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He comes closer, turning around and passing a black Sharpie over his shoulder. I scrawl my name right beside the stitched version and hand him back the marker.
When he turns around, he looks up at me, excitement lighting up his entire face like a Christmas tree. He hesitates just a moment, glancing once more at Holly before leaning up to speak closer to me. “You really with her? She’s fuckin’ weird, dude.”
I chuckle a little. He says it low enough that Holly doesn’t hear him. I give him a cheeky wink and shake my head. “Duty calls, y’know.”
He lets out a sigh of relief. “Anyway, this is cool. Jimmy’s gonna be so jealous! Can I get a pic, too?”
“Sure thing, man.” I scoot him in close and take his phone so we can get a selfie.
“Let me?—”
“No.”
I cut off Holly’s attempt at getting in on the picture. Before he can protest, I look at her, fixing her to the spot with my eyes.
She’s radiating venom, so I toss her a bone to keep her from blowing up in public. “Gotta let the official family photos circulate first, right?”
That seems to placate her, for now. She sniffles and backs off.
I take my picture with the kid and send him on his way. When he’s out of earshot, Holly speaks up again. “What a little loser. Are people always like that with you? It’s kind of pathetic, isn’t it?—”
In an instant, I have her pressed against the side of the car by her shoulders. She gasps, taken off guard. She must think this is some kind of sex thing. The flush on her skin and the way her eyes widen are far from being out of fear.
“Let me make one thing clear to you,” I tell her gruffly. “What you’re not gonna do today—or ever again—is talk shit about the people who support me. You want this to work? Dial down the bitchiness.” I pull away from her. “Now, get in the fucking car. We’re going home.”
57
REESE
Grams picks up Violet from the penthouse once we return, disapproval dripping off her face. She hasn’t spoken to me since the news about Holly and I broke. She only checks on Violet and babysits when I beg her to. She wants nothing to do with Holly.
Nor with me, for that matter.
It’s one of the many gut punches that I’ve dealt with in the last week and a half. But I brought it on myself, didn’t I?
Like clockwork, not minutes after Violet’s gone, Holly cranks on the sound system to start up her music. It’s some obnoxious, poppy shit that makes my brain feel like pre-chewed bubblegum. Bobbing her head, she dips into the liquor cabinet. I just let her, praying to whatever sick, vengeful god is in control of my life right now to let her get smashed fast and go pass out in the room away from me early.
I apparently don’t pray hard enough.
Holly comes to me, her hips swaying. She’s got a glass in one hand and a cigarette in the other. “I told you not to smoke in here.”
“Don’t be a pussy. The smell’s not that bad.” Her nasally whine makes my headache throb that much worse.
I breathe in through my mouth. You got yourself into this mess. Now, you gotta deal with it.
“I don’t give a fuck about the smoke. I don’t want my daughter breathing that shit in.”
Holly waves her hand. It leaves a cloud of smoke in the air and sends ashes tumbling down onto my floor. My face immediately twists into a furious scowl, but she thinks it’s hilarious. She laughs in my face, literally. “You can just have it cleaned up by a maid or something. Violet will be fine. She’s not here anyway.”
“That’s not the point.” I shove her away from me, hating that I have to touch her even to do that. “It’s bad enough you smoke at all. Did you do that shit while you were pregnant? What kinda fuckin’ mother are you?”
She rolls her eyes and laughs. Taking a bold swig from her glass, she nudges me away from her.
“Why would I do something like that?” She winks like it’s all some big joke. “Besides, Violet’s the perfect healthy little angel. Just like her mother.” There’s something bitter in the way she says it.
I flare, angry. “Keep that tone out of your mouth when you’re talking about our daughter. You want this shit to go smoothly? You better be willing to play ball just like I am.”
She chuckles one more time in my face. “I like the way you say ‘our daughter.’ Like it’s the truth.”
