Slut - Woodruff Jettie - Страница 16

I took the button from the visor and pinned it to my shirt. Mi’s shirt. It had some dumb saying about changing the way you look at things. Exactly what I pictured Mi in.

The car seat in the backseat hit me harder than I expected. I couldn’t believe it. I had a nephew. I reached for a manila folder next to Van’s seat, flipping the flap to see her orders from children’s services. She’d been seeing him every other week, preparing for his return home. A drug completion form, and a suggestion of a different job. I wondered why they suggested another occupation while I looked around.

I lifted the lid to the console between the seats and dug through the compartment, taking everything. A blue whistle on a yellow string, a CD with Van’s name in red marker, her insurance information, a pay stub from Hooters, explaining why CPS wanted her to find another job, a little blue bowtie, plastic like part of a costume, and a change purse with nothing but pennies. Mi piled my collection in the bottom of her t-shirt, and I continued to plunder, hitting the jackpot when I reached below the driver seat. A silver wallet with pink ice diamonds. Her driver’s license, social security card, debit card, library card, multiple discount cards from different stores, and nine dollars. Once I had taken everything that wasn’t fastened down I closed the door, feeling a mix of emotions.

“Check the trunk,” Mi said with a nod of her head, hands too full to point.

“Good idea,” I said as I slid the key into the hole. Again I felt like a piece of shit. A red backpack with a birthday present. “She missed his birthday,” I sadly said as I retrieved the things from the back. A brand new skateboard with a Batman bow, the backpack with the tags and a wrapped gift. There was also a shoebox with a new pair of sandals, a red Transformer on the top strap, blinking lights on the bottom.

“You can give it to him. Come on, I think you’ve had enough for one day. Oh, can you get that? It’s in my back pocket,” she asked, turning her butt to me.

I fished her ringing phone from her pocket and put it on speaker. “You answer,” I said, not really wanting to talk to Nick. I had more questions than answers, and as silly as it sounded, I was annoyed at Nick, that he left me like that. It was his fault for not hypnotizing me more or better. I hated having all these questions and no answers. I kept collecting pieces to a puzzle, piling them higher and higher with nowhere to fit.

“Hey, muffin. What’s up?”

“Mi, where are you? I want you to stay away from Gabby. This is way more than just an accident. Lane just announced his resignation. Just out of the blue.”

My eyes met Mi’s, and I worried even more. Now what?

“She can hear you, Nick.”

“Gah! I knew I should have never shared a cab with you. I should have left you in the rain.”

“It was my cab. I let you share it with me. Nick, I’m not about to leave her like this. She just found out she has a nephew. He needs her help. I’m going to help her.”

“Mi, listen to me. This is bigger than some guy with Alzheimer’s. Something else is going on here. I heard Lane in the stairwell talking to her lawyer. Her husband dropped the charges, played it off as a misunderstanding with proof.”

I brought the phone closer to me with that information. “He did? What proof?”

“I thought I told you to leave.”

“You did, but Mi said I could stay. What else did you hear? Does he know I’m at your place?”

“No way, and he’s not going to either. I don’t want any part of this, and I don’t want Mi involved either.”

“Mi’s already involved,” my new best friend called into the phone, smiling brightly at me.

“I heard him tell your attorney that he would call him back because of another call. It was Paxton. He called him a low life motherfucker, and then they argued about where you were, and why you weren’t in your hotel the night before. Lane swore he didn’t know, but I don’t think your husband believed him. He kept saying he did what he was supposed to do. He posted your bail, gave you some cash, and made sure you got to your room safely. He’s going after the car right now. Mi, if you can hear me, you stay the hell away from that car. Do you understand me? Something’s not right here, and I don’t like it. I don’t want to be a part of it. You need to leave.”

“I’m still keeping her,” Mi said while ensuring him of her intentions. God, I loved her. We exchanged a look and walked quickly away from the car, afraid of running into Paxton. Why would he want the car?

“Thanks for the information. If you hear anything else, let me know,” I coaxed while overruling him, just like Mi did.

“I didn’t call to give you information. I called to get rid of you.”

“Mi wants to keep me. I’ll see you later.”

“Hang up,” Mi whispered.

With my sister’s belongings, and my nephew’s birthday presents, we left the row of cars.

“Thanks for your help,” Mi called to the guy who let us in.

The guy held up a finger and we stopped. “I’ll call you back, Pete. What about the bill? The car? This isn’t just a place to park your car until you want your stuff.”

“Does the car run?” Mi asked, once again taking control.

“Mi, we don’t have time. We’ve got to go.”

“Beats me. The tow truck driver found the key when he hooked up the car. We don’t drive them.”

“What do we owe you?” Mi asked as she dropped my things into Van’s little backpack.

“Mi, I can’t let you do that. Nick is going to kill us both.”

“This isn’t Nick’s money. How much?” she asked again, totally blowing me off.

“It’s been here for almost four months. We charge a hundred and fifty a month for a salvage yard fee. It’s taking up room you know.”

“Yeah, whatever. How much?”

“Five-fifty, I’ll cut you a deal.”

“That’s not a deal. I’ll give you three-hundred. Take it or leave it,” she countered while offering him the key.

“Fine, I don’t want the piece of shit sitting around here, and I wouldn’t give you fifty bucks for it. Take it and get out of here.”

Mi pulled a wad of bills from a secret compartment in her wallet and counted out bills. Nick would turn purple if he saw that. My wide-eyed expression moved to the dude behind the counter when he asked for I.D. The car was registered to Izabella Delgardo, that’s the only person he could release it to without an affidavit.

I didn’t even think about it. I took the license from her wallet and handed it over. The funny part was the fact that it wasn’t even a lie. I could be Izabella again if I wanted to. Had it not been for leaving my own little girls, I might have thought about that one.

Mi and I exchanged a glance, both nervous for no reason. The guy didn’t even question it. Why would he? I looked just like my photo.

“Well, now you have a car to drive around,” Mi boasted as we rushed back to the car.

I swear the girl never saw anything half empty. There was something good in every situation. I wondered how she would handle it had she been in my shoes. I betted she wouldn’t be so giving with the positive attitude.

Mi opened the back door and tossed in our findings, and then handed me the key.

“What?”

“You drive. It’s your car.”

“It’s a stick. I can’t drive this thing.”

“Seriously?”

“No,” I said with assured fact.

“Well, it can’t be that hard. You get behind the wheel since you might need to drive it, and I’ll help you figure out what to do.”

That was such a bad idea, but for the first time in a very long time, I laughed ridiculously hard with Mi. YouTube has a video for everything. I wouldn’t suggest it for learning how to drive a stick though. Despite the fact that we almost met him face to face, I laughed so hard I cried. Literally. Mi had just moved the car into first instead of fourth and we both took nose dives toward the dash. My hysterically laughing switched like a light. Emotions flooded from my soul and cried.