Chapter 27
Bishop
The blonde woman walking up the stairs to the office causes me to do a double-take.I haven’t seen her in years.My heart pounds in my chest as I watch her knock on the door and then take a step in.My boots are planted on the concrete of the bay and I try to make my feet move forward.
They’re rooted.Unable to move.
“Who is that?”Caelin asks as he comes to stand next to me.
“My mom,” I whisper, still not sure I can believe the scene taking place in front of me.She’s never been here, not tried to see me once since I left.“What the fuck is she doing here?”
“It might be a good thing for you to ask her.Maybe don’t make assumptions.”
“I’m not making assumptions,” I argue.
“You are.I’ve spent a lot of time with you in the past few months.I can read you now.You’re pretty close to being my best friend, Erickson, and I’ve not seen you back away from anything.Why don’t you go in there and see what she wants?”
It would be so easy for me to ignore it, to pretend like she isn’t here and I haven’t seen her.But I stopped running away from shit a long time ago, including my family.
“Not to mention Harley’s in there with her.”
I snort.“Harley can handle her own, no matter who she’s with.I have no fear that she’ll wipe the floor with my mom if she needs to.But I’d rather be there to watch it than hear about it second-hand.”
Quickly, I make my way across the parking lot, picking up speed.There’s a gnawing at my gut.I need to be with Harley, if not to protect her, then to watch the way she handles my mom.
I get to the door and hide in the shadows.It’s propped open slightly and I can hear Harley’s voice.“Can I help you?”
“You’re Harley, right?”
My girl, always so aware of what’s going on around her, lifts her head up, gaze focused on the woman standing in front of her.“Yeah, who are you?”
“Lisa, I’m Bishop’s mom.”
I have to give it to her, Harley doesn’t appear to be surprised.Maybe she knew at some point Mom would be around.That the guilt would get to be too much for her.“Why haven’t you been here before now?He’s your son and you’ve let him handle everything on his own.”
Mom exhales sharply.“I’ve heard that about you, that you’re not willing to give an inch.”
“Not for the man I love and the child I’m carrying,” she answers.“Again, what can I help you with?”
I watch as she steps over to the window and looks out.Her line of sight is barely missing me and, although I should make my presence known, I want to hear what she has to say.I’ve wondered about all these things too.
“He came to see his dad yesterday…” she starts.
“He beat his ass,” Harley finishes for her.“The same way his dad beat his ass his whole life.”
Mom stops and I can see her body tighten.“I don’t expect you to understand what it’s like to live with a man like my husband.”
“I don’t.”Harley’s voice is clipped.“As someone who is about to become a mother, I don’t know how you could’ve allowed your son to be abused the way you did.”
“She didn’t have a choice,” I interrupt, stepping in between the two of them.“She was scared of him, just like I was.Every time she tried to stand up to him, he would push her back down.Literally.”
Mom makes a noise in the back of her throat.“He did,” she agrees.“There were so many times I swore to myself I wouldn’t let him push me again.Every single time I looked up at him from where I would be on the floor, I would tell myself this was it.I would never find myself there again.But there I was, month after month.Still doing the same thing.Not protecting myself and not protecting my child.I can’t make excuses, because there are none.”
“There are,” I interrupt again.“As someone who’s dealt with what he put me through, I can easily say boundaries are important.At least that’s what I’m learning and if your boundary had to be you couldn’t take care of me then so be it.”
Harley gets up from her desk.“That’s not right, Bishop.A mother should put her child first.”
I argue.“A mother should protect herself in order to protect her child.”