“Neither do I,” Dax growls.
Aiden sneers at my mum, his voice taking on sarcastic tones. “It’s simple. We gave her two enormous bags of groceries as a gift and her dad went ballistic. She had to tell him she stole the money for them.”
“Why? Why not tell him the truth?” Dax asks.
Mum answers with a thick sigh. “Because he’d have used your kindness. He’d have made Juliet use your kindness. She was protecting you.” At least she understands that much.
I nod and confirm her guess.
“What do you mean?” Dax demands.
“Eric Feelan is a world class liar and manipulator. He’s blackmailed me and Juliet for years. Even when she was too young to realise that’s what he was doing, and I was already too afraid to step in and stop him.” Dax cuts Mum a look that warns her to continue or else.
She sits at a table opposite and heaves another tired sigh.
“He’s cruel. He’s always enjoyed playing games and controlling people…only now that he’s redundant and barely goes out, he mostly picks on us. He uses weaknesses to manipulate you into giving him whatever he wants; money, loyalty, fear, your body, your soul…”
Like Gresh. Gresh spies on me at the bar and feeds it all back to my dad. He does other things too, things that I see him whisper with Dad about on the rare occasion he turns up at the apartment. Was that attack in the corridor another of Dad’s twisted orders or a reward for Gresh’s loyalty?
“He uses his kids like bargaining chips,” Aiden adds, knowingly. He heard Dad’s opinions of me and Casey for himself. I’m not surprised Aiden’s figured that much.
Mum nods.
“You can’t go back to the house,” Dax warns. “He’ll be gunning for anyone right now.”
Mum glares at me as though I’m the one issuing the threat, but I keep my mouth shut rather than argue. It must have caused all kinds of trouble to get her off her shift early and without notice. Dad will hear about that too. His is the only number they have for Mum since none of us have our own phones. I had an old broken one of his, its microphone useless and the screen cracked to shitafter one of his fits. He threw it out without a second thought and used the money in the utilities jar to pay for a swanky new one. I snatched up the old one. It didn’t have service, but I used it to take photos and download books using the library’s Wi-Fi. When the boys got bigger, it became theirs. I’d download cartoons and leave it at home with them to keep them quiet and off Dad’s radar.
I trace my hand over the one Dax gave me and am reassured by the rectangular outline. It’s safe. It made it out in one piece, just like me. I might not have many people to call, but it represents a way out of the prison my father created for us.
“I have somewhere we can go for tonight,” Mum offers.She does?“I’ll take the kids and head there now, if you can arrange something for Juliet,” she asks.
“What? Why can’t I come with you?”
“My friend can’t take us all and you have your shift tonight. We can’t come and collect you that late.” Her words are rushed and shifty. I recognise myself in her right now. I did the same thing to Aiden and Dax earlier. She’s lying or hiding something, but the bare bones of what she’s telling me invalidates all plausible excuses anyway.
The rotten truth is, she doesn’t want me with her. Not tonight, maybe not ever.
“That works out fine,” Dax agrees, without even asking my opinion or permission to decide for me. “I have something I need Jules to do for me. I’ll arrange a hotel room for her and then we’ll meet up with you tomorrow to discuss a more permanent solution.” Mum doesn’t look happy at the prospect, but she nods obligingly.
“This hotel…?” she asks.
“Yes?”
“Will you be with her? Or will he?” she questions, nodding her head toward Aiden as the ‘he’ in question. I can’t believe she’s asking this. She thinks I’m sleeping with one of them. I don’t even know why it would bother her. She doesn’t want me, right?
“If you’re asking if she’ll be protected, the answer is yes.” Dax’seyes narrow. He must realise what she means, too. His delicacy is appreciated, but Mum keeps fishing for details.
“I just want to be sure she’s not…”
I snap. She has no right to make insinuations or twist this man’s kindness into something wrong or manipulative. “What Mum? Earning his kindness on my back. Fuck! I see why you married Eric. You’re as bad as he is. I’m not sleeping around. I’ve never slept around, and I certainly don’t prostitute myself to anyone!” I snap, not caring who hears me. To make sure there’s no further discussion, I follow up fast with a question of my own. “Do you have money on you?”
Her mouth hangs open. Then my question registers.
“What?” she asks, confused by the sudden change in conversation.
“I’ll make sure they’re taken care—” Dax begins, but I cut him off quickly.
“No! You won’t. You’ve done enough. You owe my family nothing,” I snap at Dax, glaring at him until he backs down.
