I tried to swallow the golf ball that lodged in my throat unsuccessfully and nodded. I’d do anything for those kids, for Violet, and she knew it.
“But there is something else I have to tell you. Thomas came by the other day.”
My mouth dropped open. “What?”
My pulse throbbed in my ears at the mention of his name.Who the fuck did he think he was? How dare he show his face around my sister again.
“Yeah, I know.”
“What did he want? Did you tell him to fuck off?”
Violet raised an eyebrow. She was my sister, after all. And one thing we were good at was giving twice as hard as we weregiven. “Come on, Damien. Who are you talking to? But he saw me and found out I was sick again. So, he started asking about the kids, saying how he deserved to be in their lives and blah blah blah.” Her bottom lips trembled as she looked at me through the phone. “You know what he did to me. You can’t let him get his hands on my sweet, innocent kids.”
I remembered with absolute clarity what he’d done to Vi and Grant. The wreckage he left behind after he ran. Sometimes, I could still see the blood on the ground, hear the sound of Grants muffled cries.
That was the night May was born, after all.
Thomas was lucky he’d made himself scarce after that. I wasn’t particularly violent, despite my constant joking with Cay about beating people up. I believed there was always a way to solve a disagreement without force, and everyone could walk away for the better.
But Thomas was the one person, if given the chance, I’d like to give a taste of his own medicine.
“I won’t let him touch a single hair on their heads, Vi. You have my word.”
She slumped back, her face visibly released all the strain it held moments ago. “Thank you. Thank you, Damien.”
“Vi, I need to ask. If you’re going through all this… is it that bad?”
She licked her lips, avoiding my gaze as she spoke. “Yeah, I think so. This might be it, Rascal. It isn’t looking good for me. My body isn’t holding up as well as it did through the last round of treatment, and I’m tired. So tired. Sometimes I feel like it’s too much even to open my eyes.”
I clenched the fist that sat in my lap, squeezing it so hard that I was sure I was going to leave little bruises on my palm. But it was the only thing I could do to keep my composure.The pain in my palm distracted me from the pain in my chest.
I wasn’t ready to handle this. But I would. For her.
I swallowed roughly. “Whatever you need, Vi. Anything.”
“Next time you’re home, I have some stuff for you to sign. Do you think it will be soon? I don’t want to, you know,diebefore then. I hope to have all my affairs in order before I meet my maker.”
“Death jokes. Funny. Except they aren’t. And yeah, I’ll be home soon. Really soon.”
As fast as humanly possible.
Violet let her eyes flutter closed, as she did her best to smile. “Good. I really do miss you.”
“I miss you guys, too. Now, get some rest. Call me if anything happens.”
“Okay. I will. Love you, Rascal.”
“Love you.”
As I hung up, acid burned in the back of my throat as I tried to blink away the tears that glazed my eyes. I stood again, abruptly and clumsily this time, drawing unwanted attention from my bandmates.
They heard none of what Violet said because of my headphones, but I wished they had so I wouldn’t have to explain why we needed to cancel the next show and all the ones in the foreseeable future. Or how I needed to get on a last-minute flight to Detroit out of Las Vegas.
Before I’d be able to say anything, though, I had to get myself under control. To calm the storm that raged inside, or I’d be a blubbering mess in no less than three seconds flat.
Their gazes settled on me. They wanted to ask. If they’d paid attention to the words I’d said, they must realize what just happened.
I walked back to my bunk and laid down. Letting my eyes shut briefly, I allowed my tears to silentlyescape down my cheeks.
