Shit. We do have a lot to talk about.
“Done.”
“Can I talk to her?” Toni asks, reaching for the phone.
“Of course.”
“Sam? It’s me. Oh my goodness, you should’ve seen Uncle Miguel. He found us! And then my dad tried to hurt me and Uncle Miguel just, like… punched him. I told him to, though. Sometimes, bad guys need to be punched.” She frowns. “Prince is with me.” She smiles. “And yes, I’m fine. But I’m starving.” She looks up at me. “Can I get a taco across the street?”
Fifteen minutes later, we have a sack of tacos and chips, she’s gleefully slurping a lemonade, and we’re heading back to my place. The greeting Toni and Prince get is nothing short of celebrity-level.
But no one… not Madison, not Allie, and worst of all, not Samantha… will meet my eyes.
Samantha wraps Toni up in a hug and rocks her from side to side. But why won’t she look at me?
“It’s late, honey,” Samantha says. “Do you want to get some sleep or do you want to tell us what happened.”
Toni yawns wide. “I want to go home,” she says. That’s when Samantha looks at me, and for some reason, there’s a well of hurt in her eyes.
“Home?” we say in unison.
Madison snorts.
“Yes, home,” Toni says. “With you, Uncle Miguel.” She takes my hand, then takes Sam’s. “And you, Sam. Can we talk about everything tomorrow?”
Samantha shrugs and looks away. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” she begins.
“I think it’s an excellent idea.”
“I need to stay here tonight,” she protests.
I squeeze her free hand. “No, baby. Come home with us.”
Home.
Sam looks at Madison, who looks at Allie, who looks at me. What the hell is going on here?
“Toni, can you go pack some of Prince’s things? His little bed and toys.”
He doesn’t need them, he’s got plenty at my place by now, but I need two minutes alone with the girls. Toni runs off, and the door to Sam’s room shuts.
“Alright, girls,” I say, swiveling around to face all three of them. “Before we find out what the fuck you’re all upset about, we have to sort out what the hell happened with Toni, her dad and her mom.”
“I have a few more phone calls to make,” Madison says coolly. “And we can easily discuss that tomorrow. Toni’s home safe.”
“She is.”
“No thanks to you!” Allie blurts out.
Samantha rolls her eyes. “It isn’t his fault.”
“It’s all his fault!”
What?
Toni comes back in, dragging Prince’s bed behind her, and Prince trots over.
“Let’s go,” Sam says to Toni brightly. “Changed my mind, we’ll all go.” She gives me a pointed look. “And you and I can talk alone.”
Oh, we will. We so will.
Chapter 21
Sam
I’ve never had such mixed emotions in my life.
I’m sad… so sad. But happy that Toni and Prince are home.
I don’t know what I’m going to do.
He's found her. They're safe. I never knew in my life how much another person could mean to me, until now. I cast a casual look at Miguel, and contemplate what he means to me, too.
Maybe I've misunderstood everything. Maybe I thought I meant a lot more to him than I did. We haven’t known each other very long, but we had a connection. I know we did. And now…
When he left, Madison told me what he's doing. He's using legal documents to prove that there are grounds to fine and possibly evict us because of violations of seller bylaws. I looked at the paperwork myself, and there's a signature bold and beautiful. Just like him.
At first, I couldn't even think about this. My mind was too preoccupied worrying about Toni, and whether or not we could bring her home again. But now she's safe, and I’m left with the knowledge of what he’s done.
“He seduced you, babe,” Allie said. “I’m so sorry.”
And based on what I’m seeing… it looks like that’s exactly what he did.
I knew he wanted the space where we are. But I assumed that he was over that. Why do people assume things? People should never assume things. I thought that he’d let that shit go. But noooo. Newp.
The sadness at the realization that this relationship is one-sided hangs over me like a storm cloud. I'm waiting for something to break… and hope it isn’t me.
I never knew how important it was for me to have a family. I never knew how nice it was to have someone care about me. I never knew how fantastic any of this could be, and now that I have it, it feels like it's going to break me into little pieces to say goodbye. But how could I stay with him, knowing that he betrayed me? That he went behind my back?
I berate myself for thinking a man like him would really want anything to do with a girl like me. I've seen what he likes. And it isn't me.