Me: I’m so sorry for earlier, baby. I don’t even know what to say. I’ll call you as soon as I can.

I send a text to Mia, wishing she were here to help me chase away the last three hours of my life. They just keep spinning over and over in my mind.

Fuck!

Never in a million years did I think Georgia would just show up like this and for her to do it right around Maisy’s birthday is so fucked up.

“You okay?” Rianna asks as she takes a seat across from me, and I give her a reassuring nod.

The laughter from Maisy and Georgia in the basement is a loud echo, and I just want her to leave.

“Yeah. You?”

She crosses her arms on the table and rests her chin on them. “I don’t know, Dad. How can she just waltz in here after all this time and expect us to just welcome her with open arms?”

“I don’t know. It’s fucking crazy to me. What did she say to you?”

“Just that she works at some rehab place and is sorry and wants to be part of my life. But you know what?” I can see the anger this has caused her, and it makes me want to kill my ex. “I don’t want her to be part of my life.”

“Don’t say things like that, she’s the only mom you’ll get.”

“Yeah, and I’ve turned out fine without her. Giving birth to us doesn’t give her the right to do what she’s doing.”

I catch something out of the corner of my eye. It’s Georgia and Maisy. They are holding hands, and Georgia, who obviously heard exactly what Rianna just said, has tears in her eyes. “Uh, I’m gonna go for the night, but if it’s okay with you, I’d like to come back in the morning.”

“Girls, can you give us a minute?” Rianna leaves the table, giving me a small smile, and after one last hug and kiss, Maisy reluctantly lets go of her mother’s hand. Once they are out of earshot, I turn to Georgia and level a stern glare at her. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why?”

“Really? That’s what you’re gonna ask me?”

“Yes, Maisy is through the roof, and Ria will come around.” She crosses the kitchen and sits at the table uninvited. I stand angrily.

“No, she won’t. You don’t know her. You don’t know what leaving did to her. Georgia, I’m sorry, but it’s not your choice to just come and go when you please anymore, or did you forget that you signed away your parental rights?”

Her mouth drops open, and I dig the knife a bit deeper. “Just because you’re ready to be a part of their lives, doesn’t mean they want you to be. Being a parent is about being there for your kids when they need you most, even when you feel like you can’t or don’t want to. And I know better than anyone what that means since I was all those girls had for the last seven years. So . . . no, you can’t come back here tomorrow.”

Tears pool in her eyes, and she says to me, “I live every day with the regrets for what I did to my girls. Please don’t stop me from making it right.”

“There are some things you just can’t make right,” I tell her, not budging. “You should leave. Don’t come back.” With those words, she sits stunned, looking up at me with a blank expression. I don’t think I could hate a person more than I despise her. Without another word, she leaves, vanishing into the darkness like she did all those years ago. God, I pray that I never have to see that woman again. Ever.

Downstairs, I find the girls in Maisy’s room. They are sitting on the floor, and I join them. Rianna leans her head against my shoulder, and Maisy looks at me with red-rimmed eyes. “I don’t even know what to say to you girls.”

“You don’t have to say anything, Dad,” Rianna says.

“I do. It’s my job to fix all this.”

“There’s nothing to fix,” Maisy says. “Mom wants a fresh start, and I think we should give it to her.”

“Why?” Rianna scoffs and her eyes widen.

“Because she feels terrible for what she did.”

“As she should, Mais. She left us, don’t you see that?”

“I . . . I do,” she says with a small tremble in her bottom lip. “I also see that God answered my prayers and brought my mom back to me.”

“We were fine without her, why do you think we need her?” Rianna asks, and the level of maturity that this conversation has is too much to handle. The girls shouldn’t be dealing with issues like this.

“Why don’t we all sleep on it and talk about it at breakfast?” I suggest.

Maisy yawns, and I’m happy they agree. For tonight, at least, I just need to be done with everything. After tucking them both in bed, I drag my exhausted ass upstairs. I’m not exhausted from anything physical; though, spending hours at the mall should have done that. It’s mental exhaustion that has completely depleted me. I toss the uneaten Taco Bell into the fridge, grab my phone from the table, and wander into my bedroom.

Mia’s bag of clothes stares at me from a chair by the window, and I check to see if she texted me back, but she didn’t. So, I call.

I strip my clothes off as I listen to it ring. She doesn’t answer, and I’m forced to leave a voice mail. “Hey, it’s me. I don’t even know what to say, babe. I . . . I fucking miss you. I’m sorry you had to see that shit. Please call me, she’s gone and won’t be back.” I disconnect and then turn the shower on, getting right into the cold water. The chill sends a shiver running through me. As I stand there, waiting for it to warm up, I imagine punching the wall so hard it cracks the hard tiles.

Everything that Georgia did infuriates me, but more importantly, the way this is fucking with my girls is about to send me over the goddamn edge.