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After the nice spring weather in Wildes, the stifling humidity of Houston made Ginny want to crawl back into the airport. Her Notes app was filled with things she wanted to say to Cyrus, but Ginny was so anxious about facing him after all these years that she was sure she’d forget everything. She’d spent the whole flight typing furiously, getting worried glances from her seat mates, but Ginny hadn’t stopped. They should have been grateful that she hadn’t broken down and cried, because there were moments where her eyes welled up so much, all of the text blurred.
With the air conditioner blasting at full in her rental, Ginny set out for her mother’s house. She’d texted her siblings and Gavin to let them know she’d arrived in one piece. Then put her phone on vibrate as she drove. Even after all these years—she hadn’t been back to Houston in eight years—Ginny knew exactly how to gethome. Well, it would no longer be home if her mother really went through with the wedding. Because then Cyrus would move back in and contaminate all the places they’d erased him from once before.
Her plan was to visit with her mother and Cyrus, kidnap Elsa and head back to Wildes right away. But there was no way it would work. However, Ginny had a red eye out of Houston that night and she was going to be on it. As much as she had loved the city and neighborhood growing up, the city hadn’t beenhomein a really long time.
When she finally pulled up in front of her mother’s house, Ginny had to remind herself to breathe properly. She was anxious, angry and scared—all three things combining together to make her feel a little out of sorts. Clenching the steering wheel tightly, she forced her breaths in and out, then got out of the car. The simple home had a brick façade with a driveway and a cobblestone walkway to the front door. The garden was still well maintained and Ginny was sure the backyard would be in the same bright green condition. Memories of being in that house with her mother while she cried and struggled and plotted ways to get Cyrus back plagued her mind. So much so that Ginny didn’t realize she was just standing and staring at the house until the green door swung open and her mother appeared.
“Oh my, what a surprise!” Elsa Thomas said, rushing down towards her. Ginny smoothed down her black dress and adjusted her denim jacket as she met her mother halfway in a hug. “It’s so good to see you, ponne. I wasn’t expecting you until next week.”
Ginny squeezed her mother and pulled back as she said, “I’m not here to celebrate, Amma.” She stepped out of the embrace and watched the joy fall from her mother’s face. In her periphery, she saw a tall figure step into the doorway of the house and Ginny pinched her eyes shut to block him out.
“Nonsense, your father will be so happy to see you.” Elsa had put her smile back in place when Ginny opened her eyes, which only made her worry more. She looked at her mother properly, the gray streaks were more prominent in her hair and the lines around her dull eyes were deeper. Even though she was being joyful and excited, it didn’t feel real or authentic. “Come on, I hope you’re staying for lunch.”
Ginny watched her mother go, her eyes shifting to the man in the doorway and sucked in a sharp breath. Once upon a time, Cyrus Thomas was her hero. She loved him with every fibre of her being. He was infallible and the kind of man she told her mother she wanted to marry one day. Now, he was the only man she wanted to destroy. Ginny had never had these kinds of violent thoughts before, nobody had ever pissed her off enough for them.
Cyrus was a special kind of man and he deserved to suffer in a special kind of way.
Walking up to the house, Ginny clenched her fists and took a good look at the man she once calledAppa. Even in his early 70s, Cyrus Thomas was formidable. Tall, broad and handsome, he’d always gotten the attention of everyone when they were out. And when he was flanked by his whole family, people stared even more. Ginny could see why women fell for him and his lies, but no matter the good memories she had of the man, she was never going to feel anything positive towards him.
“Oh my…Nia, you’re so beautiful.”
“Don’t you fucking dare,” she said, the words coming out of her before she could even formulate them properly. He might have given her the name years ago, but it belonged to only one person now and that person wasn’t Cyrus. “You lost the privilege of calling me that years ago.”
They’d barely left the entrance foyer of her childhood home and she was ready to leave. Ginny felt stifled and wished she’d never stepped foot inside.
“Virginia! You will show your father some respect.”
“Respect?” Ginny wheeled on her mother, unable to fully comprehend how after all that he’d done to her, Elsa could defend him. “He is no longer my father. The minute he chose to start a family with someone else and leave us all in the dust, he became a sperm donor and nothing more.” Turning her attention to Cyrus, who had a thunderous expression on his face, Ginny said, “And you…you have some nerve coming back and tricking her into thinking you’ve changed.”
“I have changed, sweetheart. I know that what I did to your mot—”
“I’m going to stop you right there,Cyrus.” Ginny held a hand up, still glaring at him. “Youdon’tknow what you did to my mother, how you broke her and then kept finding ways to destroy her. I was the one who stuck around and helped her pick up the pieces. I had to be there for Mom whenyouwere sticking your dick in whatever woman looked your way. You shattered this family and you think that I give a shit that you’ve changed?” She didn’t even pause to see how Cyrus would respond to her ‘foul language’. Turning to her mother, Ginny arched an eyebrow. “You’re the other woman in his latest marriage and you’re okay with that?”
“That marriage was over a long time ago. It’s barely amarriagereally.”
Ginny gaped at her mother, eyes wide and mouth open.Unbelievable.“Jesus, Mom, you’ve become the woman that tears a family apart. You’ve done to that woman what his first affair did to you. And you’re just going to shrug it off casually?”
“Sweetheart, if you could just let me explain.”
“Cyrus, so help me god, I do not give a flying fuck what you have to say.”
He finally reacted, using his height to scare her and dropped his voice to a growl. But Ginny was prepared, because she’d been witness to it when he turned into this version of himself during the divorce. Instead of cowering like her mother did, Ginny crossed her arms over her chest and arched an eyebrow at him.
“I am your father and you will show me the respect I deserve and you will not talk to your mother like she’s a child.”
Ginny laughed loudly, head tipped back before focusing on Cyrus. “You don’t deserve any respect and you will not get any from me. When I was a kid, that kind of performance of your strength and height scared me. I’m not afraid of you anymore. You can’t even respect your marriages and the women who foolishly choose to be with you, so you will not get any respect from me.”
“And mother.” Ginny sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. “I love you, but if you marry him and take him back, we’re done. I will not stand by and watch you fall for his lies again. He’s never going to change and whatever he tells you, there’s a whole family out there somewhere waiting for him to come home.”
“That’s not true,” her mother whispered, reaching for Ginny’s hands. “It’s going to work this time, I promise.”
Ginny blinked furiously, but couldn’t fight back the tears that slid down her cheek. “I know you waited for him for so long, but this is ridiculous. Do whatever you want, take him back, marry him, believe him…but I won’t be a part of it. And when it all falls apart again, I won’t be there to put you back together again.”
“Virginia…”
“Nope,” Ginny whispered, wiping away her tears. She glanced at Cyrus once more and saw rage in his eyes. She shook her head at him. “You are a sad excuse for a man and a terrible father. She deserves better than you, but she’s still picking you. When you hurt her again and you break her heart, I will find you and Iwillkill you.”
Before either of them could say anything else, Ginny stormed out of the house, heart breaking and tears streaming down her face. She climbed into her rental as her mother rushed out, but before she could reach the car, Ginny was pulling away. When the tears started to blur her vision, Ginny pulled over on the side of the road and let herself weep, every part of her cracking into tiny little pieces.
