I take a seat at the corner of the table that puts my back to the door but can face the windows to see out into the city. It would be beautiful to see what it looks like at nighttime with all the lights lit up, the city wide awake.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Carr. Thank you for meeting me so quickly.”
“Of course,” I say, shaking his hand when he offers his. “This is extremely important to me.”
“I can see that,” he says, taking a seat at the head of the table, so he’s at my right. He puts a legal pad on the table, along with a pen. “I’m going to take some notes while we talk. Once I have all the information, we will come up with a plan, and you can be on your way.”
“And payment, right?”
“Excuse me?” he says, looking up at me after writing my name and the date on the pad.
“I, uh, need to know how much this is going to cost.”
His eyes narrow slightly, giving me a confused look. “There is no cost for this.”
“There’s—huh?”
“Mr. Stone has handled everything, Mr. Carr. Payment is all set. Let’s just focus on getting you custody of your sister, okay?”
We spend the next hour going over years’ worth of shit we’ve dealt with from my mom. I emphasize my sister’s condition, making sure he understands how serious it is. A lot of people assume that because she’s on meds, she’s fine. But it doesn’t work that way. There are so many other factors that come into play. She’s stable because of the meds but the disorder doesn’t go away.
When we’re finished and he has ten pages worth of notes, he sees me to the front door and promises to be in touch within a few days with an update.
I’m hit with a wave of relief when I step on the elevator. But it soon turns into emotions that I can’t handle, and my eyes fillwith tears. They’re still pouring out of my eyes when I reach the car, but I manage to get my phone and send Harmon a text.
Me
Just left a meeting with the lawyer. Again… thank you for this. He said I have a great chance at getting Chrissy.
I don’t expect him to answer right away because he’s working, but those dots start to dance, so I wipe my eyes and wait for his text to come in.
Harmon
I’m glad I could help. Let me know if you need anything else.
See you soon xo
Chapter Twenty-Four
Cassius
I got home from Harmon’s a little while ago, showered, and changed into comfortable clothes. I so badly wanted to focus on everything he said to me, like kissing him again, but I was too focused on everything going on with my sister. I’m glad he didn’t bring any of it up, and it was a typical day with a typical routine. I can only handle so much. Though, maybe he knows that, and maybe it’s why today went the way it did. He seems to understand a lot of things about me; things I don’t fully understand about myself.
Cammy should be home soon. I can’t wait. They weren’t wrong about this apartment being quiet. Even outside is too quiet. It’s nice, but it’s not what we’re used to. There is no shouting coming from outside. No loud cars. No slamming doors. No cats howling.
There’s a knock on the door. I get up and go to it.
“Did you forget your key?” I call out as I unlock the door and pull it open. But it isn’t Cammy on the other side. “What—”
Chrissy lunges for me, practically jumping into my arms with the biggest grin on her face. The woman she’s with, a young fair-skinned blond woman, smiles kindly and offers me her hand.
“I’m Shelly Turner with Child Protective Services. I’m sorry I didn’t call you, but I was told there wouldn’t be a need.”
“I don’t understand,” I say as I try to focus on what’s going on and not dropping Chrissy.
She gets back to her feet, jumping up and down in front of me. “I get to stay here and there isnothingMom can do about it.”
“What? Why? How? I only talked to the lawyer today. We didn’t even go to court… what is happening?”