“Oh, Mom, stop acting like you don’t know how awful your daughter is.” Mom shuts her mouth, and I pull out my phone. “Here. Look at her texts. I want you to count how many times she called me a whore.”
I shove the phone into my mother’s hand.
Then, I finally face my husband. “And why are you helping her? Cori and Selene told me how she tried to keep you away from me in the hospital.” I arch an eyebrow at him because he should have been the one to give me that information, but he didn’t say a word about it.
“Baby,” he begins, but I talk over him.
“Let me handle this, please.”
He raises both hands and takes a step back.
“Why didn’t you sacrifice yourself? Why did you have to send my husband to confront your gun crazy husband and his nut-job, enabling bitch of a mother, huh?” I poke her again.
All she does is cry, which makes me angry. I want the vile, mean-spirited, and manipulative version of her to show up so I can punch her.
“Why are you being so selfish now by breaking up your family? Why are you taking the easy way out and walking away?”
“Eden, that’s enough,” Mom whispers through her own tears. “Your sister has been in painand—”
“And she thought she was going to take that out on me,” I yell. “Mom, do you know your precious daughter wouldn’t help me the one time I needed her?”
“What are you talking about?” Mom asks.
“Tell them, Sylvie,” I order, but she has her lips pursed tight. “Tell them!” I yell.
“If you yell, I’m going to carry you to the car and take you home,” Rip warns. “No stress,” he reminds me.
“Tell them,” I repeat, softer this time, but she looks away and wipes the snot from under her nose with the back of her hand.
“It was a few years ago, and I was visiting,” I say to my mother. “You and Daddy went out of town the morning I was supposed to leave. When I woke up, I had a flat tire, and I called my sister and brother-in-law for help. He told me I should be able to figure it out since I’m one of those independent types, and then he hung up. I called Sylvie back three times, and she sent me to voicemail.” Just saying that story out loud makes my blood boil all over again. “Cori and her father came and helped me, and you have the fucking balls to go to my husband for help? You’re a damn disgrace.”
“I’m sorry, Eden.” Sylvie cries. “I’m sorry, but I needed help, and I needed my kids back. Levar waited until Dad was gone to do this. He knew—” She stops talking and bites her bottom lip.
She’s probably hoping I’ll interrupt her again, but I don’t. I wait to hear more.
“I had no choice. Levar doesn’t care about the kids. You saw how dirty Micah was. His mother doesn’t care. He treats Eva like dirt and Tim like he’s ashamed of him. He thinks that his using the inhaler shows weakness.” Her tears return.
Mom gets closer to her and wraps her arm around her waist.
“So, the only man who was ever a danger to your kids is the one you laid down and had them with?” When she doesn’t answer, I continue, “What was that act you were putting on?Acting all high and mighty. Obviously, you have no problem using my husband when you need to. What did you call him? A criminal?” I look at my mother when I say that. “But I guess that wasn’t a problem for either one of you today.”
“It’s not easy for me, Eden.” More tears stream down my sister’s face. “You have it so easy with your friends, and you come back to town and have Ripley falling at your feet. I have a husband who treats me and his children like garbage. It’s always been hard for me, and I lashed out at you.”
“Easy for me? You’re going to stand there and say that after I told you all the shit Gavin did to me. You think that was easy?”
“You left. You have a career. You have friends, and you found a man who puts you on a pedestal. Gavin wasn’t easy, but everything else is.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s easy for me not to be a fucking asshole. It’s easy for me not to stick my nose in the air and judge everyone. It’s easy for me not to hide behind some trad wife bullshit and kiss the ass of a man who treats me like dirt. You’re right.”
She weeps on our mother’s shoulder.
“Now, let me tell you something. You told me not to be around your children, and I accepted that, so you accept this. Don’t ever speak to me or my husband again. If you do, it will be the last words you speak.” To show her that I mean it, I shove her shoulder.
“Eden!” Mom yells, but I shove her again, and she stumbles back. “That’s enough.”
“I’m done with her. It’s your turn now, Mom.”
Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t speak.
