Mr. Mitchell Billionaires' Club Book 2 - Raylin Marks Page 0,129
but this car kept Addy content with her videos, and I could relax forever in the comfort of the seat.
When we walked up to the door, the screen door flung open, and my heart nearly stopped. “Addy, go say hi to papa,” I said in the calmest voice I could manage. “And close the door.” Once the door shut, I turned around and glared at Derek as he walked toward my car. “What the fuck are you doing out of jail?”
Pissed was not even a word I could use to express the rage I felt.
“Believe it or not, Avery, people sober up,” he said. He didn’t seem high, but who knew. “Nice car. Did that douchebag let you borrow one of his trust-fund toys?”
“None of your business.” I felt my entire body shaking. My life had been so carefree and stressless for a whole week. It was like I’d let my guard down, and now, reality hit me like a Mack truck. “A week in jail doesn’t sober up someone who’s as sick as you. You need rehab. You need to do it for Addy.”
“Does your rich boy-toy know you’re just as bad?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
He waved his hand at the car, “Rich assholes like him—James Mitchell—they don’t fuck with hood rats. So, either he’s got you a supplier, and you’re using again, or—”
“You are out of your fucking mind, and here I thought you weren’t high. You’re on something, just not fully tweaked yet.”
“Did you tell him who he’s dating, Avery?” Derek lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, and pointed at me with his cigarette between his fingers, “You could make the front page of the news with your past, fucking with a CEO like him. You act like I’m so horrible, but you were always the worst, and that doesn’t change.”
“Shut the fuck up. My past is in the fucking past. Quit trying to fuck with my mind. I hate you so much.”
“I’m just saying. If you’re falling for this asshole, you’ll probably fall flat on your face. That guy is so far out of your trashy league that you don’t even have no clue, do you? You just like pretending you aren’t some glorified whore.”
“You can go straight to hell,” I said. “Addy and I are leaving. I’ll think about whether or not she comes here next weekend. I’m done bringing her around her dad, who is constantly high as fuck. She deserves better. Why don’t you stop worrying about me and start getting the help you need so that you can see your daughter again, huh? What a novel idea.”
“That man and all his fucking lawyers can’t help you get the custody you think you deserve. We’ve both done jail time, and what will the judge think about that along with everything else you’ve ever done? They’ll take her from you too, and it will be all your fault.”
“I did one fucking night in jail seven years ago.”
“Tell that to the custody lawyers. You’ll bring my daughter next weekend. You fuck it up, and I’m taking you to court. We both know my parents will get Avery.”
“Fuck you, you mother fucker! Fuck you!” I screamed. I was so furious that I could hardly see. I stormed into the house, my nerves tightening with every passing second. “Addy, let’s go,” I said in a stern voice that my daughter didn’t deserve.
“Mommy, are you okay?” she asked. “You’re crying. Daddy made you cry?”
Goddammit, I was fucking crying. I took a deep breath and smiled, “I’m fine, kid. Do you want to go and get some McDonald’s?”
“Yes,” she squealed and gave everyone hugs and kisses goodbye except for Derek. She walked past her dad and smiled at him. “Hey, daddy.”
“Does dad get a hug?” He knelt, and I watched the scene in disgust.
Jim knelt to bring himself to her level with so much kindness and adoration, and it was the most precious sight. But this? A drug addict, asking his daughter to hug him goodbye after being a complete fucking dick to her mom? The man disgusted me more and more, and I didn’t even need Jim in my life to realize that.
I barely made it through McDonald’s with Addy. I was a wreck and holding it all in as best I could. Derek had brought out my biggest fear again, the custody fight for Addison. Jim questioned why I didn’t fight for her, and this was precisely why. Because even though I didn’t see myself as