Spiraled ⚪⭐⚪⭐ (A Brollins Novel)✔

EPISODE TWENTY-SEVEN

Joe's House. Los Angeles, California.

It's after subsequent seconds of clearance, of finally managing to push his worries aside, that the shouts thundering out from the house catches Colby's attention. Parking his bike at a safe spot near Joe's black jeep, Colby slightly frown when he sees a posh, red SUV next to it and the door of the house wide and ajar.

If not for the recognition that one of the high-pitched voices closely resembles that of Galina, Colby would've feared his friend was under some sort of attack and the disgruntled cries he can dissemble from the echo of shouts and yells aren't that of Jojo. He breathes out a sigh of relief and rushes inside the house.

The incident with his mother the night prior has left him apprehensive all day, a kind of paranoia which is new and hard to get used to overnight. Despite the policemen that had been at his house, he couldn't help but glance around him every second to check if someone was following him. He has left far too many texts and calls on Rebecca's phone that is sure to annoy her but taken into account what has happened overnight and the hot mess his father now has him in, every second she's away is a cause for worry. So is everyone who is a close friend and a loved one.

Sliding off his sweaty, dirty coat, Colby pauses by the doorway of Joe's house, his urgency fueled by the sound of Jojo's cries dissipating. The interior of Joe's house is nothing glamorous; modest and simple are the perfect words to describe it but Galina standing in the very center of the living area, looking far more elegant than he has ever seen her, renders the interior design and Joe's shaggy blue shorts rather dull and colourless.

She's wearing a fitting red dress cut too low above the knees, exposing her bare, long legs. Her dark hair tumbles around her shoulders and cascades down her back in gorgeous waves and ever so often, in spite of being in a heated argument with her former husband, she still spares time to look at her no doubt, expensive wrist watch and adjust her fancy white bag over an arm. This, coupled with the realization that the sleek SUV is hers has him rooted in place in shock.

His eyes circle around the room, away from the former couple arguing to his little niece sitting on the couch in her green and black school uniform, her hair plaited into pigtails while she wails. Her crying which has gradually increased in volume propels him to stride inside the living area without a care's thought. Bending down on a knee before the little girl, Colby hurriedly wipes the tears from her face. "Hey, princess. Why are you crying? Tired of pancakes?"

Jojo doesn't acknowledge his light teasing and says between hiccups and sobs, body shivering. "They are fighting again. I don't like it when they fight. Tell them to stop, Uncle Colby."

"They aren't fighting, Jojo." Colby lies to console with a firm squeeze to her small shoulders but his niece shakes her head frantically, pigtails bouncing back and forth. Colby feels a surge of despair.

"Mommy is going to take me away," Jojo bursts out into fresh wave of loud sobs. "I don't want to go anywhere. I want to stay here! I want to stay with daddy!"

"You heard that?!" Joe's deep voice cuts through the air and Jojo's sobs. His attention is now riveted on his daughter who looks to be on the verge of clambering out of the couch to her father's side. Galina, who likely senses the thought, quickly shuts it down with a warning glare. "Let her stay with me for another week, Galina. For however long she wants," Joe's voice is pleading and soft, completely unmatched with the fury visibly burning in his eyes. "She doesn't want to come with you, that much is obvious. She can't keep bouncing from one place to another like a rag doll. Can't you see it's affecting her mental health?"

"'Bouncing from one place to another like a rag doll?' If you were so concerned about that and how it might affect her mental stability, you wouldn't have divorced me, Joseph."