Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 222

He could hear the hum of traffic in the background.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" he demanded right away.

The line went quiet for a moment.

Wren's voice was flat. "School let out at three-forty. You didn't show up, and you didn't answer your phone. He stood at the gate for twenty minutes."

Lawrence frowned. "I was in a meeting."

"Which is why I went and got him."

"You could have waited a little longer."

Wren took a soft breath.

It wasn't out of anger.

It sounded more like she was biting back a sharper retort.

"Lawrence, the one who had to wait was me, not Leo."

A lump formed in Lawrence's throat.

Wren continued, "He spent the entire morning telling his teacher you were coming to get him. After the bell rang, he refused to go to the after-school care room. He stood right by the gate, staring at every black car that drove by."

Lawrence's fingers slowly curled into a fist.

"I didn't do it on purpose."

"I know."

Her reply came too fast.

Too fast to be forgiveness. It was as if his intentions no longer mattered.

"You never do it on purpose."

The call disconnected.

Lawrence sat in his office, unmoving for a long time.

The sky outside darkened, reflecting his hardened features in the glass, though a rare trace of profound loss clouded his expression.

That evening, Wren brought Leo back to the Langford Estate.

The boy didn't cry or throw a tantrum.

He even called out "Dad" when he walked through the door.

Though his voice was much quieter than it had been that morning.

Lawrence crouched down, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

Leo didn't flinch away, but he didn't lean into the touch like he usually did.

"I had some urgent work this afternoon," Lawrence explained.

Leo nodded. "I know."

Only now, there was a road drawn between the second and third ones.

On the side of the road, there was a tiny figure.

The tiny figure was holding a backpack, standing right in the middle of the street.

Lawrence bent down and picked up the drawing.

He stared at it for a long time before asking, "Who is this?"

Leo glanced up, then quickly looked away.

"Me."

"Why are you standing in the middle?"

The boy gripped his pencil tightly, his voice barely a whisper.

"Because I don't know which side someone is coming from to get me."

The living room fell so silent that the ticking of the clock echoed loudly.

Holding that piece of paper, Lawrence suddenly felt as though the flimsy sheet was heavy enough to make his fingers go numb.

Wren didn't speak up for him.

She didn't try to smooth things over or make the moment any less painful.

She simply pulled Leo close and gently rubbed his back.