Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Cairo didn't reply to any of my calls or texts yesterday. The few things he did say to me before he left sat on my chest all night long. I kept replaying the brutal sentences in my head.
I didn't mean to be so unnecessarily irritated and rude yesterday, I just.. I just needed time to work. If that's why he acted the way he did, that's unfair. Lord knows this job could harmfully impact your mental and physical health if you allow it to.
I remember his exact face when he received the call, instantly draining the color from his face. He started crying leaving me to wonder what was so wrong. What did the other party say yesterday that left him storming out the house in tears.
I couldn't worry too much, it was apparent it wasn't my business, and he made that known. I wiped my tired eyes and yawned. Sleep wasn't on my side, I kind of lost my appetite too. I tried to type up some work to distract my mind, but failed effortlessly.
Everytime my fingers hovered over the keyboard, my brain stopped working. I couldn't remember what I was supposed to type, let alone spell it. It was so bad that autocorrect was no assistance.
I was still at Cairo's house. I wanted to leave, but I couldn't. I didn't have a key and he didn't reply to my messages about the spare. If I was ignorant, I would've left his house unlocked, but that wasn't me. Sometimes I wished I could be the fierce, badass girl who didn't care.
A few more hours slowly came and left. I heard the front door open, appearing a restless Cairo. He had on a hospital sticker, reading guest. Instead of running to him with open arms, I remained seated on the couch.
He took a seat next to me, focused on me. He blew out a stressed sigh, but once again I remained unfazed.
"Lauryn, look at me." I continued laying across the couch with my attention on the television. That didn't last long before he cut it off.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that," I still didn't speak, letting him continue, "On the phone was a doctor, Karter got into a bad car accident. She's awake and okay now. She has a fractured rib and a broken wrist. But the doctor says she won't need surgery."
At the hearing of the accident, I rose up from my previous position. I started to worry about Karter. I barely know the angel, but she's definitely engraved her spot in my heart forever. She's grown to become one of my favorite people in such little time.
"Why didn't you say that yesterday, you didn't have to go through that alone." I expressed, while he closely listened.
"I- I didn't know what to do. I froze and acted upon impulse."
"Yeah, you did." I replied lightly, I could understand why he acted that way. The last thing I would've wanted was someone breathing down my neck while my world was crumbling into pieces.
"I gotta get changed and head back to the hospital. You can come if you want."
I agreed, "One more thing, I'm going to try to get custody of Karter, like full custody. Could you represent me in court?"
I fidgeted with the couch's material, "I can't, but I have some lawyers I could run by you." I tried to reason, but like I expected he wasn't having that.
"If I wanted some other lawyer I wouldn't have asked. Lauryn, I need you." He pleaded.
"It's not my area of expertise and that alone could cause you to lose this case."
"Please." The look that covered his face pleaded for help.
"Get me everything we could use against her to win. I mean every single piece of information. The courts always favor the mothers, so you have to prove a million times harder that you're capable— that you're willing to do what's best for Karter,"
"You have to convince them that out of an entire generation of careless fathers, you're the odd one. Be the exception, break their erroneous standards."
Although me taking on his case could end badly, we wouldn't know unless we tried. I was going to put my all into helping Cairo get his daughter. I'm devoting my time, energy, skill, and knowledge to help him win. I already planned to put in overtime and whatever else was necessary.
I wasn't doing this for Cairo, but for Karter. She has a great dad on her hands.
And most don't get fortunate enough to have that luxury.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
