“And what’s that?” Idemanded.
Richie cast a glance through the door, down the hallway where Aiden had disappeared. He smiled slowly, a cruel smile that made me feel cold straight into the marrow of mybones.
“Let’s be real Becky…I want nothing to do with the kid. I have zero interest in being a dad, but when I found out you hooked yourself a millionaire country singer, well. Let’s just say an opportunity arose that I couldn’tresist.”
“What opportunity?” I asked through myteeth.
“I need money, and if I don’t get it…I will make your life a livinghell.”
“Howmuch?”
“Fifty-thousand should be more than enough,” he answered, smiling at me with yellowedteeth.
“You’re out of your mind,” I seethed. “I don’t have that kind ofmoney.”
“But your boyfriend does,” Richie pointed out. “You have one week to decide. Either I get my money, or I get the kid.” Finished with his threats, he turned and began to walk down the driveway to the sidewalk to a gold Sunfire parked against the curb in front of myhouse.
Something in me snapped. I grabbed the wooden baseball bat from the front hall closet and chased after him. He heard me coming and turned, a look of pure amusement on his face that only served to fuel myanger.
“You are a vile piece of shit, Richie Anderson, and I’m not afraid of you anymore. You’re not going to getanythingfrom me, and I swear to god if you come sniffing around hereagain—“
“You’ll what?” he laughed. “Hit me with the bat? I’m so scared Becky, so scared.” He stepped toward me, and I pushed the end of the bat against his Adams apple, a venomous look in my eyes. I didn’t care that we were on the sidewalk in front of my house, that my neighbours could potentially see this dramaunfolding.
“You should be,” I promised him, my eyes narrowed. “I’m not the timid girl I was back then, Richie. I’m not going to let you walk all over me, I’m not afraid of youanymore.”
“Maybe you should be,” he said, pressing his throat against the bat. His eyes were wild, almost deranged. When he laughed, my blood ran cold in my veins, but I held my ground…pushing the bat a little harder against his Adam’sapple.
The sound of a diesel engine pulling onto my road had us both looking toward the end of street. Richie made a run for his car when Travis’s truck pulled into the driveway. I stared at the licence plate, repeating the seven letters and numbers over and over in my head until I knew it was embedded in mymemory.
I closed my eyes for a moment, my heart still pounding with adrenaline. I could hear Travis’s truck doorshut.
“Who was that Becky?” he asked from behind me. I turned to face him, trying to slow my breathing. Travis had never met him before, as he’d already been long gone pursuing his music when Richie moved to town. But the horrified expression on my sheet white face was an answerenough.
“Richie,” I muttered, watching as Travis’s eyes darkened at the mention of his name. He put his hands on the side of my arms, holdingme.
“Are you okay? What did he say? What did he do?” he demanded, assessing me fordamage.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m calling the police.” I pulled away from his embrace, my eyes stinging with tears, and stopped when I caught sight of Aiden as he stood on the front porch, eyes wide with fear. I had no idea how much of the last several minutes he saw, but the need to comfort and protect him propelled meforward.
“Mom?” he asked, his voice tiny and unsure as I stopped beforehim.
I dropped the bat as I sank to my knees to take him in my arms. “It’s okay,Aiden.”
“Who was that? Why did you send me to my room? Why were you chasing that man with a bat?” Aiden asked, his questions coming out in rapid firesuccession.
I’d imagined this horrible scenario a thousand times before, in a thousand different ways. I’d hoped that he would leave us alone, but I should have known that he’d beback.
“It was a bad person,” I choked out, my voice raw. I couldn’t tell him the whole truth, not yet anyway. “But, he’s gone now. I’m going to have to report it to the police though, to keep other people safe. Why don’t you go playXbox?”
“Okay,” he said, his voice lacking its usual enthusiasm when I told him he couldplay.
I squeezed his shoulder gently before returning to the kitchen for my phone. I dialed 911 and waited, each dial tone like an electric shock to mysystem.
“Hi, yes. My abusive ex just showed up at my residence and madethreats.”
Miraculously, I managed to relay the information without falling completely apart, keeping my voice as low as possible to avoid alarmingAiden.
Travis had brought him into the living room and I’d heard him tell Aiden that everything was going to be okay and not to worry about it. He put on a video game to distracthim.
