AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She looks down, playing with her hands, and shrugs. “What’s new, Chloe?” The regret is clear on her face. She knows what she did, the part she played in Gloria’s death. “You think I don’t feel bad?” she yells. “You think I don’t have to live with this guilt every day?”
I swallow. “Good. I hope it haunts you until you take your last breath.” I step closer to her bed, and she tenses up. “Not only were you driving under the influence, but you were also too lazy and stupid to put her in a car seat. What were you thinking? I told you I’d pick her up after you were finished visiting!” I curl my hands into fists and stop myself from punching her in the face, my anger getting the best of me.
She rubs her head. “I wanted to take her out for a drive. I wanted to be a normal mom for once and drive my daughter around.”
“Stop with the fucking lies! They found your phone. You were meeting a drug dealer.” I grip my hands around the bed rails and tilt my head forward until I’m in her face, not even bothered that she might be the one to punch me. “She’s gone because you needed to get high.”
“Fuck you!” Spit flies out with her words. “She was my child!”
I draw back, and my lips curl. “A child you never bothered to take care of. A child you failed.”
“I want you to leave.”
“I don’t care what you want. You’re going to lie there and listen to every single word I say because this will be the last visit I’ll ever give you. If they give you a trial, which I’ll fight for, I’ll be there, but this will be our last conversation. Do you hear me?” I point my finger at her. “So, sit back, shut up, and listen to me tell you how much I fucking hate you. Listen to me tell you I will fight until the death of me to make sure you get in trouble for this.”
She scratches her head. “Say whatever you want, Chloe. Make me feel like a piece of shit, like you’ve done since you were a kid.”
I pace in front of her bed, holding my tongue the best that I can.
“I want to see Trey,” she says, her voice scratchy. “I want to tell him I’m sorry and see him one more time.”
That catches my attention, and I shift to face her. “Tough shit. He doesn’t want to see you.”
“Don’t lie to me,” she bites out.
“If he decides he wants to see you at any time, I’ll give him that.” I pause while briefly debating on whether to relay the message he gave me. “He said he hates your guts and you’re dead to him.” I’ll give that to Trey. Right or wrong, he deserves to have his voice.
Her face and tone turn spiteful. “He might hate me, but as a minor, he has no say in what happens in his life. He can’t stop me from demanding he live with his father instead of you.”
I stumble back a step, her words catching me off guard. I pull in a sharp breath and straighten my back, appearing to brush off the threat lined between her words. “Not only is there no physical proof that Michael is Trey’s father, I doubt he’ll step up. Nice try though.”
She shakes her head. “That’s where you’re wrong. Michael’s name is on the birth certificate.”
I gulp. “You’re lying.”
The corners of her mouth tilt up in a cold smirk. “He made me take a DNA test to prove Trey was his before supporting us. They already paid me a visit. They want to take him now that I’ll be in jail.”
“Bullshit. Michael never wanted Trey.”
“True, but Michael is eating crow to regain his wife’s trust,andhow bad will it look if he turns his back on his son? They’ll give him a stable home environment.”
My snorting interrupts her.Stable my ass.
“I’ll do everything in my power to make that happen.”
“Don’t. You know I’ve been there for Trey since day one.”
“And, now, it’s time for someone better to do it.”
My heart races as fear sets in. “Fuck you, Claudia.”
I charge out of the hospital with tears in my eyes.
More tears fall, and I scream to the emptiness of my car when I catch sight of a couple I recognize walking into the hospital.
28
Kyle
