authors note; a little drama in this chapter!!
By the way, I don't really know how CPS works in the US but this is how it often works where I live so please don't come at me if I got something wrong [but you can leave a comment so I know better next time]. 😬

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Before the loud, penetrating knocking could wake Debbie, Avery scurried out of bed and quickly pulled on an oversized sweater since she was only wearing underwear and almost tripped over her own feet on the way to the door, shortly afterwards she heard a rumble that was probably coming from Happy, who followed her into the hallway a few seconds later.

A glance at the clock made Avery groan and shake her head. Who the hell was up at six o'clock on a Saturday morning visiting people? If this wasn't an emergency she would be really pissed.

“I'll be there in a sec!” She untangled her ginger hair with her fingers before opening the door, not a word left her lips at the sight.

Happy, who just appeared behind her, just huffed in annoyance and rubbed his bald head. “What the hell are you doing here, Kim?” He initially ignored the woman standing next to the blonde.

Wrinkling her nose, Kim first looked at Avery, then at Happy, who she wouldn't let win and take her daughter away. Not that she actually cared much about Debbie, but she cared about the money. “I told you I was getting Debbie back. Did you really think I would just give up my kid and leave her to..you?”

“No, otherwise you wouldn’t get any more money from me if you just gave her up”, he growled lowly. “Who the fuck is that?”, he nodded to the buttoned-up woman with large glasses sitting on her nose.

“CPS”, Avery stated bitterly before a dry laugh escaped her lips. She recognized the logo from the order the woman had tucked under her arm. From back when her father was being checked by the CPS people.

Happy's already dark gaze suddenly darkened, looking back and forth between Kim and the stranger. “This is a fucking joke, right?”

“No, Mr. Lowman, it’s not. By the way, I’m Ms. Lang.” The woman stepped a little closer and held out her hand, but Happy didn't even think to shake it, whereupon the woman adjusted her glasses on her nose with a clearing of her throat. “Ms. Anderson has expressed concerns to us about Debbie’s living  situation with you.”

“I bet she did”, he snorted, sending a cold glare towards the bitch with a grin plastered on her face.

“I told you so”, Kim mouthed behind the woman and winked provocatively at Happy, who had to tense every muscle in his body so as not to lose control in front of the CPS woman. That would only get him in more trouble.

“So”, the woman continued. She seemed friendly but still reserved. “I would have to take Debbie with me until the matter is resolved”, she pointed behind her and only then did Happy notice the police car, which made him nervous. “If you refuse, the two nice gentlemen will intervene. Please don’t make this harder than it already is for Debbie and yourself.”

“What did she tell you, huh?!” Happy barked at the significantly smaller woman, who took a step back with a quiet gulp, whereupon Avery put a hand on Happy's arm to pull him back a little.

If he'd flip in front of the woman now, it would only make things worse. Avery just gave Kim a venomous look that could kill. They had finally found some peace and quiet, but this peace should have seemed suspicious from the start.

“The truth, Happy”, Kim hissed, her arms crossed. “Three months ago my sister disappeared without a trace. No call, no message, nothing. Just a few days before, your little bitch beat her up. Oh, by the way, did you know that she also does porn like her sister? And that’s supposed to be the right  place for a four year old to stay, with a killer and a pornstar?”

All color drained from Avery's already pale face as three people looked at her. Kim with a grin, the CPS woman looked around expectantly and Happy's stare felt like it was boring into her soul. To this day she hasn't told him about the two films she had been part of, simply because she had forgotten to mention them.

“It was two movies”, she snarled at Kim through clenched teeth, her gaze trained like two daggers on the blonde. “And that was years ago. If you had stalked me better you would know that! Why do you even try to ruin Happy's life?”

“We'll talk about the movies later”, Happy told her firmly, who wasn't angry but disappointed that she hadn't told him about them, before stepping in front of his girlfriend and towards Kim. “I have no idea what’s wrong with your sister or where she is. Reliability has never been her strong suit, right? She probably just got tired of your constant whining”, he spat at Kim.

“Fuck you, Happy”, Kim snarled angrily, pushing him away from her. “I know you or your bitch has something to do with it!”

Ms. Lang cleared her throat, her delicate hand clenched in front of her mouth, before she moved halfway between the two. “Who did what will come to light sooner or later. I’m taking Debbie with me for today and she’ll be questioned tomorrow morning. This way we can find out where she feels more comfortable.”

