My morning went from bad to worse as I returned from dropping Esme off at school. The heavens opened and a freak hailstorm had started, pelting me with ice, four blocks into my nine-block walk home. Derek followed us to school in the car, but once I’d dropped Esme off, I’d told him to go on home. Stupid on my part for not checking the forecast. I dashed for cover under our building’s awning. The doorman held the door open for me, but held his hand up to stop me.

“Ms. Bright, you have a visitor,” he said, pointing to the far side of the entrance. My stomach plummeted. Colleen. She looked a hell of a lot worse than the last time I’d seen her. She looked to be down to her last few teeth. Her face was gaunt, with her scraggly blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail. She’d been pretty once. I still remember all the men who paraded through the house who thought as much. But those days were long behind her.

I shuddered to think I could have ended up like her. If it weren’t for Shannon. I might have lived with her for only one year, but she was my mom. She was more a mom to me in that one year than Colleen had been in my whole life.

Even though Shannon and Ben broke my heart. Even though they didn’t want me after all. At least I’d had my time there. My time where I felt like I was important. Maybe that was enough to save me.

I grabbed Colleen by the arm and dragged her around the corner. The last thing I needed was Rhys, Derek or someone else walking in and seeing her here. Me bringing my baggage into his life wasn’t part of the deal.

“Looks like you finally got back to where you always thought you belonged, huh? Finally, found another rich family to take you in?” she said, as she stumbled to keep up with me. I ducked under the awning of a nearby shop and spun to face her.

“What do you want, Colleen?” I said, folding my arms across my chest. The sooner she spewed her venom, the sooner I could get rid of her.

“Can’t a mother come visit her daughter in the big city? You never call, you never write. If I didn’t know any better I’d think you didn’t want to see me,” she said, cackling, a cough overtaking her. She bent over, a coughing fit overcame her.

“I told you not to come. You wiped out my account. You should have more than enough. I even put some extra in there. You told me you lost the card to the account,” I said, my eyes shooting daggers at her. She smiled slyly, putting her missing teeth on full display.

“I did lose it and then I found it again. And when I checked it, I found out you’ve been holding out on me. Always telling me you don’t have any money. Nothing to give me. I’m your mother, damnit. I deserve some respect.” That was the final straw.

“You think you deserve my respect? You think after all the shit you pulled when I was growing up that you deserve anything?” I asked, backing her up and out from under the protection of the awning. My hands shook and I tucked them tighter against myself.

“You always thought you were better, didn’t you, especially after coming back from that family. Thought you deserved so much more.”

“I thought I deserved clean clothes and food, Colleen. Any kid deserves that,” I said, my voice going up an octave. She rolled her eyes. This was going nowhere. I needed her to leave. I needed her gone. Now.

“Why are you here? What do you want?”

“I need more money. I’m sure you have that now. You’ve got this big fancy job. Won’t return my calls. Give me some money and I’ll go away,” she said, ducking her head as bits of icy rain pelted her.

“Fine. But if I give you this money, you leave, do you hear me? You leave and you never come back. I don’t want to hear from you ever again. I don’t want you coming near me. I want you gone.” Her head nodded before I even finished my sentence. A part of me was sad that my own mother would agree to something like this, that she didn’t even care enough to put up a fight. And the rest of me was so relieved that I’d never have to see her again. That I’d never have to look at her face and have it reflect back all the screwed-up crap I’d lived through.

“Fine, I can catch the next bus home, if you get me the money in two hours,” she said, grinning.

Even more reason for me to hurry. She gave me the bus depot address across the river, and I told her I’d bring her the money. I hadn’t spent much since I started working for Rhys. The paychecks were ridiculous anyway. I’d made more in a couple months than I’d made in nearly a year at the diner. Giving her some of it would set back my plans by only a couple of months. Plans I didn’t even know if I’d go through with. I didn’t know how long Rhys would keep me around. How long this thing between us would last. What were we? What was I to him? I didn’t know yet and I was afraid to learn the answer.