Yola!

I predict a pretty busy week up ahead, so I wanted to get another update in. I updated three times this week, so I'll probably have two updates next week. I've been trying to finish up the epilogue, and I really don't want to be in the situation where I have to stop updating to finish it. But hopefully I'll have it done by next week too. I don't want to waste too much time (because being a student wastes so much time...), so thanks to all of those who reviewed. You know who you are. :)

Things will hopefully keep getting interesting in this set. And I hope you don't hate the cliffhangers. If there are cliffhangers. You'll have to read and see. ;P

Enjoy!

Chapter 23

By the time I returned home, death was an understatement for how I felt. And the word "a lot" was an understatement to all the work I still had to do.

I was too tired to even respond to the knock on my car window. Or to register the idea that it might have been an ax murderer. But when I turned and saw Scourge, somehow life trickled back into me. But not in a good way.

"The hell?" I pushed the door open, almost hitting him in the process. "What are you doing here? Don't you have a son to watch?"
"Fiona has Sage for the end of the week. And you blew me off," he said, holding up his phone.

I blinked at him. "And? You blew me off. For four years."

It was his turn to blink at me. I gritted my teeth. I wasn't the hurt ex-girlfriend remember? I was his lawyer.

"Anyway," I said, trying to dispel the tension in the air. "My friend Rouge gave birth. Between her baby shower, the hospital visit, and going to work to retrieve your files, I guess I was a little spent for time." I began to look around. Knowing Blaze, she'd probably appear from the darkness itself. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Are you keeping my case a secret from your friends?" Even in the dark lighting, I could see an emotion that I couldn't entirely place on his face. Hurt? Shame? Annoyance? "I mean, I don't give a fuck either way, but I know you do."

I didn't know why his words annoyed me. Why was he irritated? "Of course I am. Blaze and I just started talking. And you were the reason my friendships crashed and burned in the first place." If I weren't so tired, I would have been yelling. I probably was yelling. I was probably too exhausted to tell. "If she were to show up right know, you'd see what true hell looks like—fire included."

"I'll take your word for it."

"I don't want to keep secrets from her or any of the others." Wasn't I already keeping secrets? But those one's could go without telling. If anyone found out about this…I'd lose all of the credibility I fought for years to rebuild. I sighed. "And I can tell them. But only under one condition."

He nodded. "Please elaborate."

"We have to make sure that our relationship is strictly platonic," I began. "I'll help with the child-services worker check ups, but like you said, this isn't about us. I'm helping your son." I don't think a century would be enough to get used to saying that.

"Okay." It was weird how understanding he looked. How professional we were already being. Maybe we had moved on—"But that means I get to have a condition, too."

Just when I thought we were making progress.

I bit my lip. "Shoot."

"You have to be able to honestly answer this question." His expression was serious, but still charming. I tried to see past it as he said, "Are you sure you aren't mad at me? And if you are, is there anything I can do? Even if it means seeking a new attorney?" He was close enough for me to see the heartwarming compassion in his eyes of ice. He had that look the first time we…

He took hold of my hand, and my attention belonged to him. "I don't want to hurt you anymore."

I nodded, and I technically wasn't lying when I told him I wasn't mad at him. I wasn't. I was just mad about the circumstances, mad that life seemed to constantly make its point that it wasn't fair. And it wasn't.

It was just funny—how free we were. I could have succumbed to my feelings—my desire to rekindle the fire for him that never actually died. But I didn't know how I truly felt about him or anyone right now. I didn't know if Blaze would kill him if I so even mentioned his name. I also didn't know if I deserved better, or if no one actually deserved anything.

All I knew was that I could win his case. And that seemed like more than enough.

Scourge nodded before extending out his other hand. Smirking a smirk that I didn't hate. "Then it will be a pleasure working with you, Miss Rose."

I shook it, smiling lightly. And when he left, I wondered why my heart was on fire.

Damn hormones.

When I closed the front door, Clarissa was waiting for me. Tapping her foot impatiently.

I thought she was on to me when it hit me.

"Oh my God." My eyes widened. "Clarissa, I didn't mean to—"

"Not invite me to your little gathering?" There was hurt in her eyes, the kind that a person like me should have been aware of. "Good to know I'm your friend."

"I've been so swamped with work," I shook my head, realizing I had no excuse. "Sally gave me your invite to the baby shower…I can't believe I forgot to give it to you."

"Look, I know you've made up with your friends, but I didn't think you'd forget about me so easily." She sighed; she didn't entirely look upset anymore, but she may have just been realizing that keying my car or eating all of my ice cream was wrong. Because she had to have done something to get back at me.

"I didn't," I sighed, collapsing on the couch. But I felt no relief. "Besides you have Parker. Things are fine."

"Only they aren't." She sat down on the arm. Even though my face was pressed against the cushion, I could sense her glare. "I'm not stupid. I know something is up."

