Page 85 of Every Broken Piece
Sandra glares at me before turning her focus on Tess. “Baby, I would have been there for you, buttheywouldn’t let me in.” She tosses me a hateful look when she says ‘they’, lumping me in with the hospital guards who escorted her out. I had nothing to do with that but if she wants to believe I was involved I won’t correct her misconception.
“That goon out front tried to keep me from you too, but I told him off.” She takes a small step forward, angling so her back is almost to me. “I’m so sorry, baby doll.”
Tess’s chin goes up but only I can feel her tremors. “What do you want, Sandra?” Her voice is solid, and cold.There’s my little Spitfire.
“Oh, sweetie.” Sandra runs her hand up Tess’s injured arm. Tess yanks it away. I suppress a growl.
Sandra ignores the rebuff and shuffles closer, trying and failing to shoulder me out of the way. “I know you’re mad that I wasn’t at the hospital, baby. But I’m here now and I’ll take care of you.”
“I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” Tess says. “So, you can leave.”
I snort.
Sandra’s smile falters before she manages to pull it back up. “I know you don’t mean that, baby doll. You’re hurtin’. Where’s those magic pills they gave you? I bet you need some of those.” Nervous eyes bounce around the room, no doubt searching for little brown bottles of pills.
Tess’s shoulder beneath my arm drops and a weary sigh escapes her.
“There are no pills,” she says.
Sandra’s head jerks back to Tess. “They didn’t give you pain meds?”
“I refused them.”
Her smile finally dies as her eyes narrow into pinpricks of anger. “Why’d you do that? You could sell those suckers on the street. Hell, I’ll take’em and sell’em for you.”
Piece of shit is too good of a term for this woman. It takes every bit of self control not to bodily throw her out the door.
“And that’s exactly why I didn’t take them.” Tess shoots me a look full of remorse and embarrassment. She has nothing to be embarrassed about. Sandra, on the other hand, should be mortified.
Sandra huffs as she takes another scan of the small apartment. “Always thinking of yourself, aint ya? Never consider your mama might need a little pick me up.” Her calculating stare lands onTess and she shuffles forward a few inches. “Come on, baby doll. Give me just one.”
“She doesn’t have any,” I growl.
Sandra shoots me a look full of venom before angling her back to me so she’s fully facing Tess, once again trying to bodycheck me out of the way but I don’t move. “Is that any way to treat your mother, Theresa? After all I’ve done for you?”
“I see no mother here,” Tess says, and I want to applaud.
Sandra’s eyes narrow. Fury settles into the weary lines of her face. “You always were ungrateful.” She moves her hand toward Tess and I’m so on edge that my arm shoots out between them.
“Watch it.”
Tess presses into my side without taking her eyes off her mother. Watching her deal with Sandra makes me fall for her a little more but also saddens me that this has been her entire life, playing chess with a desperate, drug addicted con artist.
Sandra points a crooked finger at her. “You owe me, Theresa.”
“I owe you nothing.”
“I just need a little bit this time. Just to take the edge off. You don’t know, baby girl. You don’t know what it’s like.” Her voice is now pleading.
“Then maybe you should find your dealer,” Tess says.
Damn. This is not the same woman who sent me smiling face emojis and exclamation points. This is a whole different side to her, and I have to say, while the circumstances suck, I’m loving this part of Tess James.
“You know I can’t go to him.” A sly look comes over Sandra. This woman changes expressions so swiftly it makes my head spin. Wheedling one minute, threatening the next. “You know why, too.” She side eyes me with a smirk thrown in. “Bet he doesn’t know, does he?”
“Don’t,” Tess warns. “He has nothing to do with this.”
Sandra tilts her head back to study me before turning a look cunning on Tess that makes my balls shrivel. I’ve been in some intense boardroom deals bordered on fist fights, but none of them ever frightened me like the dead look of a junkie searching for her next fix.
