Passing Motions

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SIX

Pain erupts in the side of my body, causing my feet to skid to a halt. I lean against a brick wall and inhale a deep breath. When I'm required to run, I always kick myself for not bothering to exercise, and the worse part is that I still won't bother after this.

I launch myself off the wall and weave between clusters of people dressed in black suits. My breath is rapid but short, my cheeks are bright red and my throat burns. I continue forwards until I see the large row of cream steps leading to the courthouse.

"Who on earth thought all these stairs was a good idea?" I groan.

I rub my arm over my forehead to remove the beads of sweat collecting on my forehead. There's no way I'm going to make it out of here alive. However, I need to do this for Blake and London, for my tiny family!

Placing one foot on the stair, I take them by two until I'm at the top and wheezing for more oxygen. Maybe today is the day I commit and go running with Blake in the morning, or I die, who knows.

As I stagger towards the door, it opens and an older man with greying hair wanders out. He holds the glass door open and I force my legs to move. I tug on a smile and thank him.

Inside the building is an odd kind of musty smell and low whispers as people muddle through. I toss my bag onto a tray and walk through the metal detectors. I collect my bag on the other side and whizz through the halls.

I tuck a strange of brown hair behind my ear and breathe.

Yes, I'm late, but I'm here, and that counts for something, right?

One of the mothers was late picking up her child, and so I couldn't leave. That's the one thing I hate about childcare, you never finish on time, and you can't up and leave if you really need to go.

A pang of guilt explodes through my stomach as Blake and our lawyer shuffle down the hallway. I zip past a couple and collide against Blake's chest. His arms instantly wrap around me and I'm squished into a hug. Blake buries his face into the crook of my neck, his breath hot against my skin.

"I'll speak with you later, I have another case to attend to." He nods.

I tug on a smile and nod.

"What's wrong, baby?"

His grip tightens, and it squishes the air out of my lungs. I hold on tight and run my fingers through his soft hair. When he pulls back, I bite my lip and explode his sad green eyes.

"Now the judge knows London isn't my biological daughter, we're working on my angle as her father given I'm on the birth certificate, and that I've raised her since birth."

"And he doesn't agree, or?" I take his hand and squeeze it.

"We bought up Tori's neglect when she left London and how she's mentally unstable, and things were going in our favour until she accused me of being abusive and that I was the reason she left London in a hurry. Apparently she has concrete evidence, and I don't want to know about that," he grumbles.