I sighed; I knew this was going on too long. I knew she didn't know I was pregnant. So there was only one thing I could say that would expel all of this. I freed my face from the comfort of the cushion and focused my attention on Clarissa. I think it took her off guard.

"Scourge is my new client." There. Simple and destructive.

"WHAT?" She almost fell off the couch. "How the hell did that happen?"

I shrugged with a lazy slump of my shoulders. "Life's a bitch."

"And you aren't?" Ironically, she blinked at me like I had offended her. "What's he like now? Did he say why he left you? Why is he back now—"

"If I knew I was going to be interrogated, I would have kept it to myself." I shook my head. "It's already bad enough…"

"Why? What?"

My eyes widened. I couldn't spill secret number two. I shook my head again. "Just with failing with Shadow and finally getting my life back with the others…it's weird." I fumbled with my fingers. "And turns out he has a son…I'm on his child-custody case against Fiona."

Her mouth widened. "Shit. No wonder you've been so distant. Shit. Shit. Shit."

"I know."

"So how do you feel about him? Are you sure it's a good idea to be his attorney?"

"No." I sighed. "But I've talked to him, told him the seriousness of the case, and how we had to put aside everything that happened between us for it to work."

Clarissa gritted her teeth. "I don't know…still seems sort of risky."

"My boss wouldn't let me not take his case." I tried to justify. "But I can't think of a better reason not to than the one we know best."

"Well, if anyone can handle it, you can," she said through pursed lips. "Just don't get your hopes up about him."

"I'm not in love with him," I said, rising to my aching feet. "Not anymore."

"Good." She pulled me into a bear hug. "Cause he's more of an asshole than Shadow."

I fought the urge to debate this—to justify that at least Scourge left me for his child, while Shadow was simply humoring Mina at my expense—but I swallowed my words before I could let them destroy me.

"But..." Clarissa started. I wanted to roll my eyes—she couldn't be up to any good. And when a grin appeared on her face, it was only confirmation. "…I want to see him. You know, to see if what's happening between the two of you really is okay."

I nodded. Fair enough. If only I could convince Blaze to stop dropping by at work, then this plan would be something close to perfect.

"Alright," I said, moving to my room. "But we're not going to do anything."

"So you say."

"You seem distracted," Scourge said, his eyes slightly narrowed. "What's wrong? I passed the child-safety-inspection-thing, didn't I?"

"Yes," I admitted, pulling out another file. "But that was step one. So we know you're a financially stable father with a safe living environment for your child. But how does that make you any different than Fiona? How does this make you better or more worthy of sole custody?"

"I guess with that logic, no one deserves anything." He folded his arms. "Yes, fundamentally Fiona doesn't suck. She's trying. But she doesn't seem that interested or invested. I take Sage to and from school. I've been to every parent meeting and event the school puts on. It's more of a hassle to coordinate with her when he could just be with me—he's happier with me." His eyes, practically pleading, hit mine. "I know it."

"I know," I sighed. "But we still have to convince that to a judge. Right now the best we could do is give you more custody hours, but not primary custody. Think hard. Is there a red flag I should be aware of?"

He turned to the ceiling, where hopefully the answers were. "I guess that's why I'm paying you."

I fought the urge to snort. I wasn't being paid. Not unless I won this case.

"Well, I can't really interrogate Fiona on no grounds," I replied, scribbling something on my notepad. But I had nothing, and pretending to write wasn't generating any ideas. Fiona worked in freelance (doing who knows what), and had enough income to afford a nice house of which she shared with a female roommate. The whole situation was a little untraditional, but not unsettling. If I was a judge, I'd just suggest the two of them sit down and properly coordinate a parenting schedule. And it seemed like they sort of had. Which meant I had to speak to the she-beast. That would give me everything I needed.

"So would you consider Fiona to be an unfit parent?" I said. "Because I need to hear it from you to move forward."

"Considering the fact she had him to guilt me into staying with her, I would say so."

"But we can't prove that…"

"I don't know what you want me to say, Rosie." He started rubbing his temple. "You need evidence—I can help you find some."

"Remember that the hearing is in a few weeks." I handed him a folder. "I can see what I can get on Fiona. But considering the fact that she hates my guts, I don't know how good I'll be."

His brow furrowed. "I thought you said you could win the case."

"I can. I'm just being realistic; and Fiona's a harder nut to crack than I thought." I thought she'd be like putty in my hands, especially since I had the upper hand for once. But as usual, things were more difficult than they had to be.

"Well, I guess there's no point hitting our head against the wall." Scourge rose to his feet. "I'll let you know what I can find. Can we meet next week?"

"Sure." Truthfully, I had some contracts I had to work on, but I really wanted to get this case over with. Custody battles could drag on for months. In some months I'd be noticeably pregnant. And I was trying not to be noticeably pregnant.

"I know you might think I'm being unrealistic, but I'm just trying to do what's best for Sage." He sighed. "Anyway, see you later."

