Never a good sign.
She isn’t shouting yet, which somehow feels worse. Her whole body is rigid, a live wire barely holding itself together, one hand braced on the door while the other grips her tablet hard enough to crack the damn thing.
“This,” she says, voice tight as piano wire, “is Kiki?”
My gaze drops to the screen, and a low groan escapes me.
Shit.
Another article about Drake. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, with the upcoming trial, but I will never understand why they insist on pulling Kiki into the fucking mix every single time. It’s never enough to report on the monster himself. No, they always have to drag her through the dirt, too, usually with some old photo of her looking like hell, head bowed, sunglasses on, trying to get past a mob of reporters while the whole world acts like she’s the one on trial.
And here we are again.
Deirdre barks out a short, humorless laugh. “I’m sitting there drinking my coffee, reading the news, and Theo walks by, points at the screen, and says, ‘Look, Mom. It’s Miss Kiki.’”
“These are old photos,” I say evenly. “They were taken months ago.”
“I don’t give a crap when they took the damn photos,” Deirdre snaps, cutting me off. “This is the woman you’re dating? The woman who was married to that piece of shit?”
Of course Theo picks this exact moment to poke his head into the room, interjecting himself into the conversation. “Mom? Is everything okay?”
Deirdre doesn’t even look at him, just points toward the other room. “It’s fine. Go wait in there.”
I scrub a hand over my face, a headache beginning to pound behind my eyes. “Deirdre, please calm down.”
“Calm down?” She steps closer until we’re damn near nose to nose. “Do you know what this man is accused of?”
“Yes,” I manage, swallowing down the anger rising in my throat. “Everyone does. But Kiki was never charged with anything. She was cleared of any connection to what he did.”
“Oh, bullshit.” She spits the words like bullets. “She was married to a man who trafficked young girls, and you think she knew nothing?”
I lower my voice, barely restraining my temper as Deirdre tears into my girlfriend. “He’s a monster, and Kiki will tell you that herself.”
“Oh no, Kiki will not tell meanything.” Her eyes flash. “There is absolutely no way I’m going within a hundred yards of that fucking woman, and I’m not letting my son anywhere near her either.”
I lift both hands, desperate to stop this from going completely off the rails. “Deirdre, Kiki is a good person.Please do not base your opinion on how the media spins shit.”
But Deirdre is in no mood to hear my side, or any side.
She crosses her arms, her lips twisting with rage. “She must have a very talented pussy, because the Eddie I know would never put his son in harm’s way like this. And I swear to God, if she’s got you that damn turned around, I’ll make certain you don’t get the chance to put him in harm’s way again.”
Just like that, she goes too far.
I step in close, jabbing a finger toward the floor between us. “I would never,everput Theo in any kind of danger, and you know that. I love that kid more than anything on the face of this fucking planet. I would die for him in a heartbeat. So do not stand there and act like I would ever be careless with our son. Not foranyone.”
She opens her mouth with a retort, but I cut her off. I’m too pissed to stop now.
“If I thought for one second Kiki was bad for Theo, this would have ended before it ever started. Trust me on that. But she’s good to him. She helped him with his reading when he was having trouble. Sat with him while he sounded out words, never once rushed him. She loves him, and he loves her. All I’m asking is for you to meet her before you pass judgment. She has had enough of that bullshit to last a lifetime.”
Deirdre rolls her eyes. “So what? I should pity the bitch?”
Nothing like hitting a complete stranger with a barrage of names. Poor Kiki. I see even more clearly now the hate tossed her way on the daily.
And more than ever, I’m determined to shield her from the onslaught.
“You really want to go there?” I smack the doorframe, because yeah, we’re getting into it. “Fine. Let’s talk about people being judged by the company they kept.”
Deirdre’s glare cuts through me, because she knows the first stop on this conversation train. Her darling baby brother, also known as the bane of her fucking existence. “Don’t,” she snaps.
