I often wonder if my circumstances were different, would I have been like that? I don’t know hers well enough to judge her, but that doesn’t mean I want her around my son if she can be ruled as easily as that.
“Give your mother a kiss and go to bed.”
Jerome is sitting next to me at the table. When I look down at Scott’s phone on the kitchen table between us, I see his screen saver is a picture of me lying on the bed.
“Do you like it?” he asks, noticing I’ve seen it. “I sent it to your side piece. What do you think he will think of another man sending him a photo of you?”
Magina stands, and I feel her looking between us.
“Take him to his room and leave,” I tell her.
She nods, and Jerome kisses me before he goes to his room. He's none the wiser, and I’m as thankful for that as I am terrified.
“It’s good to be alone again, isn’t it, sweetheart?”
No, no, it’s not.But I don’t want my son here either.
“You made this situation worse than it needed to be,” he says. Reaching for the wine he poured himself, he also takes a lot of pain medication.
“You did that all on your own,” I inform him.
“How about you have a glass of wine with me?” He gets up, goes to my cupboard like he owns the place, and pours me a generous glass. I hear the door close and see Magina walking out of Jerome’s room. “Sit. You can have one too,” Scott tells her. She sits beside me, and Scott walks back with two glasses of wine, handing one to each of us before he sits back down.
“Why did you choose this shithole anyway?” He looks around with disdain before his eyes fall on me. “You were brought up better than this. This place is…” he pauses, and I couldn’t give a shit how he’s going to finish that sentence, “… beneath you.”
“Is Bianca okay?” I ask.
“The mother?”
I nod, my fingers tightening on my glass.
“She’ll live.”
“I can’t say the same for you,” I say under my breath. He hears me and chuckles as he looks to Magina, who hasn’t touched her wine.
“Drink.” She does, and he looks at me. “Drink.”
“I’m not in the mood.”
“Drink!” He growls before he slams his hands on the table. I lift the glass, not wanting him to wake Jerome. “Was that so hard?” I say nothing. “The old bat, though, she is a tough cookie. I guess you have to be, raising boys. It’s why I knew you would be a good mother to our son… you’re also a tough cookie.” I take another sip of the wine as he talks. Magina does the same.
He studies us closely. “You two are so different. You would be perfect if you listened like Magina does. Is it really that hard for you to listen?”
“I am not your dog, so yes, it is.”
“Even an animal needs to be put in line, correct?”
“If you say so.”
“I do.” Lifting his wine, he takes a long sip and smiles. “Seems those men work fast.” He glances at his phone. I want to smile because he doesn’t know who he has messed with. “Not that I expected them to take long.” He fixes his gaze on me. “Time to drink up now, sweetheart.” When I don’t, his fist slams against the table again, and I lift the drink and finish it off, placing the empty glass back on the table.
“You trying to loosen me up?” I ask, my tone taunting. “That’s never going to happen around you.”
“No, I just need you passed out so you won’t try to stab me again, sweetheart.” He motions to the wine and nods his head. I stand and start to feel lightheaded.
“You…” I trail off.
“Yes, me. Did you really think he would come here and save you? That I wouldn’t be more clever than him? We’re talking about me here, sweetheart.”