Fallen Woman(28)

“Eww, Jase is in trouble,” Trace sang out. Jase took up the rear of the group and was equally as burned as the kids were.

“I’m not in trouble.” He glared at Trace, and I had to hold back a laugh.

“Then you don’t know my mommy very well.” He pointed to my face. “That look right there is mad.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “I forgot sunscreen.”

“I see that.”

Emmy started rattling off the stuff they’d done all day, and the word nap never crossed her lips. Trace and Megan interrupted her a hundred times to share things they loved, and even though I couldn’t decipher most of what they told me, I knew they had fun. Derrick clutched Jase’s hand tightly and stared up at him in what I could only assume was wonder.

“Hey, Pearl.” He looked at my favorite neighbor. “Do you mind if Derrick comes to dinner with us? We’re just gonna get pizza, but I’d love for him to go.”

As she started to speak, she began to cough, uncontrollably. When she finally regained her composure, she said that would be great. The kids all changed clothes, and I pulled the girls’ hair up in ponytails and out the door we went.

It was weird acting like a family, and we were a miss-matched group, but it felt normal. Honestly, it felt amazing. There had only been a handful of times I’d ever been able to take them out like this, and I’d always worried about spending the money—today that didn’t exist. I had cash in my pocket, a man I loved by my side—even if he didn’t love me—and my children. Derrick spent so much time with my children and me too, he felt like one of my own. He’d apparently bonded with Jase today as well—they were inseparable, and it made my heart soar.

When the kids ran off to play video games, Jase finally got around to asking me about my day. I think he’d avoided it knowing it opened up the door for me to ask about his and the sunscreen, which I decided to drop and just appreciate that he spent the day with the kids.

“How’d things go with Max’s family?”

“You’re an ass. You knew his family knew he was gay. You also knew he wouldn’t lay a hand on me for that same reason. Jackass.” My tone was playful, but I could’ve slapped him for not telling me up front.

“Whoa—language. There're kids around, and you never cuss.” He smiled, but all I could do was roll my eyes. “Did you have fun?”

“I love his mom, Jase. Adore her. Wish she were mine.” I thought about her momentarily before I continued. “She wants to get together sometime, but I don’t know how I could ever do that.” Thinking about how my circumstances affected my life upset me. I tried not to dwell on it, but it sucked at times like this.

“Why not?”

I cocked my head and gave him an expression that silently asked him if he was kidding. “What am I going to do? Invite Ivy Roster to the projects for tea?” My eyes glazed over with tears.

His hand engulfed mine as he came around the table. Overcome with emotion, I leaned into his shoulder and cried quietly. The bustle of kids around me became muted in the safety of his embrace. Everything about that spot was perfect, as though it had been made specifically for me. He spoke into my ear, low enough so no one around us could hear. “Baby, don’t cry. If you want to hang out with Ivy, we’ll make it happen.” He held my head to his chest and stroked my hair.

It wasn’t so much about Ivy as my life as a whole. I’d worked too hard to be right back where I’d started, only with three kids in tow this time—one of whom didn’t deserve the pain that could crash into her life without warning. Life had been a cruel bitch, and I couldn’t take another sucker punch. He didn’t say anything else, and when I finished blubbering, I wiped my face with a paper napkin. The kids came begging for more money, and Jase offered them a handful of ones so they could keep playing. We chatted while they played, but when Emmy came and climbed in his lap and promptly fell asleep, I gathered the other three little munchkins to take them home.

Jase stuck around to help me get the kids in bed. We put all four of them in my room, checked in with Miss Pearl, whose cough seemed worse than earlier, and came back to the apartment.

“Make sure you lock the doors, Gia.”

“Yes, dear.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. It was like talking to a dad, not my dad, but I imagined this was what normal people felt with their parents.

He cupped my jaw with his hand and stared into my eyes. Brushing his thumb across my cheek in an entirely too intimate manner, he said, “You’re going to get out of here. I promise.”

I knew what he was referring to. I just wished I had the confidence in me that he did. I wish I had the Magic Eight Ball he was getting his predictions from, because I didn’t see much of an end in sight.

With his hand still on my face, he leaned in and kissed my forehead. My eyes closed, and his lips lingered on my skin. When he finally pulled away, he whispered, “Goodnight, Gia.”

And I responded, with my eyes still closed, “Night, Jase.”





Chapter Seven





Miss Pearl never said anything about the money I’d been leaving her. I’d wait for a day or two after an outing with one of the guys and then find a way to place it on her nightstand or in her kitchen drawer, locations I knew she’d see daily. I didn’t need her to acknowledge she got it—I only needed to know that I had left it. What she did with it was up to her, but I was almost positive she just spent it feeding us. I wasn’t rolling in money by any means, but after the first couple of dates with Jase’s friends, I managed to catch up and hovered somewhere around breakeven. After I had taken care of the kids, I left Miss Pearl the vast majority of what was left, even though I should’ve been trying to make a dent in the outstanding medical bills.