“Tomorrow evening.” I don’t know if we’ll execute the plan tomorrow, but we’ll be making one after visiting the club.
“I have this fucking feeling she’s dead.” He scrunches his face, shaking his head.
“Leo…” I dump the Chinese food on the coffee table and grasp his shoulders, trying to anchor him so he doesn’t spiral, “she’s fine. Soon, you’ll be off living life together. Breathe.”
Taking a couple deep breaths, he jerks his head. “Yeah, you’re right.” Sniffing me, he asks, “Why do you smell like smoke?”
I lift my shirt to my nose, shrugging. “Not important.”
Finally bringing his eyes to mine, he holds me there for a few seconds before blinking. “Okay. I’m going to go lay down.”
“Good. I’ll be right here.” I point to the couch I’m not looking forward to crashing on.
“Okay.” He disappears up the stairs. Despite this place having three bedrooms, I’ll never step foot on that staircase. I know Leo left it all untouched.
A picture of the past.
A museum.
Memories assault me. Hearing my mother cry. The sound of my dad kicking the shit out of her. The wait for the bedroom handle to drop when he needed someone else to beat.
Leo getting out of here will do him a world of good. The moment he takes off with Kelly, I’ll burn this place to the ground too.
Toeing off my boots, I throw my ass onto the couch and turn the volume up on the TV, re-runs of an old show flicking on the screen. Lily fills my head. Her story is so fucking dark, yet she came out on the other side, damaged but teeming with this life force I want to wrap myself in it.
The floorboard whines and creaks above my head as Leo paces his bedroom floor. It’s going to be a long night. Punching the sofa cushion, I put my head down and close my eyes for a second.
“Why did you do it!” Mom screams. Blood coats her hands. Her face distorts. She’s coming closer.
“Why did you put her out there?” Her voice is now a whisper. “Why?”
I jolt awake, my hands thrown up in defense. A shadow lingers over me. Startled, I scurry backward.
“Mom?” I croak, my voice still strained from sleep.
“Why did you do it?” the figure asks. I rub my eyes. Nope, still fucking there. Jumping to my feet, I stumble away from the thin, straggly-haired woman with my mother’s face.
“I don’t want to see her,” she cries.
“Leo,” I call up the stairs, my skin crawling. “Leo!” I bark.
Movement sounds, and he appears at the top of the stairs, stark naked, holding a gun. “What’s wrong?”
“Mom’s here.” A chill blows in from the wide-open front door, carrying leaves in with it.
Thudding down the stairs, Leo frowns, shaking his head at me. “Did you say Mom?” Following my stare, he slaps the gun against my chest, dropping it and going over to her.
“Mom, how the hell did you get out of there?” He sits her down and pulls a blanket from the back of a chair, wrapping it around his waist.
“Meadow Fields?” I scratch the back of my neck pinching there to make sure I’m not asleep.
“I’ve been detoxing her here.”
Leo confesses and my brain explodes. “What the fuck, Leo?”
“No. I’m not going back there, I see her.” Her words gain in pitch, and she pushes Leo away. We haven’t seen each other in almost two years. By the looks of her, you’d think it’s been twenty. Her hair is gray. Stress lines cut into her features. There’s a tooth missing in the front row of her mouth. She’s a mess.
“She needs real doctors. Look at her.” I scoff.