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This woman was insane because she simply laughed and spoke to Cress’s back as she followed her husband to the house. “I love you too,daughter-in-law.”
Ezekiel got in her face. “What the fuck is wrong with you? After all these years, and the damage you’ve done to him, you still don’t give a fuck about anyone but yourself. He. Is. Your. Son.”
“So are you. And he’s your brother yet you’ve done just as much damage, haven’t you?” she asked with a wicked smile. “But there’s nothing I can do about either of you. I told you not to fuck with me.”
“You just told the story you wanted him to believe. The only reason I said he would fail was because he would never live up to our father’s standards or yours. It had nothing to do with Elias not being capable. It was never my decision for Lucas to marry Sasha. I argued against it but your husband manipulated him into believing he had to.”
“Good luck convincinghimof that.”
“You’re un-fucking-believable,” Ezekiel growled down at her. “But this time is your last. I promise you’re going to feel this one.”
“Jhorie, let’s go.”
I glanced at him, then her, so confused about all of this. “Why is it so easy for you to hurt your sons like this?”
She gave me a onceover. “Because they hurt me by being pure and utter disappointments.” Her eyes lowered to my hand. “And if you’re stupid enough to have a family with him, then you’d better pray history doesn’t repeat itself…” She glanced at the door. “Or worse. Elias stopped being my son the day he was diagnosed and Ezekiel the day he made me financially dependent on him. You’re new, so I’ll give you a bit of advice for free. Get the hell away from both of them. This family is a fucking disgrace.”
“You’re a fucking disgrace.” I shoved her as hard as I could and Ezekiel stepped between us.
“Jhorie, let’s go,” he stated as calmly as he could, given the situation. I leaned around him and pushed a finger into her forehead.
“Get the fuck off our property.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Our…” She smiled. “Oh you poor dear. You’re just as fucking insane as they are.”
Before I could stop myself I reached around Ezekiel and punched her as hard as I could.
Blood coated her bottom lip as her crazy ass laughed, walked to her car, and pulled off. Ezekiel and I followed the same path Elias and Cress had taken but he didn’t stop. He kept going up the stairs and I stood in the foyer, staring at the door, trying to make sense of what the hell had just happened.
When I made it upstairs the first thing I heard was crashing glass followed by heavy thuds of something landing hard on the marble floor. The sounds of destruction came from a room near the end of the hallway so I kept moving, passing bedrooms until I stood outside the door.
I inhaled a cleansing breath and stepped inside. My eyes immediately found Ezekiel but instead of throwing furniture and décor, which he clearly had been doing based on the shattered glass and splintered wood, his fists crashed into the wall with wild punches.
Maybe I should have been afraid and walked away to let him work through whatever this was, but my mind and heart wouldn’t allow me. Instead I moved deeper into the room.
“What do you need?”
Ezekiel landed one last punch before he lifted both arms into the air to meet the wall. His head dropped between them, his forearms pressed against the damaged surface, cradling his face, hiding it from my view.
“I need you to leave.” His voice was rough, angry, and filled with tension.
“Then let me rephrase that question. What do you need with the exception of me leaving? Because I’m not going anywhere.”
His head dropped toward his chest before he turned and I caught his eyes. “You’ve seen what it means to be a part of this family. This is not what you signed on for. You should go, Jhorie. It doesn’t get any better.”
“Are you ending things with me?” I rolled my shoulders back and he released a harsh breath.
“No, that’s not an option for me.”
The way his intense stare bore into mine I understood what he wasn’t communicating.
He needed me, but wouldn’t beg me to stay. Ezekiel was too prideful and had already received a blow to his ego by way of his mother.
“I had no expectations other than us navigating whatever this was between us together. If I leave, we can’t. I’m not afraid of what it means to be a part of your family, Ezekiel. I welcome the challenge.”
He snorted, turned, and his back hit the wall. He slid down, dropping his elbows on his knees, cradling his head with his hands, hiding his face once more. “You have no idea what the fuck that entails. You might want to acquire all the facts before you make that type of claim,” he murmured. His voice had settled some but was still laced with a mixture of emotions.
I crossed the room, carefully dodging debris before stopping in front of him. When I extended a hand, he lifted his eyes and accepted. Instead of using it to stand, he gently tugged, requesting that I come down to him. I did, straddling his body so my back met his knees.
