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Mom shakes her head too quickly and won’t stop. “No, he wouldn’t have. Your father said he was just trying to scare me and your dad. Your father said you were safe the whole time. He swore it. ”
How can she lie to herself so easily? How can she continue to turn away from the truth again and again? Then Mom rubs her arm. I stumble back and hit the wall. God, I’m no different. All the signs of a heroin user were there, for weeks if not longer, and I ignored every single one.
But I’m not ignoring the truth, not anymore.
I go into the living room and start throwing crap off the kitchen counter to find her keys.
I’ll drag her out by her hair if I have to. The knob on the front door turns and my heart squeezes and drops. I’ve taken too long and Trent is going to kill me.
Ryan
BETH BLINKS RAPIDLY WHEN I WALK IN.
Standing in a tiny kitchen, she holds a garbage bag. I’ve never been so relieved to see anyone in my life. Nor have I ever craved to shake someone so badly.
“Going somewhere?” I focus on remaining calm. Beth doesn’t react well to threats or anger or anyone standing in the way of her doing anything.
Beth turns her back to me and throws papers and trash onto the floor. “Get out. ”
“Fine with me. Let’s go. We’ve come into Louisville twice for dinner and we have yet to have that date. ”
Beth leaves the kitchen and rummages through a card table. Her hands shake and her face is too pale against her black hair. “I’m not playing, Ryan. Mom and I are leaving today.
That’s been the plan the entire time, remember?”
“It was. ” My eyes dart around the confined room trying to pinpoint the threat that has Beth terrified. Adrenaline pours into my bloodstream, preparing me for the unseen attack. “But you changed your mind on Saturday. ”
A woman enters the living room. Too thin.
Stringy blond hair. It’s the first time I’ve seen Beth’s mother up close. “Who are you?” she asks.
I force myself to look into her flat eyes.
They’re the same color as Beth’s, but without the shine. “I’m Beth’s boyfriend, Ryan. ”
Her lips struggle into a weak smile. “You have a boyfriend, Elisabeth?”
Beth tosses an empty plastic two-liter onto the floor. “Ex-boyfriend. He fucked me and then he told his mommy and daddy he hated me. Where are the damned keys, Mom?”
My calm snaps. “I didn’t do that to you. If you’ll give me a chance I’ll explain about my parents. ”
“Mom!” Beth screams and her mother flinches. “Keys. Now!”
“Okay,” she says and shuffles down the hallway.
Beth whirls and her nostrils flare. “Get out, Ryan. ”
“Not without you. ”
Her fists curl and she smacks her leg with the
words. “My. Mom. Is. An. Alcoholic. And a heroin addict. Her boyfriend’s favorite pastime is beating the shit out of me and if I’m not around he has no problem taking his aggressions out on my mother. I have maybe minutes to get her out before he comes back and kills us all. ”
An eerie calm courses through me. Nobody hurts my girl. “He hits you?”
“Yes, Ryan. He hits me and kicks me and slaps me. I’m his own personal violent video game. If I don’t get my mom out of here he’s going to kill her and if he doesn’t, then the heroin will. ”
Every word Beth says is probably true, but I don’t care about her mother. Beth is my only concern. “What’s going to happen to you if I let you walk out this door with your mother?
