Secrets (Never to be Told)

Chapter Fifteen

A few weeks have passed. Hailee wasn't bullied anymore by Diane and Lucy's training took on in a haze. While Tim usually wasn't worried about Lucy's performance, he couldn't help but notice the frown Lucy wore while scrolling on her phone.

"Everything okay?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the street in front of him. Lucy looked up, "huh?" She put her phone down and Tim took a glance – hotel listings. "Is everything okay? You seem distracted." He looked forward again and Lucy sighed. "Yeah, my mother's just in town. Barged into my apartment right at breakfast." She put her phone on stand-by, slipping it into her pocket.

Tim gulped. The mother. He hadn't met her yet – was he supposed to? Did she know he was Hailee's father? "And that's not good, I assume?" He turned to her as he stopped the shop at a red light. "It's awful. Didn't even say hello, said she was getting a divorce and then proceeded to take over my apartment." She took a deep breath. "It's a miracle she hasn't said anything bad about my choice in profession yet, but that's probably just the calm before the storm." Lucy sighed again, letting her gaze wander while scanning the area. "Wait, stop at this pawn shop!"

Tim followed his rookie inside, observing how she handled the situation and successfully got herself her first C.I. With the information she'd provided, the two of them were heading to the original buyer's house, revealing just a few family feuds before getting back into the shop to head back towards the station.

Lucy's phone rang – again, she had ignored it when they were following the handbag lead. Her father. She declined the call with a frown and put her phone away again.

Their shift ended peacefully and soon enough they found themselves back at the station, changed into their regular clothes and ready to clock out for the day.

They headed towards the elevator, waiting for the doors to slide open, allowing them to step into it to get to the garage. "Hey, uhm," Lucy started, grabbing the strap of her bag just a little tighter. "Do you mind taking Hailee for the afternoon?" Tim looked at her, confused, but smiling. "I'd love to. Is it because of your mother?"

The elevator dinged and opened to let them out at their desired destination. Slowly, Tim followed Lucy to their cars, stopping just before them. "Yeah, I'm trying to get her to move into a hotel and I fear it will lash out into a fight. I just don't want Hailee to be in the middle of this storm." Lucy explained and sighed. "I fully understand that. Just text me when I'm supposed to drop her off."

So, they parted ways, Tim to pick Hailee up from school and Lucy to face the storm that's coming for her. She hesitated before unlocking the door to her apartment, but she knew it had to be done, so she headed inside. "Mom? Are you back from work yet?"

There was some shuffling and after a few seconds, Lucy's mother emerged from her daughter's bedroom. "What were you doing in there?"

Vanessa looked at her daughter, holding up the shoe box with Hailee's baby stuff. "Why'd you get that out again? Did you find the father?" Straight to the point, as always.

Lucy bit her lower lip – she should've never told her mother the initial purpose of putting this box together. "Maybe. But you still haven't answered my question." She crossed her arms in front of her chest, shifting her weight onto her left leg as she waited for an answer.

"Just tidying up. So, who's the father? When will you introduce us?"

Instead of answering her mother's questions, her expression changed from frowning to being mad. "You can't just go into my room like that." Lucy walked up to her mom and took the box out of her hands. Before Lucy could continue, Vanessa's eyes darkened. "Don't talk to your mother like that! I have every right to know who you got knocked up by in college." Lucy scoffed. "No, you don't. I was an adult. I made the adult decision to keep her, to fight for her. All you did was judge – over, and over again. You only did the bare minimum in supporting me and while I gave you what you wanted by staying at home until I finished college, you threw me out from the first day that I even thought about joining the police academy. Guess what – I'm happy there. We're happy and we're having a stable income." Lucy took a deep breath, calming herself down and turning away from her mother, placing the box on the kitchen island. "I think you should leave now. I'll pay for a hotel for you to stay in." She didn't face her mother again and the silence stood thick in between them.