“The fuck you will”, Happy barked, his blood pumping faster and faster through his veins. “You won’t take my child away from me, not because one person says some shit about me and my girlfriend!”

“Wait”, Kim let out a huff, her arms folded tightly across her chest again. “I thought I could take my daughter with me. That’s why I called you!”

“Well, even though you might think so, Ms. Anderson, I'm not stupid. You've have already been reported to us by neighbors in the past. I don't think that Debbie is in good hands with you, but if the allegations that you are making against Mr. Lowman are true, Debbie is just as not in good hands with her father”, the woman explained in a calm tone, but she had already waved the police men out of their car, both of them coming  towards the house. “It all depends on the questioning of Debbie. We can judge children quite well and when they tell the truth and when they don't. We'll also notice who she really feels comfortable with. And Debbie will be living with exactly that parent in the future. Or no one at all, it all depends.”

“This is bullshit! There was never any talk of that”, Kim's shrill voice spoke again, which now also caught the attention of some neighbors.

By now Happy was so angry that his body was shaking. With a hateful look he looked at Kim again, who swallowed in panic. Happy could only shake his head at such stupidity. “Stupid bitch. What did you expect would happen if you call them, huh?”

“That’s enough”, Ms. Lang warned both parties sternly. “Please bring me Debbie. I have permission to take her with me”, she handed him a piece of paper, which he literally tore out of her hand and clenched his jaw as he read it.

“Do you really want to do that to a four year old? Do you have any idea how traumatizing that can be for children?” Avery intervened, who was hella pissed at Kim but also at Ms. Lang. “Debbie is doing great here and you're tearing her away from her father just because someone like Kim told you some shit?”

“Miss, we have to follow up on every lead, that's our job”, Ms. Lang explained with a sigh, understanding the anger. “It’s for one night for now. If Debbie is doing well here, we will find out when we interview her tomorrow and your partner will have nothing to worry about.”

“I d-don't want t-t-to go!” Debbie ran towards Happy, who immediately picked her up in his arms and held her tightly. Nobody had noticed that the four year old had been listening for a while.

For the first time, Happy found it difficult to hide his emotions from strangers. But the thought of losing Debbie drove him crazy. Seeing the tears in his daughter's eyes made him swallow and hate Kim even more than he already did.

“You hear that she doesn’t wanna go! You think she would say that if she wasn't feeling safe here?”, he snarled at Ms. Lang, who was now standing in front of him and already had one hand on Debbie's back. “You’re not taking my daughter away from me.”

A storm of emotions came over him. Anger, fear, sadness. But the strongest feeling was the hatred he felt towards Kim, who had now fallen silent and was just leaning silently against the wall of his house, nervously biting her nails. The bitch knew exactly what she had done wrong and that she had to face the consequences for that shit.

“Mr. Lowman, you have five minutes to pack a small bag for her and say goodbye to her. If you cause problems, my colleagues will take care of that”, said the CPS woman sternly.

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It wasn't five minutes but twenty minutes later when Happy came back from her room with Debbie, balancing a crying child on one arm and her small backpack in which he had packed the most important things for her in the other.

Avery, who had been waiting outside the door, was heartbroken when she looked into Happy's bloodshot eyes, but she also knew that he would never admit that he had been cryingᅳ but it was obvious and Avery could do nothing but swallow. Even a guy like Happy, who was a pro at hiding feelings, would fall apart when he had to give his daughter to total strangers, not knowing what would happen next.

“Are you sure?”, Avery asked carefully, placing a comforting hand on his arm before taking the backpack from his hand after he nodded, then she placed her hand on Debbie's wet cheek. “We’ll bring you back home soon, sweetie, I promise!”

It hurt her to let Debbie go, especially like this. In the last three months, almost four months she was living here, not a day had gone by that she hadn't spent with Happy and Debbie and the three of them had become an unbeatable team. Debbie may not be her child, but she belonged to Happy and was part of her now, too.

“I d-don’t want t-t-to go”, the four year old sobbed after lifting her head and looking at both of them with deep sadness and despair in her brown eyes. “Daddy p-please, d-don't let me g-go!”

“I have no choice, bug.” Happy's raspy voice sounded just as desperate and fragile as his daughter's. “What Avery says is true; We'll get you back home as soon as we can. And until then you play and paint a lot so that the time passes faster. Can you do that for me?”

