Page 124 of The Destruction You Desire
Silence falls over the three of us as we allow her to process what we've just told her.
"L-Liberty was a senior when you left, right?"
"Yes," Peyton agrees.
"She was underage, wasn't she?"
"Yes."
"Motherfucker," Mom screams, picking up a vase full of flowers from the dresser and launching it at the wall.
"Whoa," I say, stepping up behind her and wrapping my arms around her. "It's okay."
She lets me hold her as she tries to get herself together.
"I hate him, Luca. I hate him so much," she sobs, sagging into my arms.
Guiding her back toward her chair, Peyton slides closer and takes her hand.
"We're really sorry to have to tell you this, Maddie. But it's time the truth came out."
Mom nods, tears cascading down her cheeks.
"Libby took off not long after Kayden was born. She's an addict. A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from a hospital in Atlanta to tell me that she'd OD'd. With Luca's help, she's now back in Maddison and will soon be heading to a facility where we really hope she can get clean and be a mother to Kayden."
"He drove her to drugs."
"Libby was an unstable teenager, you know that as much as we do." My mom and Peyton's were never close friends but with us being attached at the hip, they had little choice but to spend time together over the years.
The front door slams and footsteps head our way, but Mom doesn't seem to notice.
"Where's your father?"
"Uh…"
Leon appears at the entrance to the kitchen, looking just as much a mess as he was this morning.
"L-Lee?" Mom stutters.
"He's being dealt with," Leon says coldly.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It means that his days of ruining everyone's lives are over."
"L-Lee you can't just—"
Leon walks over and drops down to his haunches in front of our mom.
"Trust me, Mom. I know what I'm doing."
I just about manage to swallow my reaction to that statement because I really don't think he's got a fucking clue what he's doing right now.
As if he can read my thoughts, he looks up at me, narrowing his eyes in warning.
"Does he know about the baby?" Mom asks.
Our silence is our answer.
