Mama flinched and as she stared into her eyes, Lora’s softened to match. Sighing, Lora lowered her gaze to the magazine instead.
“He never got farther than groping and grabbing,” she went on. “Q was there to stop it every time—he refused to leave me there alone for long with Buck around—but you know how Buck was. When Q interfered, he got frustrated and took his anger out on him, pissed that he couldn’t touch me and get away with it like he wanted.”
I looked down.
“Lora,” Mom whimpered, reaching for her hand. “I promise I’m not like that anymore and I will not let it happen again. I want to do better, not only for myself, but for my kids too. I love you both so, so much and I know I haven’t been the best mother but…” Her voice shook, thick with emotion. “But I want to try to be the best I can be now.”
“Then prove it,” Lora snapped, pulling her hand away. “When you get out of here, prove to us that you’ve left all of that shit behind, including Buck. Don’t call him, don’t write him anymore stupid fucking letters—hell, don’t even think about him. He’s no good for you. He’s never been any good for you or any of us and you know it.”
Mom bobbed her head eagerly. “I can do that. I promise. Just—just give me a chance to start fresh so I can be there for you both. Something stable is normally required for when I check out of the clinic.”
“Yes, and you’ll have that and more,” I assured her. “But we mean this, Mama.” I reached across the table, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. “You can’t talk to him anymore. No more letters. When you get out, I’ll move you two to a safe location where he’ll never find you. You’ll have a nice place with a big kitchen you can bake in and a big, comfortable bed to sleep in. You’ll get whatever you want…just promise to actually try for us. Just this once. Okay?”
She shut her eyes for a brief moment and nodded. “I can do that,” she murmured, eyes peeling open to focus on me. “I will do better. I promise.”
“Good.”
“What will you do about the company?” she asked. “I’m sure he knows where the building is. He can walk right in there.”
“Yeah, I know he knows. That’s why I’ll amp up the security and have his face plastered all over the place so everyone knows not to trust him or let him in. He won’t set foot into my building or anywhere near my house without my knowledge. I’ll contact my attorney and have a restraining order filed for all three of us as well. We all know he won’t give a damn about the order or causing a scene so if I see him anywhere, I’ll handle him myself. He doesn’t scare me.” My jaw clenched. “Not anymore.”
They both nodded, and when Mama smiled and Lora took her hand and squeezed it too, I had hope we would be on the same accord again.
Together, we could be unstoppable. We could do anything. But first, we had to set ourselves free.
Free of the past. Free of the drugs. Free of everything that held us back.
We had to do what was right for our family to thrive, and that was making sure Buck never fucked with us again.
Chapter Seventeen
KANDY
Three days sluggishly went by and not a text or call from Cane. Not that I was expecting him to call me again anytime soon, and it wasn’t like the phone didn’t work both ways, but, I was hopeful, proceeding with giving him the benefit of the doubt.
He’s busy, I reminded myself.
Somehow, in my fucked up head, I thought that taking a walk on the trail would be my good luck charm. Maybe he’d call me while I was walking it, interrupt me with a shock like last time.
I walked the trail, much longer this time than last.
Not one call.
Not one text.
Seriously, what was I hoping for?
Before I knew it, the trail had ended and I was greeted with a different part of the school campus. The grass was manicured and smelled sweet. Brick pavements and cement sidewalks led to every which way, tall buildings built so high I had to pick my head up to take it all in, even from my lengthy distance away.
The bass of music caught my attention and I turned my head to find the noise. There was a parking lot less than a yard away. Several cars were there, as well as a group of young people. Some of the guys were shirtless, the girls in belly shirts, really short shorts, or both. Some of them had blankets spread out on the grass nearby, bathing in the sun.