Page 55 of Redemption
She’s right. As I watch Blake move away with Brinley—after the clusterfuck of today, I do need to handle it. I’ve gone too long brushing this off, giving people grace when they never deservedit. That ends today. Because if I don’t do better, how can I be better?
I stand, legs weak and lungs barking in protest. The hand I cut in the process of getting Ana and Brinley out still stings, but thankfully the numbing shot they gave me while stitching it up eases the majority of the pain. I keep my chin tilted and my sight locked on my mom’s face. Her eyes meet mine with a flicker of surprise. It quickly turns into an insufferable smugness. “You paid him to burn it down,” I say, taking a step forward. I don’t need confirmation. I already knew it was true. But I did need other answers. “But why? Why did you do it?”
Her lip twitches. “Youwere supposed to be inside.”
My pulse bangs against my skull, but I stay standing. The next few words escape me with little thought. I knew it was bad, butfuck mewho says that to their kid? “You don’t deserve to be a mother.”
“And you do?” she scoffs, running a judgmental eye over me. “Look at you. You can barely handle it.”
Vivienne moves beside me before I can respond. “That’s enough,” she snaps. I blink, forcing myself to not turn and look at her.
My mom ignores her, keeping all attention focused on me. “I did this because I am a good mom.” The way she says it makes me genuinely wonder if she believes it. “I did this for Vivienne. She doesn’t need you screwing up her life any more than you already have.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I spit.
“She left New York and came to this shit town because ofyou,” She hisses. “All the hard work I put in, gone in an instant.”
I blink–so stunned by the idiocy of it to say anything. “Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to say my daughter lives in a town like this?” she continues, waving her head back and forth.“When she could be in New York? Working with the best of the best?”
“It wasn’tyourhard work,” Vivienne snaps.
Our mother whirls to her, “Do you plan to take after your sister? Work on a farm with your bastard baby and lackluster husband?—”
“Yup. That’s enough of that.” Haden cuts my mother off when he yanks her by the back of her jacket. I think we’re all too stunned by his intervention to say anything else.
Deputy Miller who’s been standing nearby swoops in with handcuffs. My mother shrieks, “This is ridiculous! You don’t understand. You can’t just?—”
“You just gave a full confession in front of multiple witnesses,” Sheriff Eaton adds coldly. Somewhere between Haden’s appearance and Miller’s arrest, he joined our fun little circle. “Let’s go.”
She thrashes when they cuff her, screaming, and kicking and cursing. To my dismay, Andrew, who’s being interrogated in handcuffs by another police officer, catches the commotion and perks up when he sees me over the man’s shoulder. “It was her idea,” Andrew pleads. He takes a step sideways. I take one back. A hand shoots up between us, making him stop his attempt to push past the officer. “You’re pathetic,” I scoff. He never could take accountability. He never would be the victim. My mother and him are so similar it’s frightening.
He blinks, eyes going wide. “I just wanted you back, baby. You weren’t…youwere supposed to marryme.”
This dude is fucking crazy. So I laugh. Outright, full-body, howl in his face. “You are the last person on this planet that I would ever marry.”
He gapes at me. I flail my hands around, stunned that he really can’t grasp the concept. “You stuck your dick in someone else, Andrew. Then you let me raise our daughteralone.” I makea show of raking my eyes over him in disgust. The features I once thought were so handsome before are now clouded by pure hatred. “I don’t want shit from you.”
I watch as his face morphs. First, there was panic. Then there was confusion. And now? Anger. Andrew bares his teeth, “You little-”
Sheriff Eaton barks from behind me, “Enough. Put him in the cruiser and let’s go.”
Andrew sputters some lame protest, but it doesn’t matter. The red and blue lights pulse, the doors slam, and eventually the cops are peeling away. My chest feels heavier and heavier as I watch them speed away. I glance down to find my hands shaking again. Vivienne comes up beside me, a gentle presence resting on my elbow. “It’s going to be okay.”
Is it? Because the house was gone, which means all of our things are too.Again. My marriage is fake. My mother plotted my murder with my ex. I’m not really sure howokaycan exist after that.
Blake steps up beside us, Brinley asleep in her arms. “She was asking for you, then she knocked right out,” my dearest friend whispers softly. I reach out and take her, tucking her back into my chest like the lifeline she is. I let my eyes flutter for a second before taking in the scene once more.
“Happy fucking Thanksgiving,” I mutter.
Chapter Forty-One
WHITNEY
“Nothing is wrong. She looks absolutely healthy, but I think it’s best if we keep her overnight just to be safe.” Doctor Phillips says quietly, folding her hands over the front of her white coat.
Brinley is fast asleep in the bed beside mine, her Winnie the Pooh plush that Wyatt bought her tucked snugly into her chest. The bear’s ear is barely visible beneath her curled fingers. Her cheeks are still a little pink from the extremities of today, but she’s peacefully asleep and breathing fine.
“Try to rest for a little, Whitney,” she adds. “We’ve got her.”
