Page 89 of Tomorrow Belongs to Us
It's Cassie. I answer it and she's babbling incoherently. Shock freezes me to the spot. I can't make out what she's saying.
“Calm down, Cassie. Honey. Calm down.”
“You don't love us!” she wails, the words penetrate my body like shrapnel.
“What? Of course I love you, Sweetp—”
“You liar!” she screams. “Mommy says you're leaving us. Mommy says you lied.”
“Mommy said ... what?” My insides whoosh out of my stomach. Cassie starts wailing again, and then she hangs up.
“What's wrong?” Megan looks worried.
“It's ... it's ... “ My mouth turns dry.
Fucking Vivian.
I call back, but the line goes to voicemail. Two plates of food are sitting on the countertop.
“You should go to her,” Megan says.
I hug her to me and hold her tight. Right now I need her more than she needs me. “I'm sorry.”
“Don't be.”
I press my lips to her forehead, and look into her eyes. “But I am.”
She nods in understanding. I look around and grab my keys and my jacket. “Make sure you eat.”
“I'm not a child, Lance.”
My body feels hollow. “I'm sorry. That's not what I meant. I know you’re not a child.”
This isn't the first time I've had to rush off in the middle of things.
Chapter 34
LANCE
I try to tamp down the rush of anger which engulfs me.
Vivian promised me she wouldn't say anything, but I should never have trusted her. I should have known better.
When I arrive at the house Mila, the live-in nanny-and-housekeeper, lets me in. I hear voices coming from the living room. Vivian is sitting on the sofa and Cassie is lying with her head on her mother's lap.
At a distance I can already see that her face is red and she's been crying. The moment she sets eyes on me, she starts to holler. Vivian's face is hard. Her eyes wearing a what-did-you-expect expression.
“Sweetpea ...” I crouch on the floor, try to brush away a lock of her hair from Cassie’s forehead.
“Go away! I hate you,” she screams.
I buckle backwards, as if I’ve been hit. Vivian's eyes glitter. She's enjoying this.
“Cassie, baby.” I try to plead with my daughter, my heart heavy, my insides in free fall.
“Go away!” Cassie shrieks again. “I hate you! You don't love us. Mommy says you don't want to live with us anymore.”
I search Vivian's eyes. “That's not true.” I attempt to stroke Cassie's face, but she pushes herself further against Vivian's stomach, as if she can't bear my touch. Shrieks and howls pierce the air.
