Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Ms. Rollins pursed her lips. “I need to speak to your mother. Do you know when she’ll be back?”
“Umm... She went away for a while.”
“So she left you in charge of Heath and Hannah while she’s gone?”
“Yes.”
“When exactly will Ms. Marks be back?”
“I’m not sure.”
The woman’s brows pulled together. “She left you in charge of two children, but she didn’t tell you when she would be returning?”
Shit. “Oh. No, I meant I wasn’t sure of the time she would be back. I’m not sure of the exact time. But she’ll be back Sunday.”
“So you’re staying to mind the children until Sunday?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“I’ll come back Monday to speak to Ms. Marks when she returns.”
Oh crap. “Can you tell me what this is about? Is Heath in some kind of trouble?” She didn’t seem very interested in sharing, so I pushed. “Since I’m keeping an eye on them, I’d like to know if there’s something going on.”
She nodded. “Heath was truant again last week. Twice.”
My eyes bulged. Just when I’d thought I was doing so well… “He cut school last week?”
“It’s not the first time it’s happened. The school attempted to reach Ms. Marks, but apparently her phone number is no longer in service. How long has she been gone?”
“Umm… About a week,” I lied.
“That means they were under your supervision when he was truant? Were you aware that Heath missed two days of school last week?”
I frowned. “Yes, they were, and no, I wasn’t.”
“Would it be okay if I came inside? Took a look around?”
I’d dealt with CPS enough growing up to know that I didn’t legally have to let them in. But if I didn’t, it would only make things worse. So I forced a smile and stepped back to open the door.
“Of course. Come on in.”
Ms. Rollins spent ten minutes nosing around the apartment. Thankfully, I’d tidied up this morning and had gone food shopping yesterday. Because after she asked to see the kids’ rooms, she opened the refrigerator and perused the kitchen cabinets. When she was satisfied the kids weren’t living in a hovel and eating bread and water, she concluded her visit by taking a picture of my ID and handing me a piece of yellow paper with a bunch of emergency contacts on it. As if I didn’t know the number for 911.
“I’ll be back on Monday to speak to Ms. Marks.”
“Okay. Great. Thank you.”
I shut the door behind her and watched her walk down the hall through the peephole. When I could no longer see her, I banged my head against it.
Fuck my life. I have until Monday to find Vera.
***
I decided to walk up to the school at six o’clock that evening to meet Hannah after PS Idol practice. Heath had been working this afternoon, and he would probably get home from the pizza place a few minutes before his sister. I wanted a chance to talk to her alone.
Hannah took two steps out the front door of the school and stopped when she saw me. “Why are you here?”
“I had to run some errands nearby, so I thought we could walk home together.”
She shrugged. “Okay.”
I asked how her day and Idol practice had gone, and then I eased into the questions I needed to ask.
“So, how are you doing otherwise? You must be starting to miss Mom?”
Another shrug. “Not really.”
“You know, when I was little and she’d take one of her trips, I used to count the days on the calendar by marking them off with an X. Do you ever do that? Count the days, I mean?”
“Nope.”
“Is it because you already have an idea how long it usually takes her to come back?”
“No. I just don’t care how long she’s gone.”
God, she reminds me so much of me at her age. I’d never have admitted that I missed my mother. But back then, I had. Aside from being scared in our apartment at night when I was alone, I always got an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach when she’d pull her disappearing acts.
“She’s been gone almost a month already,” I said. “When I was a kid, she always came back before the seventeenth day. Has she ever taken off for longer than a month?”
“I said I don’t count.”
“But does this time seem longer than the others to you?”
Hannah stopped walking. “You don’t have to stay, if you don’t want to. Heath has a job now, so we have money for food.”
I shook my head. “Oh no, that’s not what I meant, Hannah.”
“Then what do you really want to ask? Because it sure sounds like you’re itching to get the heck out of here, with so many questions about when Mom’s coming back.”
I sighed. “I’m sorry if I came off that way. I’m not trying to ditch you. I promise.”