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She snorts. “Overprotective, as always.”
“It's more than that. He's... I don't know. It's like he's unraveling. Here I was, running back for help, and I found him in worse shape than I was.”
“What do you mean?”
I mean, he thinks he finally found the evidence he needed to pin my mother’s murder on your dad. Sure, why not? I'll just hammer the final nail into the coffin and completely ruin everybody's life. One confession and I’ll destroy her relationship with her father, my relationship with mine, and any hope of a future with Callum. I bite my tongue. I don't know how much longer I will be able to keep all of this to myself. The truth is eating me up inside.
“Between you and me, he's been drinking.” Her face crumbles a little like she's genuinely sorry to hear it. I know it's disloyal to him, but it's better for her to take his attitude as some kind of drunken rage than to know the truth. If she ever thought Callum did what Dad swears he did, it would break her heart. She's already been through too much. Plus, she already has one parent who has done nothing but disappoint, neglect, and hurt her. I can't take away the one good parent she has left.
“Ugh. How long has it been going on?”
“I have no idea, and of course, there's no point in asking him for the truth. He'll only deny it and say it’s not a problem.”
“I'm so sorry. But you know...” I can tell she's trying to be kind, like a true friend, choosing her words carefully. “Even you realize you can't actually help him, right? You can encourage and cheer him on. However, you can't stay here forever to watch over him. I know you want to help him, but you can’t make him see things for what they are.”
“I never said I was trying to make him see things.”
“You don't have to.” She smirks the way a friend does when they’ve known you most of your life. “That's just how you are. Kind and sweet. You want to help however you can, but you can't give up your life to do it.”
“That really isn't what this is about. I wouldn't even be here in the first place if it wasn't for...” It's not fear of Dad overhearing us that quiets me. I can't bring myself to say it out loud. The wounds of the truth are still fresh. “The way he lied to me. I deserved the truth. At the very least, he owed me that. He should’ve let me make my own decision on whether or not I wanted to be the other woman. Instead, I was taken by surprise and had to sit there on the bed while she called me a slut. It was humiliating, among other things.”
“Do you want me to kill her for you?”
The question takes me by surprise, and a bubble of laughter escapes me. Tatum laughs with me, and the tension in the room evaporates by the time we’re both wiping tears from our cheeks and catching our breath.
“You’re crazy,” I gasp, and all she does is shrug like it's nothing new.
“Seriously, though. She’s such a bitch. I'm sorry you’ve had the pleasure of meeting her.”
“It's not your fault. You didn't make her the way she is.”
“I wish I had been there. There are so many things I want to say to her.” Her jaw tightens, and something tells me her anger isn’t only for my sake. She’s got more than enough reasons to tell her mother off.
“It's for the best that you weren't,” I murmur, shuddering at the humiliating memory. How ugly it was, how nasty Amanda sounded. Callum wasn't much better, even if he had every right. “I've never seen people talk to each other the way they do. It was bad enough without me being part of the reason they were fighting.”
“Yeah, it’s different since your parents actually loved each other.”
Oh, God, it hurts. It hurts so much. She's right. Mom and Dad did love each other. Even when I'd catch them arguing, they were always at least civil. No screaming or name-calling. Looking at Tatum now, I see so much of Callum in her. Could he? Does he have it in him to put a bullet in an innocent woman's head, to protect himself?
“Did you know they weren't officially divorced yet?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I swear to God, I figured it was finalized ages ago.” Then she snickers, rolling her eyes. “Big surprise, Dad kept yet another secret from me. I'm so shocked because, you know, that’s so unlike him.”
I can't muster up a laugh this time, because I know all about secrets. I'm keeping about a million of them myself. “I'm surprised your mom didn't say anything to you about it.”
