23. #2
“The two of them had some beef a while back, and now my brother is being a twat waffle.”
“Your brother?”
“Garvey and Corey are triplets, and I’m the smartest one of the bunch,” Marley explained.
“What is up with all the multiples born in this town?” I asked rhetorically.
“Legend says that someone put something in the water supply,” Corey said with a waggle of his eyebrows. “Seems like that might be true.”
“Thank God I don’t drink water unless it’s been filtered over coffee grounds or has some delicious syrupy sugary mix added to it,” I exclaimed.
“It’s still water,” Corey argued.
“Are you going to let him back here or what?” I asked.
“I’ll do it while you tell Corey what a dick he is,” Marley offered.
It didn’t take long before Marley was walking back into the large room with Zane trailing behind her. As soon as he got close enough, he pulled me into a tight hug while he whispered, “Are you okay, babe?”
“I’m good. I got into a scuffle in the parking lot, although the story would be funnier if it had happened at Walmart.”
“Or Waffle House. That’s usually a hotbed of activity,” Marley said with a grimace.
“Are you ready to go home?” Zane asked.
“Can I?” I asked the officers. When they nodded, I looked back at Zane and asked, “Do you know where Dayton took the kids?”
“He drove them to the shop and had Joan call . . . well, everyone,” Zane said with a lopsided grin. “She tried to call me at least a dozen times, but my phone was in the truck, and I never heard it ring.”
“So, they’re okay?”
“They’re all with my sister, and they’re just fine. She knows you’re okay, and after I saw Uncle Nick, I called to let her know that you’d be home soon.”
“I’d like to make a quick stop before we go home,” I said slyly.
“Where do you want to go?”
“I heard my mom was admitted to the hospital. I want to see if they’ll let me be the one to unplug her life support.”
“She’s on life support?” Zane asked in shock.
“I hope so, but I guess we’ll see when we get there.”
It took some time to get released, and I managed not to gloat too much when Zane’s friend Nick forced Officer Dotts to apologize to me. We were finally free to go, and I walked out of the station holding hands with Zane.
My purse felt ten pounds lighter when I put it in the saddlebag, and then I stepped back and looked at the bike when I realized that I hadn’t seen it before.
“It’s Uncle Jace’s. He came to find me and took over the tow I was working so I could come to you.”
“That’s sweet,” I said as I got on behind him.
“Are you sure it’s the best idea to go see Jill right now?”
“I’m calmer than I’ve been in years, Zane. Now is the perfect time.”
The ride to the hospital was a short one, and after we parked, Zane tried to talk me out of this visit during our walk up to the entrance.
I finally looked at him and said, “I want to see her now while she’s vulnerable before she concocts some ridiculous story that paints her as the victim.
I don’t want to see her again until her sentencing, and I’ll laugh my ass off when they cart her away. ”
We spoke to the nurse at the front desk, and once I assured her that I was Jill’s closest living relative, she relented and agreed to take us to her, giving us a heads up that the officer on duty might not let us in.
As we followed the nurse down the hall, Zane said, “Nick told me they’re going to bring charges against her for trying to take Beau from Walmart.”
“I didn’t know she’d done that until Beau saw her again in the parking lot, but by then, I was too focused on getting the kids away from her to deal with anything else.”
“Beau spilled the beans to Zoey, and she called Uncle Nick right away. He’s already had them pull the camera footage from the store and said that they’re going to get her on attempted kidnapping.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then I guess I won’t kill her today.”
“I thought you said you were going to be nice.”
“I never said I was going to be nice. I just said that I wasn’t going to do anything that would actually get me arrested. There’s a big difference.”
“You’re being very non-chalant about this whole thing, Court. It’s starting to scare me,” Zane said as we made our way to my mother’s room.
“I may appear non-chalant, sweetheart, but believe me, I’m chalanting all over the fucking place in my head right now.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
Luckily, we knew the officer assigned to Jill’s room. When Lawson hugged me, he whispered, “Don’t do anything that’s gonna get us in trouble, okay, Slugger?”
“Is it true that if you put air into an IV line, it can cause someone to have a heart attack and die?” I asked.
Lawson looked at Zane with an expression of horror and pushed me toward him before he said, “Maybe this isn’t such a great idea.”
“I’ll be good, I promise,” I said as I walked past him toward the door. “You guys can watch me through the window if you don’t trust me, but I promise, I’m not gonna lay a hand on her.”
“Or anything else, Courtney!” Lawson said hurriedly.
I chuckled as I pushed the door open and called out over my shoulder, “God, you’re so picky!”
Jill’s eyes fluttered open as I walked up to her bed, I let her look at me as I took my time pulling the chair closer before I sat down.
“Hi, Jill. How’s life treating you?” I asked.
It was obvious from how swollen her face was and the bandage holding her jaw closed tightly that Jill wouldn’t be able to respond, so I continued.
“Looks like you finally got to the end of the road, and I’m happy to say that I was the wall you slammed into.
I’ve been waiting for this day for as long as I can remember.
I’m really glad you gave me the opportunity to work out some of my issues before you went away again. ”
Jill mumbled something and then grimaced in pain before she reached for the call button.
“Now, now, we don’t want anyone interrupting us while we talk, do we?” I picked up the call button and put it on the rolling tray a few feet away before I smiled at her again and said, “I don’t think so.”
Jill mumbled something else, and I giggled as I watched her wince with pain.
“I just wanted to tell you that I hope your face is fucked up until the day you die, which really can’t come soon enough, as far as I’m concerned.
I also wanted to tell you that, despite all the bullshit you’ve put all of us through, we’re thriving.
Ben and Liam are happily married now and living their best lives.
Dawson is going through his teenage years without a care in the world, and Dayton .
. . well, Dayton is finally able to see that you’re worth less than a piece of dog shit on the bottom of his shoe.
” Jill mumbled something again, and I could tell by her fisted hand that what I was saying was getting to her, so I went on.
“Alana is an incredible little girl who is enjoying life to the fullest. She’s currently trying to convince me to get her a kitten, and you know what?
I think I’m going to say yes. That’s what parents do for their children, but that’s not something you would know about, is it?
And then there’s Leo - that’s the little boy you didn’t try to kidnap today.
He doesn’t even know what the fuck you look like and never will.
Beau, the one you did try to take, will forget you sooner rather than later. Do you want to know why?”
I waited for a response, but all I got was a growl as Jill reached up and tried to take the bandage off her face. When the cuff stopped her with a jangling noise against the metal bed frame, I laughed, and she grimaced again.
“I’ll tell you why. None of the little ones are going to remember you because you’re insignificant.
You don’t matter. You’re nothing to them just like you’re nothing to the ones of us that actually remember what it’s like to have you in our lives.
You’re so worthless that you aren’t worth our time. ”
The door opened, and Lawson stuck his head in to say, “There’s a nurse on her way down to do a check.”
I nodded before I stood up and leaned over Jill.
“You’re going to go away for a very long time, Jill, but you’ll never forget me.
Because I’ve got money now. Lot’s of money.
So much money that I have enough to waste on your worthless ass.
I’m going to hire some big bitch with a chip on her shoulder to make your life as much of a living fucking hell as you made ours when we were children.
And when that big bitch gets tired of you, I’ll hire another one and then another one until I get bored.
One thing about me that you don’t know, Jill, is that when I find something I like to do, I stick with it forever.
That’s also about how long I hold a grudge. ”
A nurse walked in and looked surprised to see me, so I smiled at her before I looked back at Jill and reached out to brush a lock of my mother’s greasy hair off her forehead.
“Bye, Jill. I hope you have the life you deserve. I know we will.”