Page 76 of Riot

I blinked. “What?”

“What isshedoing here?” she repeated, louder this time. “Why did you bring her into my house?”

“She’s my guest. Chill.”

“She’s not a guest! She’s a curse! I know who she really is!”

“Mama—”

“Get her out of here,” she hissed, pointing a shaking finger at Allure. “She’s gonna ruin you. Just likeMalia. She’s gonna destroy everything. Don’t you see it? She’s evil!”

Allure froze behind me, her eyes wide with confusion, hurt spreading across her face like ink in water.

“She’s nothing like Malia,” I said, stepping between them. “Where is all of this coming from?”

“I know what I see!” she shrieked. “She will kill you. She will betray you. I see it. You don’t know who she is, Riot. Just like that bitch who lied to you. Just like that girl who?—”

“Mama,” I snapped, loud enough to shake the walls.

She paused, trembling, panting. Eyes glazed.

I turned to Allure, gently guiding her back toward the door.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured. “Just…wait in the car for a minute.”

She nodded, too stunned to speak, and walked outside.

I turned back to Mama, heart hammering.

“You need help,” I said. “You’re spiraling. You’re not sleeping. You’re not thinking straight. You gotta go to the hospital. This shit with Pops has gotten you messed up.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she snapped. “You think locking me up with doctors will fix what he did to me? What you did?”

“I didn’t do shit but try to keep this family together.”

“Well then get out and keep doing that somewhere else!”

I stared at her. My mother. The woman who nurtured me, who used to sing while she cooked, who used to be the anchor when our father was the storm.

Now she was just as reckless and violent.

I left before I said something I couldn’t take back.

If I knew my mother was in her right mind, I’d consider what she said was true about Allure. But she didn’t know her. She had no clue who Allure was. I wasn’t listening to her ass because she was out of her fuckin’ mind. Honestly, since I found out she had no clue about my father being a sick freak, her credibility has been shot. I love my mother but I can’t trust her anymore. And right now, I realize that she is sick.

Back in the car, Allure was sitting quietly, hands folded in her lap. I slid into the driver’s seat and sat for a second, trying to gather myself.

“She’s not well,” I said. “I’m sorry you had to see that. Ever since I killed my father and all that shit came out about him, she hasn’t really been the same. At first she was depressed but then it grew into something else.”

“Depravity like that can drive you crazy. I’ve seen a few of Boaz’s girls lose their minds after awhile. He would kill them and discard them like they were nothing. Please get your mother help before it goes too far.”

“I def will. I’m about to hit up my brother now.”

A moment passed then she asked, “Who’s Malia?”

I clenched the wheel. “Someone I’ll tell you about. Just… not today.”

I pulled out my phone and called Creed. He picked up on the second ring.

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