Chapter 21

Quinn

The custody lawyer introduced himself as Will. His shoes, scuffed and busted, were what I gazed at when he asked if we could find someplace private to speak before he came back to talk to Rachel. I nodded, my heart hammering in my chest. Rachel had mentioned, over the phone, that her mother had figured out that Tyler and I had never been together, not officially. And I had suspected that Marnie would use this against Tyler, in his battle for Rachel’s custody. I didn’t want to get involved. But I would do what I could, for both of them. In the strange few weeks since I’d moved to Raleigh, I’d been swept up, knocked around, unable to eat, because my emotions were utterly exhausted. The breakup. The lust, then love for Tyler. The relationship with Rachel. And then—the abandonment, as I’d spent the past two weeks entirely alone.

Besides the mice, at work, that is.

Will led me toward the cafeteria, where we camped out in the corner. The floor was sticky beneath us as if some kid had recently spilled nacho cheese everywhere. Scrambling through his briefcase, he brought out a notepad again, and then poised his pen over it, waiting.

“Um,” I began, spreading my hands wide. I wasn’t sure what to say.

“It seems you’re pretty close with Rachel,” he said, shoving his glasses up his nose.

“I’d say so,” I answered.

“Can you detail your relationship with Rachel? And how you view her relationship with Marnie?”

I sighed, glancing out toward the gym again. Tyler was poised against the far wall, trying to keep his eyes away from me. He looked particularly gruff as if he hadn’t been sleeping. His hair was swept back, chaotic and dark, and his eyes were fierce, angry. It was hard to imagine that this volatile, sexual man was the one trying to fight for his daughter’s custody. He was a collection of contrasts. It was part of the reason I couldn’t get enough of him.

“Marnie is addicted to many things,” I began, my voice low. “Gambling. Alcohol. Cigarettes. When I first met Rachel, I didn’t know any of this. I only saw a happy little girl that loved her father very much. When I drove her back to Marnie’s, not long after I met her I just—I couldn’t leave her there. She looked so miserable.”

“And during these times when Tyler’s been in San Francisco, you’ve been spending time with her?”

“Marnie thought I was his girlfriend,” I admitted. “So she pawned her off on me often. Always, as long as she got her custody check, she was happy enough to live without Rachel. She reminded me several times to have Tyler pay her. Early, sometimes.”

Will’s face seemed drained of blood. “Do you think she would have allowed you to watch Rachel if you weren’t posing as his girlfriend?”

“That’s the thing. I wasn’t posing. Rachel wanted to spend time with me. So she created this lie that we sort of went along with,” I said. “And no. It’s not like I’ll be moving in with Tyler and Rachel. It’s not like I have that place in their very unique and special relationship. But I’m telling you, as one of the people who is closest to Rachel and her father at this time, they shouldn’t be separated at all. And that woman, that horrible woman, shouldn’t receive a dime of his pay checks.”

Will spread his hands, looking aghast, flustered. He didn’t speak for a long time as if I’d slapped him. Perhaps I had. My memory was growing blank, leaving me not entirely certain of what I’d said, or if I’d argued, or if I’d even been convincing. But after a long moment of silence, Will nodded. “Thank you for this information. Really. I don’t think I could have made a decision without you.”

We shook hands as we rose, digging our feet out of the sticky floor. He led me back to the bug project, where I collected my silver beetles, clutching the framed pictures in my arms. As I did, Marnie lashed forward, pointing. “You should have never gotten involved with this. Don’t you know how to mind your own business? She isn’t your daughter. You’re in this for his money. He was nothing when I met him. And now, I should have known. You sniveling gold-diggers are always around the corner, hunting for fresh blood…”

“That’s enough, Marnie,” Tyler said, cutting between us.

The silence was sharp, ringing in my ears. I felt glued to the floor, waiting for someone to tell me to leave. Marnie turned to Will, a rodent-like look in her eyes. Will looked flustered. After a long, even gasp of air, he found words.

“Tyler,” he said, addressing him and ignoring Marnie, who sought his eye contact. We all waited, anticipating what would he say?

“I think it’s best if you begin arranging Rachel’s schooling out west,” he finished. “I think that might be the first good decision I’ve made for you and Rachel since this all began. And for that, I am sorry.”

The following few minutes were a flurry. Marnie, enraged, began to scream at Will and at Tyler—and even at Greg—saying obscenities that definitely didn’t belong in an elementary school. Other teachers, schoolchildren, and their parents eyed us all suspiciously, like a car accident that could cause them to lose control. Tyler smiled, throwing his arms around me and hugged me tightly, before running to Rachel’s classroom to tell her the news.

The hug was too brief, just enough time for me to inhale his scent, just enough time for me to miss his arms around me. I gazed at him while Marnie and Greg continued to bicker with both Will and one another. Ducking away from the school, I made my way back to my car, where I collapsed into the driver’s seat and fell into a fit of tears.

I knew I’d changed Rachel and Tyler’s life, forever. But I also wasn’t sure I would ever see them again or where I even fitted in the scenario.