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Jackson finally turned his glassy eyes to me and he smiled crookedly. “You look just like Mom when you cry, Fish.”
I stumbled back a step and clutched at my chest and throat, feeling like I couldn’t breathe. I spun around until my eyes landed on Charlie and rage unlike any I’ve ever felt surged through me. I charged at him, ready to kill him with my bare hands if I had to, but Boone caught me from behind. I struggled against him as I screamed at Charlie. “You monster! Why would you do this to him? Why would you hurt him like this? We never did anything to you!”
“Someone had better explain to me what the fuck is going on.” Remy put himself between me and Charlie. “The truth.”
Charlie’s cruel laugh filled the house. “You knocked up a con artist, boys. I don’t know who you thought you fucked, but this here is Trailer Park Princess. She was the kind of poor that the trailer park folks felt bad for. Between her whore mother and her runaway daddy, she was destined to be trash forever. But it looks like she got her hooks in the money now. Y’all boys prepared to support a trailer park?”
I stared down at the floor, feeling my world shatter apart around me. My heart was beating so hard it hurt. My entire chest hurt. I shook my head and tried to stop Charlie. “You don’t know me, Charlie. I’m not that girl. I never wanted to be that girl. You need to leave. I don’t know why you found me, but I don’t want you anywhere near me.”
“He’s not going anywhere. None of you are.” Remy growled so loudly that I flinched away from him. “I want to know everything, starting from the beginning.”
Tears were steadily streaming down my cheeks. I’d been so close to happiness. It was in the palm of my hands.
Jackson’s faded voice grew in volume. “Stop yelling at my sister!”
I turned and watched in horror as Jackson swung a wild punch in no one’s direction and fell forward. He hit one of the many shelves and I watched as a beautiful piece of pottery fell to the floor and shattered. Jackson slumped to the floor and tried and failed to get up over and over.
I sobbed as I watched him, my baby brother. I’d changed his diapers and rocked him to sleep when I was still a kid myself. I knew him before he was the zombie scrambling around in the living room floor while everyone stared on at the horror show.
I knelt by his side and tried to calm him down. “Jackson, it’s me. It’s Fish. You’re okay. I just need you to calm down, okay? I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
He was so strong that when he shoved me I fell back on my ass, but I got right back up and grabbed his face. He struggled but for one small second, his eyes connected with mine and I jumped on it.
“Hey, hey. Look at me, kid. I’ve got you. Just like the time you thought you could ride your bike off the roof and land a trick on concrete. Remember what happened? Would you believe me if I said I caught you?” I let out a teary laugh while Jackson got calmer. “Well, I didn’t. But I was there to pick you up and carry you to the hospital. And I carried you back home after you got that cast. I’m here, honey. It’s me. You know I won’t let anything bad happen to you. You just have to try to stay calm for me. Please.”
“Watch this. It’s hilarious.” I saw Charlie move closer and before I could stop him, he shouted over my head at Jackson. “What happened to your momma, Jacky?”
I jerked around to push Charlie away but Jackson was already reacting, probably to the image in his head of our mother dead in our bathtub. He’d found her. He’d stayed by her side until help arrived. He’d taken the brunt of that trauma.
Before I could slap the shit out of Charlie, I felt Jackson’s hands grab both of my shoulders before shoving me with what looked like all of his might. I fell backwards hard and cracked my elbow on the floor as I landed. My head jerked back and hit the floor next to Charlie’s foot. I felt darkness creeping in and I tried to fight it. I could hear a commotion around me and the sound of Jackson screaming.
Unable to breathe, I tried to make myself as small as possible, in a tight ball around my baby. I couldn’t hear anything but screaming and fighting as everything faded to nothing.
54.
***Remington***
“Getoffme!”I spun around, ready to attack whoever was grabbing me from behind, and saw Jake with his face set in stone. He shoved me towards the door and I stumbled over a rug before catching myself and preparing to get back into the fray. I wanted to rip that stupid fucker’s face from his skull.
Boone ran at me, holding Memphis in his arms. She was limp, with her head and arms hanging loosely. The sight of her body so lifeless cleared the bloodlust from my head and I moved out of the way so he could run past me. I saw Wells on top of Charlie, punching him in the face over and over again.
Jake grabbed Wells by the back of the neck and jerked him to his feet. “Go! You leave now or you’re going to be trapped here answering questions for the cops. Memphis needs you.”
Wells looked around wildly, searching for her. “Where?”
“Take the car. Leave the gate open and I’ll handle this shit.” Jake pointed to Jackson cowering in the corner. “Who the fuck is this one?”
“Memphis’s brother. He doesn’t go to jail. Keep him somewhere safe until I get back.” I ran out of the house and saw Wells already climbing into the backseat.
Boone threw the keys at me when I looked into the back and saw Memphis’s still unconscious body in his lap. He was holding his fingers to her wrist while scowling. “Drive.”
I flew into the city, breaking every traffic law. The image of Memphis’s limp body scorched through my head nonstop and I banged my fists on the steering wheel as fear overwhelmed the rest of my emotions. “Talk to me! Is she okay?”
“Systolic pressure is high. Her pulse is racing. I don’t see any signs of trauma, but that doesn’t mean a fucking thing. How much longer?” Boone barked out everything he said, all signs of the calm surgeon gone. “Jesus, Wells, that isn’t your blood.”
Wells’ voice was dark as he responded. “I’m only sad there isn’t more. He tried to get her brother to hurt her.”
“He got what he wanted.” Boone growled. “How much longer?”
