Nothing but darkness.No headlights.No movement.The night was calm.
Her stomach twisted.But, somewhere out there, her mom's life was in turmoil.
Was she close by?Had Sonny taken her straight back to his apartment?
The thought of her mother in danger made her queasy.Growing up, she always found her mom strong enough to handle the men in her life.She never worried about her because her mom made it clear that it was her choice to have boyfriends.
It wasn't until she reached her teens that she started to feel sorry for her mom.She wasn't the confident woman she had assumed.She needed men's attention to feel love, and that was sad.
She had no idea what caused her mom to lose the confidence to live her own life and prioritize someone else's needs over her own.Was there ever a time when her mom was loved and happy?
God, just the thought of her mom with Sonny made her sick.
She didn't want anything to do with Cusclan.Not ever again.But her mom...her mom was the one person she couldn't abandon.If Sonny had dragged her back into that life, Lydia would find a way to get her out.She'd help her escape.She'd do whatever it took.
Even if it meant facing Sonny again.
She hugged herself, staring out into the night until her reflection blurred in the glass.
She couldn't sleep.Not with her mind spinning and her heart pounding and fear sitting heavy in her chest.
The anxiety worsened.Whenever she was scared or lonely, the one thing that always calmed her when the world became too big and too loud for her was her photo album.
The old one she kept tucked in her bag.The one filled with strangers' faces and borrowed moments of happiness.The one she'd clung to through every move, every fight, every night she'd hidden in a bathroom waiting for the yelling to stop.
Whenever life got chaotic, those pictures were her escape.Proof that somewhere, there was normalcy.Where families smiled, touched, stayed, and loved.
She closed her eyes, seeing Baddy sleeping, his face relaxed.He made her feel safe.
But safety couldn't erase the past.
And tonight, the past was clawing at her.
She sank down onto the floor beneath the window, pulling her knees to her chest, trying to breathe through the storm inside her.
She needed her album.
She needed something normal to hold onto.
Because right now, everything in her life was spinning out of control, and she didn't know how much more she could take.
One moment, she was curled beneath the window, knees hugged to her chest, staring out into the dark like it might give her answers on how to save her mom.The next, strong arms slid under her, lifting her off the floor as if she weighed nothing.
Lydia inhaled and wiggled closer to the warmth.
Baddy gathered her against his chest, carried her across the room, and settled onto the couch with her tucked securely in his lap.He grabbed the blanket draped over the back, and pulled it around her shoulders before wrapping both arms around her.
Still silent.
Still supportive.
Still there.
And somehow, that meant more than any promise he could've made.
She pressed her forehead to his collarbone, breathing him in."Thank you."
His chest rumbled beneath her cheek."For what?"