"See you." But the only thing I could see was Clarissa making kissy faces through the glass door. When Scourge left, she took the initiative to barge into the space like she owned it.

"So?" she said.

"So?"

"You guys are so boring." Clarissa concluded, putting her feet up on my desk. I rolled my eyes. "I'm wasting my lunch break on you, you know."

"I didn't ask you to."

"But I did anyway," she replied, taking a bite from an apple. "And I think I discovered something that might help." She picked a recording device from under my table plant, my eyes widened. "You were saying something about how you were having a tough time proving Fiona's a monster right?"

I narrowed my eyes. "And…"

Clarissa narrowed her eyes in turn. "And, what? Law School 101: no one makes a case against someone for no reason. I know Scourge is trying to be reasonable—which makes him way less sexy, BTW—but there has to be some issue that prompted him to make a case against her. A huge issue."

"I know that," I sighed. "It's getting the secret out that's going to be hard. I can tell he's keeping something from me. But he wants me to figure it out, I guess." I cursed. Asshole.

"And why would he want you to do that?" She was prodding for good, but I couldn't help but be annoyed. If our conclusions were true, then it was just another confirmation that Scourge existed to make life more difficult for me.

"Because he feels guilty?" I suggested. Scourge was too smug to be guilty about anything. He was the type of person that could get caught red-handed and then turn the blame on you. Even now, I felt more frustrated with myself than him. Maybe he should be an attorney.

"Bingo." She took another bite. "But the real question is, 'What's making him feel guilty enough to not tell you what need to ruin Fiona?'"

"…"

"I'll leave you with that." Clarissa announced, already to the door. "Good luck."

There was nothing good in the world. I thought I was being dramatic when Blaze texted me for the appointment I had to go to. I sighed.

Life just kept on getting better.

After the lame appointment (where Dr. Merecat confirmed I had something growing inside me, shocker) I was in a mood. Well, to be fair I was always in a mood. And the only thing that could possibly make it more bearable was food.

I walked into a vegan restaurant in Merriment Plaza, because I was in the business of suffering, and ordered the first option on the menu. No matter, I'd hate everything here—at least now I'd be reasonably surprised. They handed me some type of vegetable wrap and some tea, and I sat down like a champ. And maybe I really was remarkable all of a sudden, because I couldn't shake off the sensation that I was being watched.

I turned over my shoulder, but the place was actually sort of busy despite its specific health focus. I saw no one alarming (just hipstery), and continued to look down at my "food". I frowned. Nope, I had suffered enough for one day/lifetime. But before I could get up, a woman in sunglasses sat down at my table. Never mind that it was a cloudy April day, and thirty minutes until nightfall. I raised my brow.

"I was just leaving," I said, examining the woman. She had sort black hair, but it was hard to tell her fur color in the dim lighting. She was young, probably about the same age as me.

"Weren't you going to at least touch your food?" Before I could open my mouth to object, she took the wrap from me and took a dramatic bite. My mouth fell.

"Shouldn't you know better than to eat from strangers?" I could feel myself adding another strike to this shitty day.

She shook her head, laughing. "We're not strangers."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Hippy crap. "Next you're gonna say that the moon has feelings."

"Probably." She set the wrap down and looked up at me. I didn't know what she was getting at, but I did know whom she was. Then her identity struck me like this random encounter.

"Mina?"

"In the flesh." She laughed. "Sorry for weirding you out." More like sorry for ruining everything.

But I couldn't say that. Instead I tried to look comfortable. Although I'm pretty sure I just looked constipated and homicidal. I could count on Mina to remain smiling.

"I like getting out once in a while," she began, like I asked for her perfect life story. "And this happens to be one of the only good vegan restaurants in town."

"Shouldn't you be on tour or something?" I found myself asking. I didn't know if it were mean or not, but I wasn't feeling nice.

"My tour actually just concluded," she said, moving to my bag of chips. "I have to record some new material, but I have a few weeks to chill until then."

"That sounds nice."

She nodded, her emerald eyes gleaming. "This is the longest time I've had with Shadow. Been having a lot of fun with him." She winked at me. "If you know what I mean." I held my breath.

Don't kill Mina, Amy.

You'll regret it, Amy.

You're the one that got away, remember, Amy.

I smiled so hard that I swore she could see past it. However, she only beamed more; practically illuminated the little hellhole we were in. But nothing would have prepared me for what she said next.

"Did I tell you we're getting married?"

My eyes widened.

"Did I tell you we're getting married?"

Of course not. That wasn't possible. It wasn't even possible when she flashed something that looked like an engagement ring on her hand. Nope. Not real. My brain was just playing cruel tricks on me because it knew I was tired and vulnerable.

She went off to explain the story of their engagement, the winter wedding, the black and gold color scheme, and the celebrity guest list. It was all true. It was all false. Either way, my throat was too dry to produce words to reject this madness.

So I let it swallow me whole.