Page 77 of The One Before

She walks toward me, clasping my hands with hers. “You can’t give up on him, Madison. We’re family. You have to stand beside him.”

“I’m sorry, Josephine. Cooper has to answer for what he’s done, and I need to move on with my life.”

She turns, as though she’s just been slapped. I can’t imagine how painful this must be for her, hearing these horrible truths about her son and realizing life will never be the same. But I can’t base my decisions on other people’s sorrows. I’ve already been through enough.

She walks to the foyer. I think she’s going to leave, instead she opens the front door wide. Roman walks inside.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, taking a step forward.

He doesn’t say anything. Both hands are in his pockets, and he leans against the wall.

“I thought you said he took off?” I ask Josephine.

She shuts the door and locks it, then stands beside her son. “I think the three of us need to talk.”

Sixty-Three

June 16, 2006

Roman scrambled to put his shirt on, trying to conceal Celia so she could put on hers. He stood, staring at the flashlight in the distance.

“You know I don’t want you bringing girls here,” Josephine said. “I’m running a home, not a brothel.”

“Mom?” Roman shouted, staring into the dark.

Josephine marched down the dock and froze when she saw the girl’s face. “Celia?”

“We can explain,” Celia said, her mind scrambling to find a convincing story.

Josephine’s mouth was open. She shone her light on Roman, who was looking down at the water in shame. “Are you going to tell your brother about this, or am I?”

“Don’t say anything to Cooper,” Celia pleaded. “Please. Roman and I… we love each other.”

Roman looked at Celia, but not with pleasure. He saw through her charade. The same love she’d just rejected was now being used as a bargaining chip against his own family.

“This behavior is beneath you,” Josephine said to Roman. “It’s beneath all of us.”

Celia was now dressed and came running up the dock at Josephine. “Cooper and I have had trouble for a while now. Roman has been trying to think of a way to tell him—”

“Leave my property.” Josephine slung Celia’s arms off her. “Now.”

“Mama Douglas, I don’t want you to look at me differently—”

“Look at you differently?” she cut her off. “This confirms everything I ever thought about you. You’re nothing more than Whisper Falls trash. We’ve entertained you long enough.”

“Don’t take your anger out on her,” Roman said. He walked past Celia and grabbed his mother’s arms. “This is my fault.”

“I don’t want to see that whore on my property again.” She turned and made her way down the dock.

“Mama Douglas, wait!” Celia cried. Roman could hear the fear in her voice. He knew she was afraid his mother would ruin her reputation in town. Celia cared about that more than anything.

“Stop calling me that.” Josephine turned and shone the flashlight in Celia’s face. “I’m not some neighbor by the train tracks.”

“Just wait,” Celia said, pushing the torch out of her eyes. The light was blinding, making all their heads hurt.

“Get away from me!” Josephine pushed Celia.

Celia stumbled backwards, slipping on a patch of wet grass. She kept falling, arms flailing in the darkness, until her head clunked against the Douglas family rock.

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