“Finally,” she says. “You’re hearing me. Now listen. I’m not going to take Vivian out of the home.”
“Thank God,” I mumble.
“Yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“There will be hearings. The judge will decide if you’re a fit mother or not. So I highly suggest that you do your research, Daisy Lundin. And look these people up. They are not hard to find on the internet. I think you will be shocked by what you see.” Then she thrusts a piece of paper at me. “All the details for your first hearing are on this paper, including the conditions which must be met if Vivi stays in the home with you. Make sure you read it.” She turns on her heel and walks back towards the parking lot.
That’s when I realize that all my neighbors were watching this entire display.
I close the door and shut them out, but then I have to face Vivian. Who did not go to her room, but stood in the hallway with her back to her closed bedroom door.
She looks up at me with wide eyes.
“It’s fine. You’re not going anywhere, Viv. It’s me and you, kid. Forever. No matter what.”
“No.” She stomps her foot. “It’s me, and you, and Vicious. Forever. No matter what.”
“Vivian,” I say, trying to maintain my composure. “This is a very complicated adult issue that I need to handle. OK? I do not need any stress from you.”
“That’s fine.” She crosses her arms and sneers her words. “But it’s always going to be me, you, and Vicious. And everyone else up at the farm. I refuse to give them up the way I did Grandma and Grandpa’s farm.”
I let out a deep exhale. I’m not the only one who lost everything. She did too. And now we both get a second chance at a new family. So of course she wants to hang on to it.
So do I.
But that CPS lady is right. I don’t know these people.
“Vivian, I’m doing my best. Will you please, pretty freaking please, be on my side for this?”
She pouts. It’s not fair, I know that. I should not make her invest in my problems. Good moms don’t make their kids take sides like this.
But I need her. She’s all I’ve got.
“I’m on your side, Mommy. I am.”
“I know, Viv. So just help me out here, OK? Give me time to figure this out. We have to go to court”—I glance down at the paper in my hand—“next week. Then we’ll see what’s happening. I need to get a lawyer. So.” I sigh. “I guess there go all my amazing tips from last weekend.”
Vivi comes towards me, hugs me around the waist. “It’s going to be OK. Vic will fix it. I know he will.”
I pet her hair and nod my head. Agree with her. But I don’t mean it.
Vic is not going to be able to fix this. Because I have a sick feeling that everything that woman just told me has a bit of truth to it.
Maybe it’s just a tiny sliver. But then again, maybe not.
After I get Vivi breakfast, she goes outside to find some kids to play with, leaving me alone with my new crisis.
I have no school for two weeks—this is my day off. The first true day off I’ve had in months. I was hoping to spend it with Vic since he has Mondays off too. But I look down at the paper the social worker left and there is Vic’s name in bold, black letters.
Not just Vic, either.
Pops and Gramps are on the ‘do not associate’ with list. And the twins, and Vann, and Belinda, and Veronica. Spencer, Rook, Ronin, Ford, Ashleigh. Hell, even the fucking kids are on there.
So. That’s awesome. Vivian and I find a brand-new family and now the government wants to take them away.
I sigh.
They cannot be that bad.
Can they?
I flip open my laptop and do a search for Vicious Vaughn. There are pages and pages about Vic. And they are all tattoo-related. Articles, and magazines, and like a thousand results in the images. I have to add the words ‘arrests’ and ‘mugshot’ to my search to actually pull up any dirt.
And they are all old. Mostly for fighting. He does have one local article about a DUI arrest, but it was twenty years ago.
OK. I knew Vic cleaned up his act, but what about the pops?
It takes me a little bit of sleuthing to find out his name is actually Vernon. Which—can I say?—is adorable. Vernon. Vern. I smile. I kinda like the pops. But he’s the same way. In fact, it takes almost thirty minutes to uncover some dirt on the pops and it’s all stupid stuff. Drag-racing on some newly built highway north of town. Disturbing the peace for parties at the mansion. A couple drug charges, but it was all pot-related.