Page 8 of Bought By Three Men

“More?” What else could there be? “They closed, end of story.”

“It’s not about the clubs,” Felix whispered.

Sandy shuffled through the kitchen drawers and pulled out a nail file. She had been over enough to know I kept a nail file in every room.

She handed it to me and gave me her hand. I quickly began filing her nails. It kept me distracted enough not to cry. I spent hours on my eye makeup. The bruises from last week had faded, but not enough. It took a lot of concealer and glitter to make my face presentable. It absolutely had nothing to do with the man with the tattoos and the one who didn’t smile.

Sandy’s nails were atrocious. The ones that weren’t chewed up were broken and jagged. I filed, waiting for whatever Felix had to say.

“We were on our way over here. We took the long way through the park. I was nervous about telling you about the fights. Figured you would be upset. Sandy said you would handle it well. You always land on your feet.” Felix glanced at Sandy, and she nodded.

Ding. Dong.

My stomach tightened. Felix flinched. Sandy looked down.

“I think we were followed,” Felix whispered.

I glared at him. “If you know who is at the door, you better say something now.”

He opened his mouth and shut it again.

Dottie answered the door. She kept the chain on so it only opened a crack. She took something from whoever was there.

“An envelope? Mail?” my mom asked from her chair. Her body was so frail. She barely ate. Her clothes always hung from her bones. Her eyes sunk into her face. She had a few teeth remaining. What was once a curvy, beautiful woman was now barely a shell of a person.

“I remember when we never had mail. Those were the days.” My mom began rocking. “Your father would say…” The tears started flowing. “Your father…” She rocked harder. “Your father…”

Dottie dropped the envelope and ran to our mother. She wrapped her arms around her and squeezed. I grabbed the shot from the counter, we always had one ready to go. As Dottie tried to calm her, I jabbed her in the arm and pushed on the plunger.

We carried her into the bedroom and set her down. She continued to rock and mumble. Dottie waved me off. She would stay with her until the sedative ran its course. Until then, our mother would be in a loop, it happened every time she mentioned our father.

Felix and Sandy waited for me in the kitchen. They saw it happen so many times they didn’t even blink. It was more complicated when we lived in a tent. There was nowhere to take her when she had an episode. Felix would come to wrap her in his arms and rock her until she fell asleep.

“Oh, an envelope. I wonder who it's from.” Felix picked it up and spent too much time inspecting it.

“Tell me.” I raised my brow.

“It’s for you.” Felix turned it over. “Want me to open it?”

“Not that. When the doorbell rang, you said you thought you were followed.” I pointed at him with every word. “Who did you think was gonna be there?”

Felix let out a deep sigh. “Brad.”

Mothballs erupted in my stomach. My vision doubled. My heartbeat increased or slowed to a dead stop. I wasn’t sure.

“When we were heading over here, we noticed a new tent. It looked familiar. I mean, we see thousands of tents, so it coulda been a coincidence. Then I saw the pi symbol stitched on the back. Always trying to look smart, so we knew it was him.” Felix continued to fidget with the envelope.

Three years of my life were wasted on Brad. Brad Busby. I did everything for him. He had a hold on me that I couldn’t explain. Everyone said it was love. ‘We were so in love.’ Gag me.

Brad had everyone fooled that he was a great guy. What no one saw was how he controlled my every move. He picked out my clothes right down to what bra I could wear. He decided everything for me.

He even became my manager so he could control my fights. I was in a silent hell. Then he got a job offer to manage a female fighter in Tentokesee. He left without a word.

Once he was out of my life and the fog cleared, I realized how controlling he was. Without him, I could make my own decisions, like what to eat and how much to spend on pink pucker lipstick.

If he was indeed back, I was in trouble. He would come for me. I knew it. Tears fell from my face. I was screwed.

Sandy took the envelope from Felix and handed it to me. I pushed her hand away. She tapped on the corner of it, then slapped my arm.

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