Chapter 61
Lark
Julie’s anger turns into confusion as she turns toward me. “Of course it’s my house! I’ve been living here all my life.”
I shake my head. “You may have lived here your whole life, but it isn’t your house, and when Anthony sees the state you let the house fall into, he’s going to be pissed as fuck,” I tell her as I take in the state of the hallway and kitchen.
Almost every floor tile and multiple kitchen cabinets have duct tape on them, the walls are stained yellow with tar from cigarette smoke that I can smell even from out here, and there’s piles of trash and dirty dishes covering every surface.
The laminate on the counter is peeling and I’m almost positive the table is broken and just barely being held together with the way it’s bowing in the center.
The stairs leading upstairs are bowed and I know Chris must not be using the chair lift, or isn’t able to for some reason, because of the heavy layer of dust on it.
“Yes, I do own this house. Mom and Dad signed the house over to me when they moved into their condo.”
“No, they didn’t. Anthony bought the house from them and has continued to let you live here, rent free, even after you cut him out of your life for an accident he didn’t even cause.
” I pause as I tilt my head, studying her closer.
“Then again, you already knew that, but you just need someone to blame for the accident.”
Her face turns red again with anger. “No, Tony was the reason my Chris was hurt! He never should have had him on the back of his bike to begin with!”
I catch movement out of the corner of my eye and give Cannon the signal to call Anthony. This bitch isn’t going to see sense until we can make her see it.
“He did everything he could to keep the bike upright. Then again, that’s also something you know because I happen to know both you and Chris used to ride with the guys any chance you could get.”
“No, it’s because of his recklessness that my Chris was hurt!”
I study her closer and then my gaze drops to Chris as a sinking feeling forms in my gut.
“You keep saying ‘my Chris’ like he’s the center of your world.
That he’s the most important person to you.
However, if that were the case, then why is Chris using a normal wheelchair instead of one of the nice, motorized wheelchairs that I know Anthony bought for him?
Why does that chair lift look like it hasn’t been used in months if not years?
And the van that Anthony bought specifically for Chris when he turned sixteen…
I can tell from the garage windows that it’s full of boxes so there’s no way the van is in there and the driveway is empty. So, where is it?”
I cross my arms as I stare her down but all she does is sputter and her eyes dart around like she’s desperately trying to think up some believable lie.
I already know she hawked the van, just not the reason behind it.
It’s also why we bought the van I drove here for Chris.
The title is in his name so there’s no way Julie can hawk it this time unless she wants to be charged with stealing it.
“That’s none of your concern! And as for Anthony, I’ve made it clear that we never want to see him again. He isn’t allowed to have contact with either of us. He isn’t wanted or needed in our lives.”
“Ah, so you just take his money each and every month while continuing to keep Chris from his uncle.”
I pause as I look around the house again with a more critical eye when I catch something that makes my blood boil.
I look down at Chris and he gives me a tight smile and a curt nod, no doubt guessing what I just saw.
Turning back toward Julie, she reels back like I’ve slapped her when she sees how pissed I am.
“Are you seriously fucking the guy that actually caused your son’s accident while also cutting Anthony out of your life? Anthony, the man who kept your son from being killed during that same accident?”
Both Cannon and Atlas freeze as they stare at me in shock and then their faces turn hard with anger. Cannon backs away a bit as he continues to talk to Anthony, and I know Anthony’s going to be fucking livid when he gets here.
“That’s enough. I don’t owe you any explanation, but just so you know, Roger got released due to lack of evidence. He wasn’t the one that caused my Chris’ accident.”
I can’t stop my huff of frustration. “Of course, he got a slap on the wrist and was set free. He’s the son of a judge!
The same judge who was somehow able to preside over the same trial his son was the defendant in.
Yeah, if that doesn’t stink of bullshit and the crookedness in our justice system, then I don’t know what does. ”
“I don’t have to listen to this. Christopher, get your ass inside and back upstairs.”
For a moment, I think he’s going to listen to her, but then he straightens and levels her with a hard look.
“No, Mom. I’m going to see Uncle Reaper and the rest of the guys for my birthday.
