Sheri didn't respond; she just eyed my hands, finding my ring finger empty. She blinked up at me and laughed. "They're probably not even yourkids."
The last piece of my heart detached completely, and in the space it was supposed to beat, there was just some dark, empty hole Sheri made just for me. It had died a slow, drawn out death for four long years as she stripped every last ounce of hope it held until nothing remained insideme.
My wife, the woman I loved so long ago, was gone. Vanished without a trace, swept away in a thick haze of drugs and lies. Sheri was already dead to me; she was a junkie, a whore, and a liar. She was that way for so long, wasn’t she? That’s what she chose. I couldn't force her to get clean or love her children or me. I would never be able to forget the things she said and the things she did. I wasn't sure I had the capacity for forgiveness for someone who could hurt their child without a single ounce of remorse, or any knowledge that what she did and said waswrong.
Sheri smirked and sauntered toward the kitchen. “What about the can of emergencymoney?”
That’s all she was concerned with. I dropped my eyes to the floor, where smears of blood covered the cheap carpet. I felt lightheaded and dizzy. Somehow, there was blood in my nose, on my hands, stained dark and almost black down the front of myshirt.
Addison rushed out from behind me and dove into Sheri’s legs, wrapping her small arms around them in little vise-like grips. Her face was a portrait of pure agony and fear as Sheri tried to push her off, kicking her legs out. Addison held tight, dangling like a ragdoll, and Sheri continued her search for money, dragging Addison across thefloor.
I stepped forward to get my daughter, but the edge of my sight dimmed and pulsed. My body, uncontrollable, collapsed to the floor. Addison's screams grew louder and louder; the scent of blood stronger andstronger.
My heart thudded slow and thick in mychest.
For a moment, I just sat, slumped against the wall, trying to focus on why my limbs weren’t responding to mybrain.
Beyond Addison’s screams, I heard a sound, something crashed, some explosive noise that shattered glass and vibrated through thefloor.
I heard Addison’s voice scream out once more, and then there was nothing but complete and utter silence. My sight darkened, my limbs weakened, and all I could do was scream my daughter’sname.
