Retribution Read Free Page B

she would probably never see Cooper again.
    Shelly was the one and only thing that was completely pure in my life. Despite growing up in foster care, like me, she was still so kind and innocent. I’d crave her infectious laugh when I wasn’t with her. She had no idea that, even though she was only ten, she was one of the most important parts of my life.
    Before everything had gone to shit between Cooper and me, I’d mentioned to him that I wanted to adopt her. He’d become so angry, telling me that he refused to let a child be around his father and that I should let the subject go. Now that he was nowhere to be seen, I allowed myself think about it again. Having Shelly in the house would mean more to me than Cooper or Robert could ever imagine.
    After my day out with Shelly, I decided that Cooper could go fuck himself. I drove home, determined to talk to Robert about Shelly as soon as I had the chance. It finally came two days later.

    I looked up from my book when I heard the garage door open. I glanced at the clock. It was barely past seven. Robert hadn’t come home this early in weeks. I felt a small twinge of excitement over the prospect of spending the evening with him.
    A few moments later, Robert appeared in the doorway, looking exhausted. He saw me sitting on the couch and walked over to me. He dropped down next to me without a word.
    “You’re home early,” I said, pointing out the obvious.
    “For once. These past two weeks have been rough. I decided I needed a night off,” he said.
    “Well, I’m glad you’re home. While we have a minute alone, I wanted to talk to you about something.” I put my book down and turned toward him. I had no idea when I’d get another chance to talk to him about Shelly. It was now or never.
    “What is it?” he asked.
    “What I’m about to ask you, I understand that you can’t tell me yes or no right now. It’s not something you can decide on instantly.”
    “Claire, what’s going on?” Robert asked, a frown on his face.
    “I want to adopt Shelly,” I said quickly before I could lose my nerve.
    Silence.
    Robert only stared at me.
    “I know it’s a big deal,” I rushed on when I realized he wasn’t going to say anything, “but I want you to think about it—for me, for her. I love her, Robert. Every time I take her back to that house, it breaks me. I don’t want to give her back. I want to keep her here with us where she can be happy. I want a front-row seat to watch her grow up instead of a visit once or twice a month.”
    Robert shook his head. “Claire, you can’t be serious.”
    “I am dead serious.”
    “You’re eighteen years old. You really want to be a mother to a child who’s only a few years younger than you?”
    “I do. She’s special. You have no idea just how special she really is. If you met her, I know you’d fall in love with her, too.”
    “We can’t, Claire.”
    “Why not?” I demanded. Why can’t he see how much this means to me?
    “Because I don’t have time to raise another child, especially one who isn’t mine, and you’re too young to deal with that.”
    “I’ve watched out for other foster kids since I was old enough to understand how fucked up our lives were. I have more experience than most. I can do this, Robert. I know I can.”
    “I’m sorry, but no. This discussion is over.”
    Robert started to stand up, but I grabbed his arm.
    “Just like that? You tell me no and walk away? That’s unfair, Robert! I ask for very little, but when I do, you always push my needs aside. You treat me like a child! I’m tired of it. I won’t let you just shut me down again!”
    “Maybe if you didn’t act like a child, I wouldn’t treat you like one!” he said, his voice letting me know just how angry he was.
    “Well, you’re the one who married a child. Maybe you should think about that!” I shouted.
    Slap.
    I gasped and jerked back as my cheek stung. The world stood still for a moment as I tried to understand what had