Page 47 of The Heart That Breaks
He turns his head to look at me, and Lance makes another attempt for the door. But Henry is on him in a flash. Lance trips and falls to the floor. Henry straddles his chest,barking into his face as if his life and mine depend on it, which they probably do.
The snarling coming from Henry’s throat is enough to keep Lance frozen on the floor, afraid to move.
“What on earth is going on?”
Mama is standing in the doorway, a look of blended shock and horror on her face.
Lance raises his head, his voice now that of the victim when he says, “Your daughter’s damned dog attacked me.”
“Henry was just protecting me,” I say, one hand on my now throbbing hip.
“From what?” Mama asks in a voice so low I can barely hear her.
Silence falls over the room like a lead blanket. I feel Lance’s gaze on me, daring me to say anything. His eyes are like red hot coals, and I imagine them burning a hole in my skin.
Henry trots over to my side, sitting with his back against my leg, still fully focused on Lance.
I want to spare her this, but I realize that I can’t. She deserves better, and even if she doesn’t believe that, I do.
“Mama, I’m sorry, but…”
She raises a hand to cut me off, and my heart drops with the realization that this time isn’t going to be any different from the others. Lance can do no wrong in her eyes. Just the thought of what he will do now that Henry and I both have challenged him brings a swell of nausea flooding up through me.
“Did you hurt her?” Mama asks in a low voice.
All of a sudden, I realize that she is staring at him with steel in her voice, a fury there that I have never heard before.
“What do you mean?” Lance throws back at her, the words laced with innocent disbelief.
“Did. You. Hurt. Her.”
I’ve never seen Mama like this. She is as still as stone, and I can see in her face that she already knows the answer.
“You know I told her not to bring that vicious monster in the house!”
“Whose house is this, Lance?”
He glances from Mama to me, and I can see him weighing his options. “Now, baby, you know it’s yours. But I thought we agreed it wasn’t a good idea to have a dog in the house.”
“Actually, I never agreed to it at all. You insisted on it, if I recall. And I was stupid enough to go along with you.”
“Do you see this hole in my boot?” he snaps, holding up his foot to show her the tear.
“Henry was protecting me,” I say again, my voice sounding strangely uneven to my own ears.
“He attacked me,” Lance says, attempting to drill me into silence with his furious gaze.
“You know why,” I say, refusing to be silenced by him ever again.
“Get out,” Mama says, her voice wavering on his name. And then in a stronger voice, “Now. Get out!”
He glares at her until his gaze turns to ice. “You two bitches have no idea what you’ve just done,” he says, taking a step backwards toward the door. Henry growls, but I put my fingers under his collar, holding him still.
“Get out!” she screams.
He takes off then, slamming the bedroom door behind him.
Mama and I both stand there in silence for several moments. And then out of nowhere, I am crying, in relief, in disbelief, in happiness.
