Charles moans, brushing his face as it twists. “This is my house.”
“If you step back over that door when Nia is inside, I’ll kill you.” My mother gasps, but I ignore his grunts of pain as I address her, desperation and fury lacing my words. “If you choose him, Nia is coming with me now, and you’ve lost three kids. Choose Nia. Hell, chooseyourself. He’s an abusive piece of shit.”
“Theo.” Nia’s hand brushes my back. “It’s okay—,”
“No.” Twisting, I point at her. “No, it’s fucking not. You don’t ever think this is okay, Nee. Nobody ever lays a fucking hand on you. You hear me?”
She glances at my mom uncertainly, and it hits me.
She doesn’t think my mom will choose her.
And that feels like a knife sliding between my ribs. “This is your chance to prove that you could still be the mom I thought you were.”
My mother flinches. She looks at Charles for a long moment, and my heart flips.
But then she steps back. Turns her back.
I pull in a long breath as she walks over to Nia, her voice unsteady. “Go on inside, Nia. We’re going to sort this out.”
“Get his wallet, Nee.” I glance down. “And his keys.”
She comes running back out, handing them to me. Hooking my arm around her shoulders, I tug her close, pressing my lips to her hair. “I’m glad you called me.”
“I’m sorry.” She lets out a muffled sob. “You have so much going on.”
“Never too much. Not for you, okay? Call any of us, Nee. Especially now. He’s not coming back in.”
“Okay,” she whispers. I watch as she walks back in, her head bowed.
She doesn’t look back. My father rolls to his knees, spitting blood. “My fucking house—,”
I yank off the key to the house before throwing the set at him. “Not anymore. We’ll work out the legal side, but you go to a hotel. Rent a place. Anywhere else but here. If you try to get in, I meant what I said.”
He wipes the back of his hand over his mouth. “May? I don’t even have any clothes.”
My mother doesn’t look at him. “Use the bag you think I don’t know about in the boot of your car for now.”
I pull one of his many bank cards free, handing it to my mom. “You keep access to that card open for them.”
And I nod at my mom. “Go inside now. Lock the doors. You get Nia to call if he tries to come back.”
Slowly, she turns. Her eyes fall. “Theo, I…,”
“No.” My voice is tight. “This is not a magic fix. This is about keeping Nia safe. You need to do better.”
My mother stares at me. I wonder what she sees. Finally, she nods.
“May,” my father snaps. But my mom doesn’t look back as she walks up the steps, closing the door behind her.
I move in between, blocking his view. “On your way, Charles.”
He spits again. “She won’t throw me out.”
“She just did.” And if she takes him back, I won’t step in a second time. I’ll take Nia and she can live with her own choices. “I won’t ask again.”
My father sneers. “You’re no son of mine. They ruined you, that pack.”
Thank fuck for that.“I wouldn’t say another word about my pack, or my mate. You have no leverage over me anymore.”
