Page 46 of Dibs
“Of course,” I responded without hesitation as I slipped out of bed. Knowing my son, he wouldn’t ask me to go get him and his brother for no reason. “You want to tell me what happened?”
“Mom and Miguel argued the entire drive to her apartment, and Miguel called Chase an a-hole. Dylan told him not to say that, and Mom and Miguel started yelling at him. They kept fighting until Miguel finally left, and now Mom refuses to come out of her room.”
Fucking hell.Miguel was becoming a problem, which meant Lisa and I needed to talk.
“Okay, I’ll be right there.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
We hung up, and I slipped on my jeans.
“Is everything okay?” Chase asked, cracking his eyelids open.
“No.” I sighed and tugged on a T-shirt. “Tyler wants me to pick him and Dylan up. Miguel and Lisa got into it, and now the boys don’t want to stay there.”
“Can’t say I blame them.” He climbed out of bed and slipped on his clothes.
We headed into my garage together, and I turned to him. “I’m sorry about this. It’s not how I imagined the day going.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m a dad too, and I understand your kids come first.”
I was grateful he not only understood but shared my priorities. I leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips. “Thank you.” I pressed the button to open the garage door. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
He smiled and walked outside. “I’ll be waiting.”
* * *
By the timeI pulled up in front of Lisa’s apartment complex, I was fuming. It was bad enough that she rarely showed up for her visitation days every other weekend, but knowing she couldn’t even make it a couple of hours with them in her care was infuriating. I’d been more than generous by not forcing her to live by the agreement in our divorce settlement and letting her come and go as she pleased. Just once, I’d love for her to put her sons before anything else, but it seemed unlikely that would ever happen. Maybe I needed to revisit our custody arrangement with my lawyer.
I knocked on her door, and it only took a couple of seconds for Tyler to answer. “Hey, Dad.”
Placing a hand on his shoulder, I asked, “Where’s your mom?”
“She’s in her room.”
“Go get your brother, and then I’ll chat with her.”
My boys returned quickly with their duffle bags. “We’re ready.”
Dylan’s eyes were red and glassy, and I could tell he’d been crying. It was a good thing Miguel had already left since I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hold back from letting him know exactly how I felt about him yelling at my kid.
I pulled my youngest in for a hug. “Why don’t you guys head down to the car, and I’ll let your mom know you’re going home with me.” I tossed the keys to Tyler.
Dylan nodded and rushed down the stairs.
“You might need to go inside, she’s still refusing to come out,” Tyler stated before following his brother.
Despite the fact that Lisa and I had a contentious relationship at best, hearing that she hadn’t come out of her bedroom caused me some concern about her well-being. I didn’t want to invade her privacy, but I didn’t feel right just taking our children and leaving. After a moment of debating what I should do, I entered the small two-bedroom apartment and knocked on the closed door at the end of the hallway.
“Go away,” Lisa called out. “I told you I’ll come out later.”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Gage?” she questioned.
“Yeah, it’s me. Get out here.”
It took a minute, but she finally opened her bedroom door. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
