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The break.
The flower in full bloom about to be sentenced to an endless winter.
I understand my mother more at this moment than I ever have.
But I can’t do this now.
Later.
I can break later.
Other people need me.
Blinking, my vision comes back into focus before I hold my head high.
Because Mama taught her girl better.
“I’m going to leave now.” I look at my father and try not to crumble. “I have a very excited little girl that needs to see her baby sister. When I’m done, I’m going to come back here and the only air I want that bastard breathing is the air of a prison cell. I don’t care who your friends are. If it’s not done, every person in this city will know that the police captain of this district choked his baby girl until she almost died, and when she woke, he choked her again to make sure, and was only stopped by the teenage boy living next door.”
“Jesus Christ,” Jake mutters under his breath, hands balled into fists at his side.
“You remember Nick, right, Papa? For some cruel reason, you’re standing in front of me with air in your lungs and he isn’t.”
My father visibly pales.
Good.
I reach into my purse. Trembling feet carry me until I dig a card into my father’s chest.
“That’s my phone number at the shelter. Don’t ever use it. Please give it to your wife.”
Jake reaches for me, but I back away and hold out a shaky hand. “Please don’t touch me. Not now.”
He flinches, and his hurt is so raw I feel it too.
“Come home to me, baby?”
I nod, unable to focus enough for words.
Shoulders vibrating with nothing but rage, he doesn’t object when I get in my car and drive away.
The last thing I see in the rear-view mirror is the sight of Jake’s fist connecting with my father’s jaw.
Chapter Thirty-Six
“Hey, baby sis,” Amy sing-songs.
I can hardly breathe trying to hold back the sob.
“Hi.”
She’s quiet for a moment before asking, “Everything okay?”
“Is Mama with you?”
“Yeah. She’s here at the shop. Do you want to talk to her?”
My heart is hammering in my chest, and it takes all my power to keep my grip on the steering wheel.
