Page 49 of Sweet Possession
“I did, several times over the years,”she replied, giving me a gratefulsmile as she pulled the jacket around her petite frame.“But his story changed each time. Once, he told me she’d gone back to Greece because she didn’t want to be my momma anymore. Another time, he told me she still lived in Vegas but was a crack addict, making money by whoring herself out. Andthena few years ago, he told me to stop asking about her. Saidthatshe was dead and had been since I was five years old.”
I pursed my lips. Fucking Freddy. He didn’tevenhave the decency totell Cora about her mom. It looked like I would be having another conversation with Cora about how to deal with Freddy once and for all. And Ireallyfucking hoped she gave me the green light to end the cunt.
“Do you know anything about her?”I said, shaking away themurderous thoughts.
I wondered if there was a way of finding her mom. With the rightamount of money thrown at it, finding someone wasn’t impossible.
“Onlythather name is Alexandria. I don’tevenknow what her lastname is.”She sighed, her eyes dropping to the floor.“I never asked too many questions. Notthatmy dad would have told me, but I guess Ijustfiguredthatif she wanted me, she would have either taken me with her or come back for me.”
“Hey,”I said, lifting her chin, hating seeing the hurt in her eyes.“If your mom didn’t want you, Cora,thenshe’s an idiot. She’s the one missing out on how amazing her daughter is.”
Her lips tugged into a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.“What aboutyour mom and dad? Are they still alive?”
I dropped her chin. I didn’t want to talk about the waste of spaceparents I unfortunately had. But she’d opened up to me about her mom and I wasn’t going to keep anything from her.
“They still live in Vegas, but I don’t have anything to do with them. Ihaven’t done since I moved out at seventeen.”I took her hand and led her over to a bench where I pulled her into my lap.“My dad used to beat me when I misbehaved. And there were plenty of times when he’d lock me in the basement. Sometimes for a few hours, sometimes for days at a time.”
Cora blinked at me, her eyes wide and sorrow-filled for the little boyshe never knew. Perhapsthatwas why I felt such a strong connection to Cora from the minute I laid eyes on her. In a way, we were kindred spirits, linked together by asshole parents who didn’t give a shit about us.
“What about your mom? Wasn’t she there to stop it from happening?”she asked softly.
I inhaled a deep breath before answering. There were times when Iwasn’t sure if my mom’s neglect was worse than my dad’s behavior. “My mom was too busy enjoying a life of indulgence. See, my dad owned a casino which, for a while, was fairly successful. My mom enjoyed the attention and royaltiesthatbeing married to my father brought more than she wanted to be a mom.
“She was rarely home, too busy lunching with her socialite friends orflying around the world to shop in the most luxury boutiques. But when my old man’s casino started losing money, she fell from grace.”
I paused for a second as the haggard face of my mom floatedthrough my head. Cora waited patiently, listening intently to my tale of woe.
“Her friends turned their backs on her, and so she turned to alcohol.Instead of ignoring me like she’d done for most of my early childhood, she gave my father a run for his money as to who could be the cruelest to me.”
Cora’s eyes filled with water so I pulled her closer to me. Unlike her,I’d had years of therapy to help me deal with the trauma of my childhood. I could speak without emotion when it came to my parents because I’d long since learnedthatthey didn’t have any bearing on my life.
I hoped one day Cora would reach the same point with regards toFreddy.
“Are all parents cruel?”she murmured against my chest.
I cupped her face.“No. I don’t believethat. Take Nash and Sav. Ihave no doubt whatsoeverthatthey’ll make the best parents ever.”
She gazed at me for a few seconds, lost in thought before suddenlyblurting a questionthatmade my body tense.“Do you want children?”
I stroked a thumb over the soft skin of her thigh as I thought about myreply. But I had to be honest with her, I only hoped it wasn’t a deal breaker. “No. I can’t say I ever thought kids would be in my future.”
Andthatwas the truth. I wasn’t anti-kids, I didn’t mind them, and Iwas more than looking forward to the arrival of Nash and Sav’s kid, but I didn’t want my own.
At least, I didn’t think I did.
“What about you, baby girl?”I asked, needing to know where shestood on the topic.
“No,”she replied, certain of her answer, and admittedly taking me bysurprise.“The world can be a horrible place. I wouldn’t want to bring a child into a world that’s full of hurt and hate.”
“Evenif you could give them a good life?”
“If I could give a child a great life, I still wouldn’t have my ownchildren. But I’d consider adopting. There are so manykids out there right nowthatare living a life in the way you and I did when we were younger. I couldn’t tell you the amount of times I went to bed wishingthatsomeone would come and take me away from my dad, but no one ever came. Until you.”A shy smile spread across her lips but before I could place a kiss on her mouth, she continued.“So no. I wouldn’t have my own kids, but I’d happily adopt a child or two, and do everything in my power to give them a childhood I wish I could have had.”
For the second time in my life, my world shifted on its axis, and it wasall because of Cora Clarke.
I didn’t want my own children, but could I imagine giving a home to acouple of kids who’d been brought into the world by crappy parents? Yeah, I could. Especially with Cora by my side.
This time I did press my mouth to hers.“Thatsounds prettyincredible, baby girl. Maybe one daythat’ll happen for us.”