He gently placed a hand on the back of Debbie's head and leaned his forehead against hers as her sniffles and sobs continued to fill the room. He pulled Avery into his free side, who placed her hand on Debbie's back.

“We love you, sweetie. You'll be home soon”, she promised, her voice thick with emotion as she quickly wiped away some tears off her face on Happy's shoulder. It was precisely moments like these that made the craving for heroin grow again. Moments that broke hearts and scared the shit out of you.

“I l-love you t-too”, Debbie sniffed, wiping her nose with the sleeve of the dress Happy had picked out for her earlier. “Y-y-you have t-to come p-pick me up soon!”

“We will, bug”, Happy promised her again before wiping her cheeks dry with his thumbs and looking at Ms. Lang, who was standing a little away from the small family. “I want to be there during the questioning, at least in outside the room. And I want to know where you're taking Debbie, otherwise I won't give her to you.”

Ms. Lang, who had closely observed how Happy and Avery interacted with Debbie, nodded in understanding. She wasn't a monster. And after seeing how much Happy and Debbie were suffering from this situation, she was sure that Debbie was in good hands here. Nevertheless, she had to take the four year old with her until the interview tomorrow.

“That's no problem.” The woman reached into her small shoulder bag and handed Avery, since her hands were free, her card which also had the address where she would take Debbie. “The interview is tomorrow at ten in the morning. You can't be there directly, that could influence what Debbie says. But there’s no problem with waiting outside the room.”

“What happens then? Who decides whether and when she can come back home?” Happy wanted to know, his expression hard as stone again as he continued to try to calm Debbie down a bit.

“Me and two of my colleagues”, Ms. Lang explained, her lips curled into a small smile. “I think that if everything goes well, Debbie will be able to go home tomorrow afternoon, yet I can't promise anything. But we really have to go now.”

“Debbie is in more than good hands with Happy, and with me too”, Avery emphasized again while Happy said a sensible goodbye to Debbie, who he then had to hand over to one of the police officers, who Happy followed out to Ms. Lang's car.

Debbie's heartbreaking sobs could be heard all the way back into the house and even the CPS woman seemed to feel a little guilty. “I think that's true, I saw how much he cares for his daughter. But I hope you understand that I have to take Debbie with me first. Ms. Anderson's allegations were..specific, but I'm sure it was all just a big misunderstanding.”

“I hope so”, Avery said with a serious expression, her cold gaze wandering off to Kim, who was watching everything from a certain distance. The bitch would get what she deserves.

The redhead followed Ms. Lang to the car and wrapped her arms around Happy's arm, pulling him slightly back and away from the car Debbie was in, her little hands glued to the window as she looked outside, sad and confused.

“She’ll be back with us tomorrow, Hap.” Even though it was probably impossible to comfort Happy right now, she at least wanted to say comforting things and be there for him. “I think Ms. Lang noticed that Debbie is in good hands with youᅳ with us.”

Instead of answering, he just nodded curtly. Right now he couldn't really think positively, which was difficult when his mind was clouded with anger. He released his arm from Avery's grip after Ms. Lang's car and the police car left and stormed towards Kim, who looked at him with wide eyes. There was nothing left of her usually confident nature and she no longer had that big mouth of hers.

“Happy, I didn’t want this to happen. I didn't know they'd take her. That really wasn't my intention. But youᅳ”, she was cut off as the back of Happy's hand hit her face, sending her to the ground. The imprints of his rings were immediately visible on Kim's cheek, which was glowing red.

Avery put her hands over her mouth before taking a quick look around to see if anyone had seen it. Then there was a long moment of silence. Neither Kim nor Avery made a sound. Kim just held her cheek while she sat on the ground.

Happy spat at her before going inside, leaving the door open for Avery, but another door got slammed shot inside the house.

The redhead finally allowed herself to breathe again and pushed her hair out of her face, one hand on her hip. She didn't support violence against women and children, but this was different. Kim literally asked for it by only further traumatizing Debbie, the Tacoma Killer's daughter. Kim was actually lucky that she was still alive.

“Stupid bitch”, Avery snorted vulgarly, her gaze fixed on the misery on the ground. “If you're smart, you'll give up the rights you have for  Debbie. If it's all about the money then fine, I would even be willing to pay you the same amount every month that Happy had to pay you for Debbie. But only if you leave us alone and stay away from his daughter. That girl doesn't deserve someone like you in her life”, Avery spat at the blonde before she followed  Happy inside without any further words and slammed the door shut behind her.