Page 58 of At The End Of The Day

It was the mental glitches he planted in her psyche to groom her to be his that had me concerned. Would she be able to work those out of her thoughts and think normally where he was concerned, or would she always be in denial about him preying on her at her most vulnerable time in life?

A finger hooked, I tucked it under her chin to force eye contact. “Hey. We were, Tiny. I know you loved him. Hell, I did, too. But something wasn’t right up in here,” I offered quietly, tapping my temple. “None of us was safe. Christ, the kids wasn’t safe. We did what we had to to survive, don’t you ever forget that, hear?”

Pulling a long, ragged breath through her nose, she held it, her chest puffed out. Her throat constricting a few times, unshed tears welled in her eyes, the tip of her nose turning shiny and red.

A soft knock on the door interrupted us, thankfully, because I was not mentally or physically prepared for her to break down right now. When I was out of this hospital, maybe. Maybe not. Hearing that woman cry was one of my vices, sharp talons clawed at my flesh every time. Thankfully, she was a bad ass woman, and crying was a rarity for her.

“Mrs. Bianchi?”

She cleared her throat and sat up straight, tucking hair behind her ears. “Hm?”

“Ready?”

Suddenly, her entire demeanor changed, and she practically beamed ear to ear, the tears fading. Turning to face me, I grew very suspicious, my attention bouncing back and forth between her and the nurse.

“What’s going on?”

She rose to her feet and scooted the chair to the corner, the nurse pushing the door all the way open and locking it in place. She slid her hand into mine once more and patted the back. “I have a surprise for you.”

“Yeah? What?” Well, goddamn, I could use a surprise. Anything to lighten this dismal weight on my chest.

A male nurse was walking backwards into the room, tugging another hospital bed with him. When he pulled it to the side to round the foot of my bed, my jaw fell and the excitement fizzled. Tyler was lying in it, groaning as he slowly pulled out of what appeared to be a drug induced sleep.

“What the…”

“Since you and him are such good friends now,” she teased, hiding a mischief smile behind a fist. “I asked them to put you two in the same room together. No sense in paying for two rooms and being bunked with strangers. At least this way, we only get charged for one, and your roommate is someone you like.”

“It’s bitch!” I argued, swinging my arm just to cry out when the I.V. pinched.

She was smiling ear to ear, her hips swaying back and forth.

Tyler’s features scrunched and he groaned, his eyelids squinting to peek around. “What the…” His head lifted off the pillow, saw me, and his expression fell, his sight darting to her. “This is where you moved me to, Letta?”

With another mischief giggle, she bit down on her bottom lip, a blush rising to her cheeks.

“Oh, hell, no,” he shouted, trying to sit up. His face contorted in pain and an arm folded around his chest, causing him to fall back to the mattress, hissing through gritted teeth. “Put me back,” he croaked, his tone husky with anguish.

“Sir, we’ve already promised that room to another patient.”

“Then put me in the fucking hall.”

“Sir, there’s no need for that language.”

“Letta, do something. Don’t let them put me here.”

“Save your breath, bitch. She asked for this.”

He did a doubletake, gripping the raised railings. “Why would you do that? Uh uh. I want somewhere else. Anywhere.”

Sinking back to the chair and crossing her arms, she fell quiet while me and Tyler bickered back and forth. Every now and then she would giggle, which would encourage me to argue more. After a few minutes, Tyler picked up on things and egged on the playful banter, as well, just to keep hearing that adorable little snort giggle.

In my heart, it was a sign that one day she would be okay. Jackyl wasn’t going to destroy us as he wanted. We were going to be okay, we would survive his wrath. Hopefully, with time, even little Eddie and Edwina would learn to forget their biological father and see the bitch as their dad. As much as I hated to admit it, he would be a hell of a lot better parental figure than Jackyl ever could.

He would never hurt them or their mother. He would never threatened them, put them in a state of fear where they had to worry about their safety. They would be worshipped and taken care of, far away from any memories their father left behind.

The more Violetta giggled at me and Tyler faking our animosity toward one another, the more my broken soul healed. We would all move on and put Eduardo Jackson “Jackyl” Bianchi far, far in the past.

Chapter 24