Sucker Punch (TKO 4)

“Hey Rus, you think it’d be okay if I invited Paige over?” I ask, not wanting to just do as I please. I may live here but it’s really his apartment.

“Yes!” Tamilyn claps her hands. She’s looking a little too excited about this and I just laugh it off. I wait for Ruston to nod and when he does, I pull my phone out of my pocket.

Austin: I’ve missed you today.

A few minutes pass before she replies.

Paige: I missed you too. Work was insanely busy.

Austin: I’m sorry. What are you doing tonight?

Paige: A little laundry, then probably going to bed.

Austin: Oh, I was going to see if you wanted to come over.

Paige: I wish I could. I’m sorry.

Austin: Get some rest, I’ll talk to you later.

I don’t wait for a response. It’ll probably say nothing more than “okay” anyway. I toss my phone onto the counter and look up to see Ruston and Tamilyn both staring anxiously at me.

“She’s not coming,” I tell them. “She’s got to work in the morning.”

Tamilyn scrunches her nose. “Well, that stinks.”

“It’s okay. I’m hanging with y’all, so it’s all good.” I grin as I drink my beer. I’m so glad things are good between all of us now.

Chapter 21

Paige

I hate hiding my secret from Austin. I hate he doesn’t know about Darla. If he did, then maybe I could have gone over tonight, but I really do need to finish this laundry. I never let it back up this bad. At the rate I’m going, I’ll be up all night.

Darla just finally fell asleep. I missed her so much. I let her stay up a little later than normal so we could watch some cartoons and snuggle together.

While I wait for the next load in the washer to finish, I grab my phone and begin searching lawyers. Brendan has his lawyer, I need to get mine. I don’t care what it costs. I’ll use all my savings if I have to.

I go and grab a notebook and a pen so I can jot the numbers down. I’ll call around tomorrow on my lunch break and see about one of these. I can’t wait

to get this taken care of. Once he signs his rights over, he’ll be out of our lives for good. It’s his choice. A shitty choice, but it’s all his. I would have never voluntarily asked him to do this.

The washing machine finally comes to a stop. I set my phone down on top of the notebook and go put the clothes in the dryer. There’s one last load to wash, so I get it going. I wonder if Austin is still up. I almost text him but I decide not to push it.

My scrubs for tomorrow are already cleaned and hanging in my closet, so I go sit on the couch until this last load is done washing. Somewhere in between my thoughts, I fall asleep.

I sit up abruptly in the middle of the night. I grab my phone and see it’s a little after two in the morning. Shit. Groggily, I pull myself off the couch and head for the dryer. I have to get that last load out of the washing machine. Once I start the dryer, I head towards my bedroom and plug my phone into the charger. I notice a message from Austin and I smile.

Austin: Hope you sleep well tonight, beautiful.

I climb underneath my comforter and stare at his words until my eyes begin to grow heavy again. He sure knows how to make me happy.

***

After a few cups of coffee, my morning has managed to drag by slowly. I’m exhausted but I have to get through this day. When it’s finally time for lunch, I head straight to my locker and grab the piece of paper out of my purse. I glance at the few numbers I wrote down last night and decide to call the first one on the list.

By the time I hang up the phone, I’m near hyperventilating. I was pretty much told just because Brendan is agreeing to give up his rights, doesn’t mean the judge will okay it. So between the two of us, we may end up shelling out a ton of money just to be told no. I guess after work I’ll have to talk with Brendan and hope we can just reach some sort of mutual common ground.

I sigh and toss my phone back into my locker. I’m not even hungry after that conversation. I had planned to get something out of the vending machine but not anymore. I’m sure I’ll regret this decision in an hour or two when my stomach really starts growling.