A Pound of Flesh (A Pound of Flesh #1)(96)

“I need to get out of here,” she muttered, bursting into the room and grabbing at her bag, throwing in her toiletries and clothes from the day before. Hoisting it over her shoulder, she turned and almost fell over her mother standing in the doorway.

“Where are you going?” Eva eyed the bag and the white-knuckle grip Kat had on it.

“I’m sorry, but I need … I need to get out of here, Mom,” Kat answered, avoiding the gaze she knew would make her feel tiny and shitty all at the same time. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Eva spluttered. “You’re not going anywhere. You will stand there and explain to me just what the hell has been going on!”

But Kat knew she couldn’t, wouldn’t explain. She couldn’t be around people, much less the people who refused to understand—people who lied to her and treated her as if she were stupid. There was too much to process, too many questions with no answers. She needed to be alone.

“I can’t, Mom. I have to go … just for tonight.” It was a lie. Kat knew it as soon as the words left her mouth. Her plan was to get into a car and not stop until the gas ran out.

“I won’t allow it, Katherine. You will put that bag down, pull yourself together, and apologize to Beth. How dare you behave this way.”

Kat barked a sardonic laugh. “Apologize? Me? I have nothing to apologize for!”

“Enough! From what I’ve heard tonight,” Eva said in a low voice, “there are plenty of things you need to apologize for.” Her eyes widened with disbelief. “My God, Katherine, what the hell were you thinking? He’s dangerous.”

Kat gripped her temples. “Oh my God!”

“He’s just like those creatures that killed your father: evil, heartless. Is that who you want to be with? Do you understand how much you’re hurting me? How much you’d hurt your father if he were here?”

Kat’s breath caught hard. She stared hopelessly at her mother. Her eyes began to sting with furious tears. “I’m sorry I’ve let you down.” She moved around her, holding in her sobs. “I need to get out of here.”

Eva grabbed her arm. “You are not leaving. You are here for your father!”

That lit the fuse. “I know why I’m here, Mom,” Kat shrieked. “I was there the night those creatures f*cking killed him, remember?”

The shock of the slap to the left side of Kat’s face stung much more than the slap itself. Her mother had never struck her before, but, deep down, underneath all the confused anger swallowing her soul, Kat knew she deserved it. She registered a gasp from her mother but didn’t stay around to hear what she had to say. She yanked her arm from Eva’s grasp, exploded out of the room, past Adam and Beth, and bolted down the stairs.

Ben was at the bottom, utterly perplexed. “What the hell’s going on?” He followed her to the cloakroom.

“Can I have the keys to your car?” Kat stuttered, grabbing her coat. She could hear the voices of her mother and Beth getting louder as they came down the stairs after her.

Ben shook his head. “It’s a rental. I can’t.” He rubbed her biceps. “Just stay and talk this out.”

A small, pale hand appeared over her shoulder, holding a set of car keys. “Take mine, darling,” Nana Boo said. Kat turned to her in surprise. “It’ll be an excuse for you to come back.”

“Nana,” Kat whimpered, taking the keys. “I’m so, so sorry. I can’t expla— Oh God. I just, I need to—”

“I know,” her grandmother interrupted with a small smile of understanding, and cupped the side of Kat’s face. She stroked her cheek with the flat of her thumb. “Go. I’ll look after your mother.”