In the Land of Milk and Honey by Nell E S Douglas

Author:Nell E S Douglas [Douglas, Nell E S]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Self Published
Published: 2018-01-17T04:30:00+00:00

Chapter 20 - The Fall upon Us

I wandered the streets not wanting to go home. A wall had fallen and left me an ocean of rubble inside. My bubble, my world, had burst. As I walked, the city became ugly, caving in on me, car horns heralding collapse, as blank faces and sad masks stampeded past. Skyscrapers poked the sky, invading it. Behind the towers a dimming sun hid, with nowhere else to go.

I understand, I thought. I’m a casualty of this place, too.

By the time I arrived, everyone was there. Anxious hearing my key in the lock, but upon my entry the atmosphere changed to match my mood; drained. It was hard to be faced with consoling looks already. Tristan was napping; I finally left his room both unwilling and unable to draw it out anymore.

“Daniel is taking Tristan.” What else could be said? August, who sat beside me, took the weight of the crushed custody papers from my hand and quietly replaced it with his own as he cleared his throat and began reading aloud. His steady hand maintained a presence in mine. I didn’t pull away.

I’d had the wherewithal to collect the documents, along with the bag I’d flung on the floor upon entry—a humbling procedure given my exit. I called August and said we should organize a meeting then he raced to school for Tristan. I didn’t want to risk being usurped by Daniel, possession being nine-tenths of the law. That was my hope, anyway, as August neared the end of legalese. August added a layman’s term summary at the end. Everyone seemed to sink a little deeper in their seats, processing. Even Ian, though he occasionally muttered a curse.

It got tenser when Jill rose from her seat and calmly, too calmly, made her way to the kitchen. The wake-like atmosphere held until we heard a crash; something breaking. We all flinched at the two sharp crashes that followed. Jill re-entered the room like a bull pacing the gate. Bravely, Vi spoke.

“I don’t understand—what happened?” she said. “It’s been going so good, why is he trying to mess things up?” August gave her a pitying side glance. Vi seemed upset he started a fight but was in denial about what it meant. She picked at her cuticles, unsure.

Jill flicked her hand. “He’s an asshole, that’s what happened.”

“The claim said the reason was ‘an unfit environment,’” Violet went on. “It makes no sense. He can’t prove any of this.”

I didn’t speak.

“Can he?” Vi asked, disbelieving.

“He believes so,” I said. “He did an investigation.”

“So what?” Jill snapped but was overlooked by her brother.

August turned to me, eagle-eyed and businesslike. “What’s the alternative?” Of course he knew there was one.

“He said if I kept it out of court, he would give me shared custody…maybe joint,” I said, then came back down to Earth. “But it would be entirely under his terms.”

“What are his terms?” August asked.

“Tristan wouldn’t be able to interact with any of you. Not anyone except me.” I looked down.

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