Chapter 20 Selene #2
The title falls from her lips and hits the ground, dripping with censure and an unsuccessful attempt to dangle the press over my head. I laugh, dragging my tongue over my teeth before I lean in even more, close enough now that I’m able to smell the alcohol on her breath.
“Is that your attempt at threatening me? I live under constant scrutiny, Joanna. There are cameras around me at all times and lies written about me for no reason almost every day. The world finding out that I cursed at you after you accused me and the men kind enough to bring home the children who have been entrusted to your care child molesters wouldn’t even stay in the news cycle for a full twenty-four hours.
You know what would stick? Maybe not in the press, but at the very least with the Department of Social Services?
The story of a foster mom repeatedly abandoning her foster daughters and refusing to let them into her home after she got too drunk to come and pick them up from an event that’s been on their schedule for weeks now. ”
She rears back. “I’m not drunk!”
Of course, that’s the only part of my statement she deigns to respond to. Unsurprised, I glance over her shoulder, noting the presence of a half empty bottle of vodka on the coffee table, and then look back to her, arching a brow but saying nothing else on the topic.
“You’re going to let them in this house, Joanna. And you are never going to so much as suggest that they have come to any harm while in my care because unlike you, I would die before I let anything happen to them.”
Her jaw works, the desire to respond evident in the flare of her nostrils.
I tilt my head to the side, daring her to utter another word, to do anything but step aside and let the girls in.
When she does, Isis and Imani let out a collective sigh and step forward, waving goodnight to Cal and Beck before giving me hugs I wish lasted longer.
“I’ll see you next week,” I call out to them as they disappear down the dark hall. It’s as much a promise to them as it is a warning to Joanna that her disliking me won’t get in the way of my relationship with the girls or all the things they’re learning through the coding academy.
Joanna puts her hand on the door, starting to close it even though I’m still standing in the doorway. I step back, letting her have this small win because it’s really all she’s got.
“And I’ll see you too,” I tell her. “At the allotted pick up time, not a second later.”
Malice warps her features, turning them into a mask of hate. “You’re not helping them, you know.”
“What?”
“Isis and Imani, you’re not helping them. All this coddling you’re doing and all these dreams you’re feeding them about going to college and having fancy jobs and big paychecks is just hurting them. They need to know that life is hard and this world is harder.”
“They’ve lost their home, their brother and their mom all before they hit puberty. You don’t think they know that life is hard?”
“I think every time they go to your office, they forget what it’s like to live in the real world. They come in here talking and acting like they’re better than me, too good for the house I raised them in, for the food I feed them and the clothes I put on their back.”
“And you leaving them stranded and refusing to answer the phone for hours on end is what? Payback?”
She shrugs. “I just want them to see what it’s going to be like for them when I’m not around. It’s an important lesson for them to learn before they age out of the system and have to go into the real world with nothing and no one.”
“That won’t ever happen.”
“Yes, it will. It happened to me, and every other kid I know that grew up in foster care. Isis and Imani aren’t special, girl. The same thing is going to happen to them, and when it does, they’ll wish they had listened to me instead of believing all the shit you’re putting in their heads.”
“Everything I’ve told them about what their lives can be has been rooted in truth and based on my observation of their skills and work ethic.
They are exceptional girls, Joanna, and they are better than you in every way.
The sad, miserable life you lead could never be their future. I would never let that happen.”
“You’re talking like you planning on sticking around or something.”
“That’s the first thing you’ve gotten right all night, Joanna.
” I bring both hands together, treating her to the applause she seems so desperate for.
“You might not care enough to see them past a certain point, but I have no intention of ever walking away from them. As long as they want me in their lives, I’ll be there. ”
It’s a sacred vow. One I’ve sworn without consulting the people it centers around or the men I plan to spend my life with.
And still, the words only feel right coming out of my mouth.
A truth that tastes like destiny. A pledge that scares the fuck out of Joanna and leads to her slamming the door in my face.
A promise that could shake the foundation of what Cal, Beck and I are trying to build.
I turn to face them, heart pounding and sticky tendrils of fear wrapping around my insides because we never discussed dedicating ourselves to anyone but each other.
They both stare at me, and I’m hit with the memory of standing on another porch being held in their gazes.
This time, there’s no Aubrey and no pretense, only the open channels of love flowing freely and resolute expressions that tell me nothing I’ve said to Joanna scares them because they adore those two girls as much as I do.