Scream For me

AARON

I paced my office. Sabrina was going to be here any minute, and I was stressed as fuck to see her. I had no fucking idea what was going on,

why she was here, what she wanted.

I’d barely slept last night. Her business card had thrown meshe’d been in Seattle all this time? She could have reached out to us. She could have seen Ben. Even if she hadn’t wanted to be with me, that was fineBen deserved a hell of a lot more than she’d given him. I was pissed off. I was confused, and I didn’t know what to think or say or do.

My secretary buzzed my phone.

“You have a Ms. Tate on the line,” she said.

“Who?”

“She’s the owner of Placement, the au pair company.”

“Oh,” I said. “Tell her I’ll call her back or take a message or something. I can’t deal with this right now.”

“She says it’s urgent.”

“Take a message,” I said sharply.

The line went dead, and I again walked to the full-length window, clasping my hands behind my back. Sabrina would be here at any moment. When I’d seen her yesterday, she’d pulled the rug from underneath me. I hadn’t expected her to appear at my doorstep. Hell, there had been days I’d wondered if she was still alive.

A knock on my door produced my secretary.

“Your ten o’clock is here,” she said, and Sabrina walked into my office with the air of someone who was used to people falling at her feet in worship. She glanced down her nose at the secretary without a word, who disappeared, closing the door behind her.

“So, the Steeles of Seattle are still at it, I see,” Sabrina said with a sniff and looked around the office. She ran a finger along my desk and studied it for dust before touching the framed picture of Ben on it. “I can’t say this isn’t what I expected of you.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or an insult. Knowing Sabrina, probably the latter.

I watched her as she walked around the office, looking down her nose at everything. How had I ever been in love with her, seen a future with her? She was very judgmentalher attitude now wasn’t new. She’s always been like this, but somehow, I hadn’t noticed it back then.

Had I changed a lot? Maybe I’d just grown up.

“Let’s get to business,” I said, straightening my tie and walking to my desk. I sat down in my large leather chair and gestured to the armchair that faced me. “You can take a seat.”

Sabrina sat down, perching on the edge. She folded her ankles over each other, debutante style. She’d always been finishing-school-perfect, polished, and put together.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“If you’ll wait a few moments, I’d like for my lawyer to join us.”

I stared at her. “Your what?”

The door opened, and a tall gentleman with hair graying at the temples walked in.

“Mr. Steele,” he said, holding a hand as he crossed the office. “I’m Howard Moses. I specialize in family law. Ms. Everett asked me to be present today to mediate the conversation.”

I looked at Sabrina. Her name hadn’t been Everett beforeshe’d been married. Maybe she still was.

“You brought a lawyer with you,” I said to her.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Sabrina nodded. “It’s the simplest way to get down to the facts. I told you yesterday,” Sabrina said. “I want Ben.”

“Please, sit down,” I said to Mr. Moses, gesturing to the other armchair. Moses sat down, crossing an ankle over his knee, and made himself comfortable. He was calm and confident, and it made me unsure.

I shook my head and looked at Sabrina. “I don’t understand how this works. You disappear for so long, and then you come back making demands about a child you have nothing to do with.”

“My life and how I’ve dealt with it is none of your business,” Sabrina said. She curled her hands around her Louis Vuitton handbag.

“But it is my business,” I said. “I’m Ben’s father, and his well-being is my responsibility. You can’t just walk in here and make demands like that without an explanation.”

Moses cleared his throat. “I understand why you might feel that way.

Aaronis it okay if I call you Aaron?” I nodded absently.

“The fact of the matter is that, by law, Ms. Everett has every legal right to be involved in Ben’s life. It’s Ben’s right as the child to have both his parents in his life, and the law requires that Sabrina have visitation.” “Doesn’t it also require that she pay child support, then?” I asked.

Sabrina snorted.

“It’s a fair point,” Moses said, and Sabrina glared at him before she looked back at me. “I’m Ben’s mother, and I have every right to be in his life. The law favors the mother, and custody will revert to me. I’m willing to take it to court if you’re not willing to play nice.”

“Play nice?” I barked a surprised laugh. “You’re telling me I’m the one who isn’t playing nice? If you think the court is going to side with you after abandoning your child for nearly a decade, then you’re delusional.”

“Now, now, let’s not get worked up,” Moses said, and I wanted to punch him in the face. Who the fuck did he think he was? Who did Sabrina think she was, marching in here, making demands about Ben’s life? “It will rather be a case of fifty percent custody, meaning Ben will stay with you for half the time and with Aaron for half the time.” He talked to Sabrina as if he was talking her off the ledge.

“Why should she get half!?” I cried out. “She left him!”

“A judge will review the case and make a ruling according to what he believes is right for the child, but if the parents are amicable, an arrangement can be made without involving the court.” Amicable? Ha! What a joke.

Sabrina sighed. “Look, Aaron, I don’t expect you to understand. You’re not a woman. The connection you have with a child will never be as deep as what I have with Ben. I carried him for nine monthshe’s a part of me.”

Her voice cracked as she spoke, and tears welled up in her eyes. “I’ve been through a lot in the past couple of years, things I can’t begin to speak about, but I want to be there for him. I have so much time to make up for.” The tears ran down her cheeks, but her face remained emotionless. Either she’d had a lot of Botox done, or it was all an act, and she didn’t care nearly as much as she wanted to make it seem.