The Fighter

Chapter 27

I dropped Avery off at school and went to my brother's new apartment. I was hoping to catch Julie before she left for clinical. Her car was there when I pulled in. I went up and knocked on the door. "Hey, Mickie! What a nice surprise! Come in." she smiled and let me in. "Julie, we have to talk." I was going to keep this short and serious. "Okay." She sat on the couch and I just stood there. "What's this about?" "Avery." I sighed. "Avery? What about her? Is she okay?" "She will be, if she stays with me. I know that you're the one who's been feeding it to Gavin that she would be better off here with you two." I was so mad, I was shaking but I steadied my breathing and stayed calm. "Okay, I might have said something about it, but I haven't been feeding him anything." "Okay, what did you say to him about it?" "I just said that I thought that for an eighteen year old girl, you have too much on your plate and Avery deserves a stable home with a mother and a father figure." "A stable home? She has one! We don't move from place to place all the time! We've lived in the same place for a long time! Her life is stable with me. If you want her to live with you, then it would screw up everything she knows and that's not stable! I'm her mother figure. I'm the one who's raised her from the beginning. She needs me and only me! As for a father figure, she's got a few of them, and she loves them very much."

"Like Greg? He was a great role model!" "Shut up! Legally, I am Avery's guardian, and I always will be! She is staying with me and that is that!" I got up and walked to the door. "You'll be lucky if you and Gavin, ever see her again." I walked out.

Avery and I had just walked in the door when my phone rang. It was Gavin and my gut was telling me not to answer, but of course I didn't listen to my gut. "Hello?" I answered closing the front door. "Mickie Ann! You can't keep Avery from us!" Gavin yelled. He was pretty pissed. "Then stop trying to take her from me!" "I'm not trying to take her from you!" "You have been since the moment that you came back here! Now, you're feeding Avery stuff that Julie has been feeding you! She told me what she said, and Avery told me what you said and Avvy is not a liar! She's fine where she is! The whole time she's been with me, she's been healthy and happy!" "How long is that going to last? You're busy all the time with calls and your boyfriend." "Seriously?! I'm so busy, that I'm constantly with my sister. That I constantly drop her off and pick her up from school and tuck her in every night. So busy that I always know where she is and how she's doing. Where have you been the last three years?! That's right you were at college and you didn't bother with us at all, until you saw my face on the front page of the paper for putting out a fire!" "I was at college! I was busy trying to make something of myself, unlike you!"

"You had breaks! Plenty of time to come see your sisters! And I have made something of myself! I'm the one who pulled your drunk father out of a car, so you could have just a little more time with him!" "He was your father too Mickie! I'm so sick of you trying to act like he wasn't yours and Avery's dad too!" his voice was shaky. "That's because in all honesty he wasn't my dad! He was my father, but not my dad. He wasn't hers either! He never gave a shit about us, so we made due without him." "You're unbelievable Mickie." "Well, I take after my perfect big brother now don't I Gavin?" I hung up and threw my phone on the couch.

Grandma got home and knew something was wrong. "Are you and Gavin fighting?" she asked as soon as she came into the door. "Why?" I turned around to face her. "Because he called me. Would you like to explain?" "Sure..." I took a deep breath and explained everything. She sat down and listened. "Okay, I see what the problem is. You two can't agree on what's best for Avery, but you two arguing constantly isn't good for her either. She knows you two aren't getting along and she knows why. You may be her legal guardian, but you can't keep her from him. I know that is not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. I'm going to tell you what I told him, Avery is not going anywhere. She is not leaving you. You and Gavin need to cool off for a while. I will take Avery to see Gavin, spend the night over there, and pick her up. This is only for a few weeks, then you two are making peace. I understand that you'll have your fights, but if you two ever get this bad again, I'm taking Avery and that is that." She laid down the law for me. I just nodded.

"Now, moving on. It has been almost two months since your father passed, but there are still some assets that you and Gavin have to address." Grandma moved on. "Like what? I didn't think there was anything for us to go through, there hasn't been since mom died." "I honestly didn't think there was anything either, but the lawyer called me earlier looking for you and Gavin. That's why I called him, and he told me about the fight." "So, what's left? Dad's car was taken and disposed of after the accident, I made sure. Dad sold mom's car after she died, so he could have money for his habits. The house was let go and taken by the bank after I left, because Dad didn't want it anymore." "The bank didn't take the house. That was a rumor started by your father, so we'd all think the house was gone. He still had it." "How did he keep it? There was no way he could've." "The social security that you, him, Gavin, and Avery got. He kept it all. That's why you never saw a cent of it." "Oh, my God." I honestly couldn't believe it.

I went to John's for a little while after Avery went to bed. "What wrong?" he asked wrapping his arms around me. "Long story short, Gavin and I had a huge fight, my Grandmother found out, she said that Avery isn't going anyway and if we keep fighting like this she's taking Avvy, and we have to decide what to do with my parent's old house." I sighed. "It's a lot to deal with, but you can do it. You and Gavin just need to calm down for a while, then you guys can talk. You'll have to talk about your problems and you both will have to decide what to do with the house." "I know, he and I can't fight forever. We never used to fight, and we've been getting better and getting along, then Julie came along." "I know, but you guys can't let her ruin the bond you had." "Yeah." I sighed and laid my head on him. "So, what do you want to do with the house?" he moved on. "I want to sell it, but I don't think Gavin will go for it." "I think that's your best option right now."