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I frowned, not sure I liked the pressure he was putting on her, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Mom says it’s going to be fun!”
Lleyton looked at me like he doubted that were true, and I couldn’t deny he was probably right, but what was I supposed to do? The kid was four. I shrugged.
If Lleyton noticed something was wrong with me, he didn’t comment on it. I wasn’t about to tell him what had happened to Gran. Not while Amelia was in earshot.
We all traipsed along the path, shadowed by the hugely imposing three-story buildings that made up Edgely Academy.
“It’s so weird,” Lleyton commented, watching a mixture of boys and girls run up the stairs around us, ready to start their learning day. “This place was boys only when I came here.”
“I looked into it.” Kat’s heels clicked along the pathway. “The girls’ school was partially destroyed by fire a couple years ago, and they never rebuilt it.” She dropped her voice so Amelia wouldn’t hear. “A man died. It was declared a murder.”
“Shit,” I muttered.
Lleyton shot me an amused look. “Don’t be cussing here. I did many a detention for dropping an F-bomb.”
I grinned at him. “I can imagine. I wasn’t any better, but they don’t care so much about things like that at Saint View High.”
Kat shook her head. “You both have no class.” But then she smiled down at Amelia. “But you will, my love. The teachers here are going to adore you.”
Amelia beamed up at her and put her hand in Kat’s. “I want to be like you.”
Lleyton glanced at me with an apology in his eyes, which I ignored because I was too busy fighting back the hurt that my little girl’s words had unintentionally caused.
She wanted to be like Kat. Not like me.
It hurt so bad because I could understand why. Kat was tall and pretty. She wore expensive floaty dresses and accessorized with jangly bracelets, chunky rings, and sparkly necklaces. Her nail polish was always chip-free. She had an important, well-paying job in an office in the city.
Meanwhile, I got around in cutoff shorts, tops that showed off my midriff, and flip-flops. I worked in a strip club and owned a car that only started when it felt like it. I couldn’t afford to give Amelia spur-of-the-moment vacations or pay for her to go to this uppity school. I had to swallow my pride and let Lleyton and Kat give her those things.
“Family of Amelia Torrenson.”
I jerked my head toward the man who greeted us as we entered the office. I opened my mouth to say yes, then realized the man had used Lleyton’s surname instead of mine. I narrowed my eyes at my ex. “That’s not her name.”
The receptionist’s gaze bounced between us, his pen hovering over his clipboard. “It’s not? That’s the name I have on her enrolment papers…”
Lleyton seemed as baffled as I was. “I didn’t fill them out.”
Kat laughed, patting me on the arm. “Oh, Lyric.” She turned to the receptionist and stuck out her hand. “Hi. I’m Kat. Amelia’s stepmother. Torrenson is her father’s last name. That won’t be a problem, will it?”
The man smiled at her. “Of course not. Would you all like to come on through? Principal Williams will just be a moment, but you can wait in her office.”
Kat reached for Lleyton’s hand, linking her fingers through his right hand and grabbing Amelia with her other. “Let’s go, sugarplum.”
I was left to trail behind them, too shocked to do anything else. But the moment the door closed, I whirled on them. “You know very well she has my surname, not Lleyton’s. And stepmother?” I asked Kat incredulously. “Since when?”
Kat glanced at the door and then gave me a dirty look. “Lyric!” she hissed. “You’re so loud! Sit down before the principal comes in here.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up at her scolding me like I was a schoolgirl.
Lleyton must have seen the murderous expression in my eyes because he stood quickly, putting his hands on my arms. “Hey. Come on. We’re all here for Amelia. We can discuss everything else later.”
He was right, but it only annoyed me more.
Kat leaned over to him. “You didn’t tell her we were getting married?”
My mouth dropped open. “What? Since when? You’ve barely been dating a year!”
“When you know, you know!” Kat held up a hand.
