Page 29 of Lethal Weakness

His jaw sets, and he rips his hat off of his head as if he might throw it, but he stops, stiffly righting it low on his forehead instead.

“I’m sorry,” he states deeply.

I use the blanket to swipe the tears from my cheeks that fall anytime I get this angry. “They said if I go anywhere with Avery that they’d track me down and take her from me,” I admit more calmly. “If I don’t let them visit with her at least twice a month, then they will sue me for custody. I am doing my best, and if you cannot understand that, then I don’t care. I appreciate that you fixed my car and have helped me out… a few times now. But do not patronize me. There is no easy way out.”

He nods in understanding, and I wrap my blanket around my shoulders tighter.

“And your ex? Where is he?” He asks, staring off in the distance as if he can locate him with sheer will.

“He was in rehab for the past few months. A dual recovery program for substance abuse and mental health. Avery asks about him sometimes, but he doesn’t care about her like he should. Like she deserves. He only does what his mother tells him.”

“He laid his hands on you?” His voice is so low and menacing; it unnerves me, making my stomach twist in a knot.

When his eyes flick to mine, I swallow thickly before I can respond. “Doesn’t matter. He never hurt Avery, and we got out.”

“It. Matters.” His hard gaze doesn’t waver with his statement.

For a moment, I’m sucked into a vortex. I’m looking into a different dimension where a world exists that I can finally feel safe in.

One that I don’t have to deal with everything alone.

But that reality doesn’t exist. It never has.

“Well… Thank you for saying that,” I utter. “But please just drop it. I can’t dwell on things outside of my control. All I can do is take it day by day for my daughter’s sake. We’ll be free eventually. I have hope.”

He doesn’t say anything, and I take that as my cue that this conversation is over. But just before I walk back inside, he says something that stops me.

“You will be free, Linden. You both will.”

* * *

Four years ago…

“Are you sure we should do this?” I stop Turner before he opens the door to the courtroom.

“Of course, we should, Linden. We’re going to be a family. I want our baby to know that her parents brought her into this world as husband and wife.” He smiles gently at me, and it eases some of the tension in my shoulders.

I’ve always thought he was so handsome even though he wasn’t necessarily my type. I never went for the preppy boys, but he bumped into me at a college bar, and I couldn’t shake his attention.

He seemed interested in getting to know me, and I really liked being pursued.

Now, I’m halfway through my third trimester already, and my white knee-length dress barely zipped up. Luckily, I haven’t had any swelling, so I could still wear my favorite shoes. Baby blue suede heels that I splurged on to walk at graduation a few months ago.

“This is all just happening so fast. I don’t want you to wake up one day and feel like you made a mistake.” I don’t want to feel that way either.

“No, it’ll be fine. This way you can officially be a Scott, and you won’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll take care of everything. Hospital bills, a house. We’re going to do this thing together.”

The thought of being pregnant with a real-life baby is terrifying, but the thought of doing it alone is even scarier.

“Okay, yeah. Let’s do it.” I give him my best confident smile, but it doesn’t go far. I’ve already given up the job I had lined up after I graduated, and now I’m putting all of my faith in a boy I only met a few months ago.

We walk into the courtroom, and the only other people in here are the judge, the clerk, and his parents.

Of course, my parents couldn’t come. My dad can’t travel in his condition. The workplace accident that took his legs is the only reason I could afford to go to college, and now I’m knocked up and putting my entire life on pause.

I’m sorry, Dad…

“Are we exchanging vows?” The judge asks, and I shake my head rapidly in response.