He Locked Me Out Now He’s Begging Me Back Chapter 16
Eight from Daniel. Eleven from Tessa. The rest from Daniel’s mother.
I didn’t call anyone back. Instead, I opened the email from Noah’s teacher.
During recess, Noah had shoved another student to the ground, scraping the child’s elbow. The person who finally arrived at the school was his grandmother. The other child’s parents were demanding that their medical expenses be covered and that Noah offer a formal apology.
I had barely finished reading the email when a voicemail started playing automatically. It was Daniel’s mother.
“Claire, how can you be this heartless? You wouldn’t answer your phone, and you wouldn’t even help with the child. We treated you like family, and the minute something happens, you disappear!”
The next one came through, her breathing heavy.
“At my age, I had to run over to the school and apologize to strangers. My blood pressure is through the roof. People are saying Noah has no manners. Does that make you proud as his stepmother?”
I held down the messages and deleted them all.
When I got home from work, I had barely reached the ADU door before I heard shouting from the main house.
Tessa’s voice cracked with tears. “It was my first week at a new job, and I almost had to leave for the school! What is my boss supposed to think? He’s going to think I’m completely unreliable!”
Daniel’s voice was tight with anger, too. “And what about me? I missed my most important client meeting over this. I’ve been working on that project for six months!”
“But Noah couldn’t just have no one show up!”
“My mother went, didn’t she?”
“She almost got into a fight with the other parent!”
Then, after a short silence, Tessa’s voice rose sharply. “And what about Claire? Her office is so close to the school. What would it have cost her to pick him up like she used to?”
Daniel said coldly, “She’s doing this on purpose now. She’s just trying to make things difficult for me.”
I stood where I was, listening to them toss blame back and forth.
No one asked why Noah had shoved another child.
The only thing they cared about was why the person who used to clean up their messes had suddenly stopped showing up.
I unlocked the ADU, stepped inside, and locked the door behind me.
The argument in the main house went on.
This time, it had nothing to do with me.