Redeemed (Dirty Air #4)(71)
Me: Oh no. Did she say what she wanted?
Brooke: Hello to you too, Ms. I’m Too Famous for My Best Friend Now.
Brooke: And no. She kept it very discreet but she said she would be in touch with you. I got straight up shivers after she said that. Mother Dearest looked like a scary, strung-out motherfucker if I do say so myself. Don’t answer her if she calls you. Remember, talking to them is a reinforcer for bad behavior!
Me: I can’t ignore her stopping by our place again. Your strategy isn’t working.
I chew on my bottom lip as I wait for Brooke’s reply. The last thing I need is for my mother to stir up some trouble between Santiago and me. She may have fooled me in the past, but I’m not going to chalk up her stopping by my apartment as anything but a coincidence.
Brooke: I don’t recommend it because she’s a bitch, but if you really feel like you need to, then you should call her and put her in her place. I don’t mind shooing her away but the choice is yours.
What option do I have? I run the risk of having her do something stupid, and the last thing I want on this planet is my mother sinking her claws into my new life over here.
My new temporary life.
I use the Wi-Fi to call my mom. She answers without letting it go to voicemail, and I count that as a small miracle. “Hello, Chloe. It’s about time you called your mother back.”
“What do you want?”
“Now, is that the way to talk to me after all this time?”
“Cut the shit. Niceties don’t suit you.”
She lets out a huff. “I saw the pictures. I’m proud of you. You landed yourself quite the catch while gallivanting across Europe.”
My teeth grind together. “What do you want?”
“How much are you willing to pay to keep your little dirty secret under wraps?”
“My what?” I rear back, hitting my spine against the faucet.
“I have evidence of the assault. You know, when you bashed Ralph’s head into the shower wall after he walked in on you in the bathroom?”
“Oh, you mean the wall he happened to be jacking off against while watching me shower? That wall?” I can’t believe her boldness. If it weren’t for the government’s various attempts to reunite us, I would doubt she was my mother. How can someone who gave birth to me despise me this much? Are money and drugs worth her soul?
Fuck her. Mothers are meant to protect their children from creeps, and all she did was provide him with nonstop access to me. I shiver at the memory of his beady eyes watching me. Making me feel dirty and disgusting. I shake my head in an attempt to push the memory away.
“It doesn’t matter what happened before. What matters is that I have pictures and documentation from the hospital about the condition you left him in.”
I didn’t think it was possibly to hate her more than ever before. It’s deep-rooted, like a cancerous growth after years of her abuse.
“So what?” I let out a shrill laugh. “You can’t connect it back to me and you know it. For all anyone knows, Ralph slipped.”
“He slipped after you round-house kicked him in the balls.”
“He deserved far worse.”
“Oh, really? You want to play with me over something as serious as this?”
“I’m not playing. Go ahead and release whatever you want to whoever you want. I’m not afraid of you anymore. Your evidence is circumstantial at best, seeing as I was a minor. And honestly, it’s his word against mine.” I’m done with her mind games and deception. I want to snip away my connection to her with a set of pruning shears.
“You can’t be serious. You’re willing to let the world see you as the gutter rat you are?”
“Sure. Maybe other little girls like me can also wish to escape monsters like you.”
“This is disappointing. I gave you the easy option, Chloe.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. The easy option is forgetting you ever existed. I’m blocking your number, and Brooke will never answer the door to you again. This is the last time I let you threaten me or abuse me into giving you what you want. I’m not afraid of whatever evidence you have of what I did. The cops dropped the charges, and Ralph is the one with the restraining order against him. So, do whatever helps you sleep at night.”
“Chloe, you better listen to me—”
I cut her off. “No, Anne, you better listen to me. I’m moving on with my life. You’re nothing but a past memory that I have no interest in reliving ever again. I hope you live a happy life, and good luck with Ralph. You’re going to need it because I’m done supporting your addiction. Goodbye.” I press the red button with a shaky hand.
I’m done hiding from my past. It helped me become the person I am, gutter rat and all. Anne Carter underestimated her power over me. I’ll take her down with me, if it’s the last thing I do.
I only hope I made the right decision. I’m gambling with someone who is unhinged on her best day, and downright immoral on her worst. But I can’t let someone like her control me—my thoughts, my wishes, my happiness. My experiences with her tainted my idea of others, their intentions, and my own future. I’ve pushed boyfriends away. I’ve barely made friends, let alone settled down into anything but two jobs I’ve barely tolerated. After spending time with Santiago, I understand I’ve been letting my life pass me by as well. It took watching someone else slip into their dark thoughts over and over again to slap me out of my own.