“What he did was wrong.” I feel so frustrated by the injustice of it all. Whether or not she willingly took the drugs he knew they were laced with a near fatal dose of fentanyl. He had every intention on harming her.
“And maybe I deserved it,” she says. I want to argue with her. Even open my mouth to disagree but she silences me with a single look. “Don’t be all sweet with me, Grace. You’re wasting that sweetness on me and we both know it.”
“You have to tell them,” I persist.
“I tell them and they’ll laugh at my face. They aren’t like you, Grace. They won’t give the junkie the benefit of the doubt. But I’m telling you because I know you’ll tell that man of yours about it, and I know he’ll eradicate the problem.”
If it wasn’t for The FBI breathing down his neck these past couple of months I know it would’ve already been done.
Steven sealed his fate when he made lewd comments about my body in front of Oak at the house.
Truthfully, Steven’s fate was sealed the moment I told Oak how he had me under his thumb.
All Steven is doing is living on borrowed time. And maybe he knows that. Maybe that’s why he chose to be so reckless with his actions.
“I filed a lawsuit against him.” I’m surprised I’m even telling her this but I feel as if she should know.
“How did he respond to that?”
“I haven’t seen him since the hearing.”
“Be careful, sweetie. Threaten power from men like him and they become desperate.”
“I’m not afraid of him anymore. He can’t do anything to me now.”
Her trembling finger points at me. “That’s where you’re wrong. You backed that man in a corner. I’m sure that lawsuit of yours had him let go and you’ve denied his advances. He has nothing now, Grace. Always fear a man who has nothing. He doesn’t have anything to lose.”
“You think-”
She barks out a laugh. “You believe in the best of people, Grace. And while that’s admirable it’s also going to be your end. If you don’t think Steven has a plan to get to you I want the drugs you’re taking.”
Fuck.
She’s right.
Because of the lawsuit I filed against Steven his job had let him go the second it came to their attention. Sexual harassment, coercion, and endangerment doesn’t look good on anyone’s name. And social services certainty didn’t want to have someone with those allegations in their employment. It would look too fucking bad on them if they kept him.
Not only did he lose his job he also lost his leverage with me. He has absolutely nothing to threaten me with. Nothing to hold over my head and bend to his will. He has no power over me.
And he doesn’t have me.
I never gave into him. He never had a piece of me. The man was starving for it and I never gave him as much as a nibble. And then when Oak came in the picture, claiming me as his to Steven’s face, he knew he would never be able to take a bite out of me.
He’s a man who has nothing because of me.
Of course he’s going to want to retaliate.
I can’t believe I hadn’t even thought of it.
“Time is up,” I hear Snake announce as he opens the door to my mom’s room.
Connor comes running towards me, stopping just short of colliding into me. He holds out his arms, bracing his hands on my forearms as his eyes carefully study my face.
And he must see something he doesn’t like because he turns to our mom with a hard face and steel eyes. “What did you say to her?” He demands and mom looks taken aback.
“Connor, everything is-” I try to intervene.
“Is not okay,” he says with bite in his tone. I know it’s not towards me, rather towards her. The only time Connor gets heated is when mom is brought up. He’s never lashed out at her because of me but it seems as if he’s had enough. “Why can’t you do us a favor and just leave us alone?”
