me in Florida. Right now, I need to focus on my kids.
Fuck, I still can’t believe Amanda’s gone. My mind wanders to our last conversation.
“Oskar and Emil say they want a bike like yours,” Amanda murmurs through the line.
“I don’t see why they can’t have one when they’re old enough.” I
