Page 27 of Savage Hate
“And where will you go, Lennon?” she asks, her voice cold-hearted and filled with amusement.
My chest heaves as my breath hitches, trying to keep my composure. My mind is jumbled with insults, but I can’t seem to utter any of them. My body feels fragmented, like it’s breaking, especially my heart. I lower my chin and look at the ground. She’s right. I have nowhere else to go. I never did have very many friends. My life revolved around Wright and his friends, who all took his side–even afterhecheated.
Besides Mindy, I have… no one.
Panic rises in my throat when I realize I’m stuck. Either stuck here, or somewhere else, but either way, I am alone.
Utterly, and completely alone.
“That’s what I thought,” my mom taunts, straightening and brushing the invisible lint off of her dress. “Now stop acting like a fool. Go back to your apartment, take a shower,” she adds, sniffing, “and pack your things. I’ll put you up at the Four Seasons—”
“No,” I say quietly. “I’m done. I’m twenty-eight years old. Just tell me how much the rent is for the apartment, and I’ll pay you for–”
“Are you on drugs, Lennon? I told you, we’re going to the Four Seasons.”
She reaches out and grabs ahold of my hand, squeezing me firmly and dragging me back toward Savage Ink, and I close my eyes as she leads me away, my tears finally springing free.
“Get your fucking hands off her.”
Silas.
She stops suddenly, and I snap my eyes open.
Silas, Damon, and Jude are all staring at my mom with the most menacing of expressions. Jude especially–he looks like he’s about to burst a blood vessel in his forehead. If he had a superpower, it would be death by glare. Damon’s fists are clenched at his sides, and Silas is breathing heavily. His eyes flick between my mom and me.
“I beg your pardon?” my mom asks, recoiling slightly.
“You heard me,” Silas grits out, spitting at her feet.
She shrieks, backing up a step and dropping my hand. “You disgusting, filthy, piece of–”
“I dare you to finish that sentence,” Jude says, staring her down.
Something about his voice, the quiet, eerie calm, sends shivers down my spine.
My mom looks at me. “Come on, Lennon. Let’s go.”
I cross my arms and look between them, the divide between all of us larger now. The people who gathered around my mom and I earlier are still watching, but this time, a few of the people have paler faces now that Silas, Damon, and Jude are here. Go with my mom, or with the guys? One is neglectful, cruel, and bitter. The others are rude, vicious, and brutal. Truth be told, I should probably just walk away from all of them, but I begin to see a precipice opening before me.
Will I choose my own mother, who represents my horrific past?
Or will I choose Savage Ink, which doesn’t exactly feel like a better option?
“Go back to the Four Seasons, mom. I’m fine here. I don’t want to go with you.”
And I don’t exactly want to stay, but what choice do I have?
Her face reddens as she opens her mouth for what I’m sure will be a cruel retort.
“Choose your next words wisely,” Silas says before she can think to respond, and then he’s holding a… pocket-knife.
He takes a few steps toward us, looking down as he cleans his nails with the knife.
A knife.
Several people gasp, and my mom blows a gasket.
“You son of a b–”
