Page 98 of If You Love Me

My mother was quiet for a minute. “Iona… did you put a camera in the house?”

“I don’t have to answer to either of you.”

“See,” Meena said. “You need to call the police and have her committed before she does something stupid. This is gonna fall on you if she goes out there acting a fool. Don’t let her ruin your life, Mama. God! Daddy is probably rolling over in his grave.”

“You keep talking and you’re gonna join him, bitch.”

I hung up the phone and went back to the app for the umpteenth time since I downloaded it. Tyrion and Evenie were cuddled in bed at this point. I could hear the soft sounds of his familiar snoring. He’d better enjoy a good night’s sleep now, because by the time I was done with both of them, they might just have eternal rest.

31

Tyrion

Isat at my desk squinting at the numbers on my screen. They had been nagging me all morning long, and I had to figure this shit out. I’d gotten here early after dropping baby girl off to school. It felt good to have her and Evenie back at the house on a full-time basis. Since our date night on last Friday, I felt like I was living in a dream. Things were back to the way they were meant to be.

I got to go to sleep and wake up with the love of my life. We’d reaffirmed our commitment to each other. I had my wife. We had our family. And we were, thus far, happy. I had everything I’d prayed to God for, for so long.

A knock at my door caused me to groan. I’d purposely ducked off so I wouldn’t have to deal with anybody while I worked on this.

“Come in!” I yelled at the door.

I continued to look at the computer screen as the door opened. I just had to get this shit right, and I prayed whoever this was stated their peace and went about their business.

“Tyrion.”

My head snapped up at the sound of a voice I wasn’t expecting. Standing before me was Iona’s mother. She wore this look on her face like she was simply defeated.

“Mrs. Cambridge, what are you doing here?”

“May I have a seat?”

“Uh… sure.”

She closed the door and took a seat in front of my desk. For a moment, she just stared at me.

“What can I do for you?”

“I came to do something for you.”

“Oh?”

“There is something you need to know about my daughter.”

“Mrs. Cambridge, if you came here to plead her case, there’s—”

“No. No, I’m not here for that, but this is a serious conversation, Tyrion.”

I sat back at my desk, motioning for her to continue.

“Iona is… she’s different. I can only assume she’s never told you why she takes medication for her—”

“Medication? What medication?”

She wore a look of confusion that matched mine. “You don’t know about the medication at all, do you?”

“Not a clue.”

She signed. “Iona has been taking medication to combat the anxiety and regulate her mood. She has a cluster of issues, one of them being borderline personality disorder. She’s been on the meds since she was fourteen.”

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