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“Where is my money?” I growl, shoving my hands into his chest and pushing him into the door.?
The glint in Tommy’s hauntingly bright blue eyes is one I’m oh-so familiar with. The glazed look of the perfect high. You have got to be fucking kidding me. Something in me snaps, and I push him again, harder this time. Causing him to stumble into the hallway, I throw a left hook and connect with his jaw.
I’m too enraged to even flinch at the feel of crunching teeth.?
“You piece of shit. You took it all.” I throw another punch, this time connecting with his nose.?He’s too fucked up to even defend himself against my fury.
“Fuck! I didn’t take anything, you psychopath.”?
“Bullshit! No one else would have picked my lock and done this to my room. No one else would have stolen from me.”?
“Where is it, huh? Or did you spend it all already? Davis got a payday?” I sneer at him.?
He remains in the hallway, refusing to admit that he caused all of this, and then the front door opens.?
“Tommy, I picked up a pizza for dinner,” Michelle sing-songs and walks farther into the house.?
My gaze travels to the end of the hallway, where her steps falter when she spots her son bleeding in front of me. “Oh my God, Tommy. Are you okay? What happened?” She rushes toward him, ignoring the fact that I'm standing here too.?
Her eyes shoot to mine. “What happened?”?
“He broke into my room and stole from me,” I say, without an ounce of remorse for the bloody nose he’s sporting.?
“What… Why would he go and do something like that?” Michelle’s ignorance brings my blood to a boil once more.?
“Ask him. I sure as fuck don’t know why.”?
“Tommy?”?
Tommy looks to me, then to his mother. “She stole from me first. Took one of my baseball collectibles and hid it in her room. I searched everywhere… I think she pawned it. She found me in her room, and when I asked her about it, she swung at me.”?
“Are you fucking kidding me?!” I roar. This guy is now trying to put this on me. I have no doubt in my mind that if Michelle searches his room, she won’t find whatever collectible he’s claiming I stole. Guarantee that thing is long gone, sold for cash for whatever his drug of choice is these days.?
“Emerson, why would you do such a thing?” And there it is, folks, the immediate blindness she has when it comes to her precious son. Her dirtbag son, who does nothing but abuse the love his parents have for him.?
“I did nothing wrong. He stole from me…” I say through gritted teeth.?
“What could he have possibly stolen from you that’s worth a damn,” she says with such conviction, I feel myself shrink. “Don’t forget, you’re eighteen now, Emerson. Weallowyou to live here. It's a privilege, no longer an obligation.”?
“Privilege? Like you don’t get paid for having us under your roof. Because, let’s be real, all we are to you is a check. Nothing more.” I scoff.? Honestly, that’s the only reason we’re still here. Since I'm eighteen and enrolled in school, she gets money from the state, and that’s why Lucian will be gone when he graduates. It’s all about the money.
“If it's so bad here, there’s the door,” she sneers.?
Her words hit their intended target, freezing the retort in my throat. I would have walked out right then and there if I could’ve. But the money Tommy stole was my way out. The thought pushes me to the brink of tears. I know I could find somewhere to stay… I have REAL friends now, but the thought of being a charity case to one of them, or a burden, makes me so uncomfortable, my body prickles with shame.?
“Come on, let’s get some ice on that nose of yours,” she says, ushering Tommy toward the kitchen.?
I slam my door and scream into my hands. A fuckingprivilege! Fuck her! Fuck him… Fuck this entire place! I can't get out of here soon enough.?
* * *
Hours later,I'm still fixing up my room, when I hear the light rapping of Lucian’s knock. Of course, entering before I invite him in.?
“Holy shit, Emmy. What happened in here?” He comes storming over, spinning me around when I don’t face him.?
He studies me for a minute, my puffy eyes giving my heartache away. “Are you okay?”?
I nod shakily, closing my eyes, and inhaling a deep breath. “It’s gone… He took it all.”?
