We didn’t exactly take care of Reynolds in the way I wanted to. If anything, we only pissed him off. It was stupid of me to think Ashtyn would be safe at her house. Her mother was barely coherent most of the time. If someone tried to break in, what the fuck could she do to stop it? Throw a bottle of vodka at him?
“Let’s go to Ashtyn’s first,” I said as we got in Axel’s truck.
“I thought Bronx and Gabby were getting her?”
“They are, I just…I want to check on her. She hasn’t texted me back and she didn’t answer when I called her just now. I never should’ve left her alone. Fuck!” I said, slapping the dashboard in front of me.
“Chill, man. We’ll go there now. She’ll be fine. Probably left her phone in her room or something. She had a lot of information to unload on her mom,” Axel said calmly, making me feel marginally better.
I’d relax once I knew Ashtyn was safe. Something in my gut told me she wasn’t.
46
Ashtyn
Headlightsshinedthroughtheliving room window, glowing in the darkness and alerting me to Mom’s arrival. I sat on the worn couch waiting for her, contemplating exactly what to say, preparing to break her heart.
That was a bit dramatic. I didn’t think for a second Mom loved Pete. She loved his money, yes. The status, of course. And I was about to topple all of that to shit, but she had to know what kind of monster she shared a bed with.
Our conversation played over in my head–the one we had when I found her with Pete. She was on his side when it came to me working the back rooms at Aces, but she wouldn’t support himforcingme to do it, would she? No. Especially since Pete threatened to make her do it, sucking random dicks for a few bucks.
“Oh, you’re home,” Mom said with a smile as she walked through the door. She was still maintaining her clean and mostly sober image. I always hoped I’d be enough to make her cut back on the drinking, but the secret to it was a new car and luxurious trips.
“I need to talk to you. It’s important.” I wiped the sweat from my hands on my black leggings.
“What’s going on?” She asked, sitting on the couch next to me, looking concerned.
That was going to take some getting used to. Mom was never concerned about me. I’d miss her being sober. Once I told her everything, she’d go back to drowning her sorrows in the bottom of a pill bottle. And a wine bottle.
I told her everything aboutthat night. How Pete had forced me to go with Reynolds. How he threatened to make her work there if I refused. How he watched as Reynolds hit me, choked me, and tit-fucked me. Her eyes widened in horror and she rubbed my shoulder. I couldn’t remember the last time she touched me in a way that wasn’t violent, and it made my heart hurt to think that it tookthisto make her show me affection.
“I’m so sorry, baby. Pete is…a lot to deal with. But I won’t stand for this. For forcing you to do this. It was one thing to do it on your own, but it’s entirely different when you don’t want to,” Mom said, a tear falling down her cheek.
“What are we going to do?”
“First, I’m going to make you a cup of tea. Then we’re going to brainstorm some ideas. He won’t be easy to get away from, but if I have to call your father to handle things, I will,” Mom said as she got up from the couch and went to the kitchen.
Whoa, calling Dad would be huge for her. Mostly because he abandoned us for his motorcycle club of misfits a few years back, but also because she’s hated him for years. They were the epitome of a toxic marriage.
My phone buzzed with a text.
West: How are things going, princess?
I started to type out a reply when Mom brought two mugs of tea, handing me one and sipping from the other. I shut off the screen on my phone and tossed it onto the cushion beside me. I’d have time to update him at the party.
“Pete’s busy tonight at his club in Castle Grove so I won’t have to worry about him until tomorrow,” Mom said, staring off into space.
“What are you going to do?”
“Whatever I have to do to keep you safe. To keep us safe.” She was going to do it. Mom was going to break up with that slimy jerk. He would be out of our lives and we could get back to normal–well, not our normal, because that fucking sucked. But a new normal for us. One where Mom cared and I didn’t have to use my body to pay the electric bill.
She smiled. “Drink your tea before it gets cold. It wasn’t very hot to begin with. I just microwaved the water for a bit.”
I nodded and took a sip. It was barely warm, which sucked because I liked my tea and coffee piping hot–something that Mom wouldn’t know. I took another sip of the tea, trying to choke it down.
“If all else fails, I’ll just put in a call to your father. I know we haven’t always gotten along, but he would help us if it came down to it. For our safety.”
“I’m glad you’re coming around. I miss him a lot, Mom. I know that things were shit between you two, but I think…I think…” I dropped the mug of tea as my vision blurred. “I don’t feel right, Mom. Some…something’s happening.”