Loathing Logan

Battle for Custody

Riley

I stood outside of the courtroom with my hands shaking, tapping my phone over the other hand.

I was a nervous wreck, to say the least.

One thing I was glad of, was that Charles had asked for a private hearing. We would stand before a judge inside a private room rather than a big courtroom full of strangers and try to come to an understanding from both parties.

"Ms. Riley Spencer? We are ready for you." The young lawyer called out from the door. I looked at Derreck with fright written all over me. My heart pounded in my ear from the nerves I felt inside.

Soon as I went inside, my heart shrieked with enthusiasm as I saw my baby girl sitting next to her dad.

"Mom!" She yelled out, standing up and running to my side.

"Ashley. Oh, baby, I missed you so much, princess." I hugged her tightly, embracing the feel of her arms around my waist as I stroke her hair delicately and kissed her head continuously.

"I missed you, mom. Please, I want to go home. Please, mom? I don't want to go back with Daddy and Cynthia." She whispered to my ear as I tried to calm her tears.

"I know baby. I know. Derrick and I will try our best to make the judge see what's going on. Everything will be alright, I promise baby."

The hearing began. Charles indeed had a lot of nasty tricks up his sleeve, making it seem I was putting my daughter in danger by neglecting her and leaving her all alone for extended periods. Which he was practically biting his own ass for lean us for over a year and a half."

"Mrs. Spencer, do you understand the dire consequences your daughter could have faced from the extended periods you leave her alone in the house? You are aware that no child under the age of eighteen must be left alone in a home? Furthermore violating her rights -"

"I know what my daughter's rights are. I have never intentionally left her alone. Do you not consider the fact Charles had not seen her for nearly 18 months? The one in violation here is him, according to Code Annotated Section 36-6-101(a)(3) where a parent is charged for child abandonment. Charles has barely even remembered he had kids if it wasn't for that stupid phone call where I caught him banging his coworker."

"Mrs. Spencer you are out of line." Charles sat there quietly, while Cynthia's face turned with anger and the young lawyer tried to make me feel guilty for trying to work my butt off and give my kids a good lifestyle.

"Ok, I think we need a break, don't you agree?" Derreck suggested making all of us agree.

Things were clearly getting out of hand in this room. We were getting nowhere.

We decided on going out for lunch, which I was surprised that Charles agreed to have Ashley join me for lunch and then left to have lunch with Cynthia and the young lawyer.

At lunch, Ashley barely touched her food. She was sad, and I knew it pained her to see her dad and me bickering over her custody. But, by all means, I was not going out without a battle.

"Come on baby, you have to eat something. How can I not worry about you if you are barely touching your food? If things go wrong and you have to go back with your dad, I need to make sure you are eating well and you are being well-taken care of out there. Please, baby., eat your food will you?"

"I know mom. And he does. He's very attentive to me. I just hate how things are going. I wish things were back to what it was before Cynthia cake along. It's all her fault." She moved her for around with her fork and sighed.

"You know, maybe it would cheer you up if you got to see a little four-legged pup who misses to" Logan startled us from behind holding Pickles, my daughter's puppy.

She smiled big and got off her chair grabbing Pickles in her arms. "Logan! Awe, Pickles, I missed you." She held him up and kissed his nose.

"Hey, squirt. I missed you too, you know?"

"I missed you, Logan. You're the best brother in the world." She hugged Logan and kissed his cheek.

I can't say I don't miss seeing my babies together. I miss having my family together because I do. It's the best feeling in the world. I'm not sure what will happen from here on, but I will not give up my right to have my daughter with me.

After our lunch, I made Logan go back to school. I didn't want Charles making more complaints about why I am not suited as a good parent for my daughter.

We parted ways and went back to the courtroom. Charles of course was already waiting for us inside. Though this time, there was no sign of Cynthia.

"Mrs. Spencer, glad to have you back with us." The young lawyer greeted.

"It's Riley. Riley Halloway. The ex-wife of Mr. Spencer." I corrected her making Charles has clench with anger.

I wasn't willing to keep his last name. I prefer to go my way and make things happen on my own. I'd show him that even without him I was strong enough to stand on my own two feet.

"Ok, let's continue, shall we?" She responded trying to ease the tension in the air. "Yes, let's do so. But before we do, I have someone who would like to join us." Derreck added standing up and walking towards the door.

My mouth gawked open and my eyes went wide like saucers as I saw my brother standing at the door. I hadn't seen him in years since he moved to California and married Layla, the daughter of a fashion tycoon.

"Sorry, I'm late." He says as he comes to stand right by me. He quickly shakes Derreck's hand, kisses the top of my head, and takes a seat next to me.

"Charles, long time no see." He looks at Charles whose face has gone strangely pale.

My brother is a busy man. He always stays out of family affairs unless otherwise necessary. This means, he's definitely got something up his sleeve.

💞✨💞✨💞✨💞✨💞✨💞✨💞✨