I’m staying overnight so don’t wait up. Then, tomorrow after school, Aunt Lark’s going to show me how to shoot a bow and start teaching me how carve wood. ”
Julie stares at him in shock, most likely not used to him standing up to her. He ignores her sputtering as he reaches forward, unlocking the wheels before rolling down the ramp and stopping next to me before turning so that he’s facing her again.
“If you leave and go with them, that’s it, Christopher. Your shit will be gone and the locks changed. You’ll be dead to me, just like your worthless uncle.”
I step forward and into her space, fury licking in my veins.
I can’t even fathom giving a child the sort of ultimatum that she’s giving Chris.
I open my mouth to tell her exactly how this is going to go when the sound of beer bottles falling over pulls my attention from Julie to Roger who’s trying to get his drunken ass off the couch and failing.
“Close the fucking door, you worthless cunt! It’s fucking freezing! I don’t work my ass off to pay for the heat only for you to heat the fucking outdoors.”
“You’re a drunk, fat and lazy asshole,” Chris sneers while looking at Roger, his lip curled in disgust. ‘You haven’t worked the entire time you’ve lived here. You take most of the money Mom makes from her jobs and what Uncle Reaper gives her just so you can get high and drink it all away.”
Roger stumbles as he rights himself and drunkenly glares at Chris. “And you are a worthless waste of space who should have just died and saved us all the hassle.”
I turn my glare on Julie, waiting for her to stand up for her son… but she says nothing. Indecision is evident on her face as her emotions rise to the surface, but still, she doesn’t stand up for Chris.
“Pathetic. Fucking pathetic. He’s your son and you’re just going to let Roger talk to him like that?”
She lowers her gaze, and when she slightly turns her head, I spot the bruises along her jaw and neck that are still fading.
“You don’t understand,” she whispers but then stops when Roger throws a bottle and it breaks against the wall. Then she seems to pull herself up straighter, but the look in her eyes isn’t as hostile as it was a moment ago. “Chris, I mean it. If you leave, you won’t be allowed back.”
I huff in frustration. “You aren’t allowed to give that sort of an ultimatum when you don’t even own the house you live in, Julie.”
“No, she doesn’t.”
Internally, my body sags in relief that he’s here, but I don’t let it show outwardly.
“The house is in my name, not yours Julie.”
“I own this house, Tony. It’s the least you can do for almost killing my son,” she hisses as she crosses her arms over her chest and glares up at Anthony.
I spot Python behind Anthony and gesture to him when I see what he brought. Surprisingly, I also see Chief Riggs pulling up to the house and he quickly strides across the lawn until he reaches us. Julie’s expression faulters a bit with his presence and I wonder how close they all are.
Python opens the laptop and when Julie sees what’s paused, she grits her teeth while shaking her head.
“I’m not watching that. I already know what happened. All of that is… is bullshit you’ve manipulated. You forget that I know what all you can do Python.”
She steps back to head inside but I’m not having any of that. I grab her by the arm and pull her outside, shutting the door behind her. Gripping her chin with my other hand, I make her look at me.
“Now here is how it’s going to go. You are going to watch what really happened.
This isn’t shit that was made up and doctored.
This,” I say as I let go and jab my finger toward the laptop, “is the truth that you are refusing to see. You are punishing the wrong people. And to add insult to injury, you’ve been fucking the man that actually did hurt your son. ”
I don’t recognize the strangled sound that reaches me and when I look up, I realize it must have come from Chief Riggs who has now stepped forward to stand next to Python.
“Julie, this is the official copy Python got from the police. I hand delivered it to Reaper. Python hasn’t altered it,” he tells her, but Julie stubbornly raises her chin. He sighs and gives Python a chin lift, indicating to him to start the video.
Julie tries to look away, but I grasp her chin again and make her watch.
She crumples against me when we get to the part where the cameras give a clear picture of Roger clipping Anthony’s bike and sticking his head out the window as he shouts obscenities out the window before he speeds off, clipping another car in the process.
“It wasn’t him, it wasn’t him, it’s fake, it wasn’t him,” she mutters softly as she shakes her head, obviously not wanting to believe Roger purposefully caused the accident.
“How long have you been seeing Roger?” Anthony asks Julie, but she doesn’t seem to hear him as she keeps muttering to herself.