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“Apparently Mom’s recollection of the past and pictures of the recent attack might get things done quicker. But they couldn’t give me a proper timeframe,” Ginny told her siblings, dropping her head to the table.
Stella grunted loudly, in the most un-Stella like way possible. “Are youcertainthat I’m not allowed to stab him with my stiletto?”
“If you allow that, then I want to also be able to set him on fire.” David sounded just as pissed, which was more amusing than anything.
As much as the timing sucked, Ginny was glad that her siblings had shown up. That they were there for Elsa and forher. They definitely got regular phone calls and texts, but all of them knew that Ginny was the favorite. She was the one that got all the love. It’s what happened when you were the youngest. All that mattered was what they’d taken the time to be in Houston.
“How about we all attack different parts of his body, that way something might kill him,” Ginny finally said, drawing wide-eyed stares from her siblings. “What? You’re all thinking it.”
“We’revicious creatures, you’re supposed to be the stable one.”
Snorting, Ginny nodded her thanks at the waiter who brought her a new drink. Once they were out of earshot, she glanced at her siblings. “I gotta know, though…” she trailed off, looking at each of them. “Did you know he was abusing her before?”
David, Stella and Joey looked away guiltily and Ginny closed her eyes as she dragged her cold drink over her forehead.Of coursethey knew about it, but Ginny wanted to give them the benefit of doubt. They might not have known the extent of what Cyrus had done to their mother all those years ago. But, they’d known and never once told her. She’d held him up on this pedestal, where he had no right to be while he hurt and abused her mother.
“Okay,” she said softly, taking a small sip of her whiskey. “I wish you had told me, but I think I know why you didn’t.”
“We saw bruises and Mom hiding behind her hair a lot. But we also saw them being really cute and loving together, it was very confusing.” Joey toyed with her hair—it had once been thick and long, with beautiful curls, now it was short and coiled tight against her scalp. “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you, but what good would it have done? Mom didn’t talk about it, she didn’t want us to worry about it and she kept brushing off any kind of help we offered.”
Stella reached across the table for her hands and smiled sadly. “We really are sorry, Gin. You were so young and it made no sense to drag you into it at that age. But I see now that if we’d told you in the later years, it might have prepared you better for this.”
“I know. At least we can help her now, right? That’s better than nothing.” Squeezing her sister’s hand, Ginny smiled tightly and nodded.
Maybe she wouldn’t have ignored her mother’s calls, maybe she would have been more present and ready for anything her mother had to say. While she could talk about thewhat ifs andmaybes for days, the important thing was that Ginny was now doing everything she could to help and protect her mother. Elsa Thomas might have made some bad choices in the past, but she deserved so much more than an abusive husband and children who ignored her.
It took two whole days for the police to call her mother. The prosecutor and police worked to get an arrest warrant and Cyrus was brought in on multiple charges of domestic abuse. The court appearance was scheduled for the day after that and everyone was in a flap. Ginny knew that they had a tight case, but she was also worried that Cyrus would try to scare her mother. What none of them were prepared for was a strong and steady version of Elsa Thomas. She stared Cyrus in the eyes and answered every question, spoke of multiple incidents and made sure that the judge and everyone present knew what kind of monster her ex-husband was. The judge set a bail amount and sent them home.
Except, the prosecutor called that night and told Elsa that Cyrus was willing to take a plea bargain. The next morning, David went in with their mother to meet with Cyrus and his attorney. When they came back hours later, it was with the knowledge that Cyrus was going away for a few years. Tears and celebratory cocktails followed, after which all five of them slept forhours.
There was a ton of paperwork for her mother to sign and for the prosecutor to file, which didn’t require everyone hanging around. And Elsa made sure that Ginny knew it.
“Go home to that young man, Virginia. David and Joey will help me pack up the house and get me to New York.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind helping.”
Her mother smiled, cupping Ginny’s face in one hand. “You have already done so much, my heart. You helped me get to this point. Go home.”
Blinking back tears, Ginny nodded. “You will call me if you need anything.Anything.”
“Will you be able to answer or will you be too busy?”
“Amma!” Ginny gasped, but her siblings laughed because it was true. Ginnywasalways busy. Tears slid down her cheek and she smiled. “I’ll answer.”
“I know. Now, your flight leaves in a few hours and I don’t want you to miss it.”
“What if I insisted on staying?”
David scoffed from where he was opening boxes. “We were never going to let you stay. Mom’s right, you’ve already done so much.”
Looking around the living room of her childhood home, Ginny smiled at her family and nodded. Stella helped her pack up, then the two of them took a cab to the airport. They boarded their separate flights and as Ginny’s plane left Houston airspace, she released a sigh of relief. All of the shit with Cyrus and the abuse he’d inflicted on her mother was over. He would never hurt her again. In fact, Ginny knew that her mother would never letanyonehurt her ever again.
* * *
Another fours and some time difference later, Ginny had dropped her things off at the house before she went to the shelter. She’d kept Gavin apprised of the case regularly, and outside of one quick phone call to say ‘I love you’, they’d communicated mostly via text. It was quicker and given that Ginny was stressed most of the trip, it was simpler. Since she hadn’t settled on a date to return, she didn’t even tell him when she’d be home. Which was why when she walked into his office, Gavin was so surprised he spilled coffee on himself. He apologized to whoever was on the phone and then came around the desk to hug her.
“I’m so sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,” she mumbled against his neck as he tightened his arms around her.
“Fuck that. Hi. You’re back.” Gavin kissed her lips softly and pulled back to smile at her. “Everything go okay?”
