Page 103 of You First
Big Jim bowed his head. Leona covered her mouth with both hands. But Jamie only blinked. Meredith knew at that moment that he would never fight her for custody, and the knowledge was like a pardon, unexpected but life-changing. Her next breath went a little deeper.
Uncertain if she could trust her legs, Meredith steadied herself against the couch as she crouched down to retrieve her phone. When she stood and began to walk past them, Leona held up a shaking hand.
“Wait…” Emotion choked her voice and pain rounded her eyes. “Y-you can’t just leave. Where will you go?”
“With friends,” she said, and she walked out of the living room. But Meredith soon heard Leona’s quick steps behind her.
“Will you… Can I… You can’t take him away from—” Her voice broke on a sob, and a muffled keening followed.
Meredith reached the bedroom door and turned to face her. “I can’t be around him.” She nodded toward the living room. “Never again.”
Leona’s eyes went wide, and she pressed a knuckle to her lip, sniffling. Tears fell unchecked, the sight the most surreal Meredith had ever seen. Leona struggled to speak.
“What if… what if you didn’t have to? C-could I still see O-oscar?” Her face crumpled on his name, and Meredith couldn’t help it. She never thought she’d feel sorry for Leona McCormick, but in that moment, she actually did. And despite how Leona had treated her over the years, she wasn’t completely surprised. Meredith knew Oscar was the light of her life.
And as much as she disliked the woman, Oscar adored her, and she didn’t want to take that away from him. Not when he had so little family to claim.
“Yes, Leona,” she said gently. “You can still see him. We’ll figure something out.”
Leona nodded rapidly and wiped her eyes. “Yes. I can come get him and watch him whenever you need,” she said in a rush.
A part of her was grateful, but too many other emotions warred for her attention. She gave a brief nod, turned the knob, and slipped into the bedroom she and Jamie had shared for two years. She closed and locked the door behind her and sagged against it. The room was completely dark except for the outline of light coming from the closed closet. Meredith always left it on until she came to bed so she wouldn’t bump into anything and wake Oscar on her way.
She looked at the sleeping form of her son. Somehow, he hadn’t woken through the whole, awful scene, and for this, Meredith was almost weak with gratitude. She picked up her phone and called Brooke.
Her best friend answered on the third ring. “Jesus, God, what’s wrong? It’s almost midnight,” she gasped.
At the sound of her voice Meredith’s composure crumbled. She held her fist over her mouth as she broke down, crying as quietly as possible.
“Oh my God. You’re crying. What the hell.” Brooke said, the anxiety in her voice ramping up.
Meredith sniffled and swallowed noisily before she could speak. “I know it’s almost midnight, but c-could you please come to the McCormicks’? I need you.”
“Yes. Yes. Of course. Shit, Meredith, you’re scaring the hell out of me. Are you okay?”
Meredith tried to breathe slowly. “I will be,” she said in a squeaky whisper.
“Oh, Jesus. Honey, Rajan is with me. Should I bring him or send him home? Do we need backup?”
“Um… I wouldn’t turn down backup.”
“Oh, man. If that asshole hurt you—”
“Just get here, Brooke,” she said, not ready to go into it. “And bring a suitcase.”
When she hung up with Brooke, Meredith saw there were five missed messages from Gray:
Gray:Are you in bed yet?
Gray:Why do I have a terrible feeling you aren’t okay?
Gray:Meredith, please text back.
Gray:You live on Dean Street, right?
Gray:I swear, if I don’t hear from you in the next five minutes, I’m coming to find you.
Meredith checked the timestamp and saw he’d sent the message six minutes before. At once she called him.
