14. Day 220 – Theo
Day 220 – Theo
“M om wants to see you.”
Frowning, I slam the door of the truck closed, sinking back into my seat with a sigh of relief. “Nee… not today, alright? I just finished a twelve-hour shift. I’m covered in fucking dust.”
I need a shower, a quick meal, and to get to the Center.
“Please.”
My jaw grows tight. “Is she still pretending that Brett was the precious golden boy?”
Silence. I run my hand over my face. “I can’t do it, Nee. You know that. If I go into that house…I’m sorry.”
I can’t sit there and entertain her fucking delusions when we’re fighting to save our mate from the wreckage of Brett’s actions. “Get him to look after her.”
“He’s not… doing well. Either of them. Please, Theo. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need you. Not them. Me .”
Fuck. The guilt swoops. “What’s going on, Nia?”
Silence stretches out. My sister’s breath hitches. “He’s acting weird. I don’t know, really. But I haven’t seen him much. He stays in his office most of the time.”
Of course he does. God forbid my father learn any sort of fucking lesson from his actions. “I’ll drive by, but I’m not coming in. Come out and speak to me.”
***
I know before I even stop that it’s gonna be a shitshow.
Nia mouths an apology, her face tearstained. My mom weaves unsteadily down the steps, tapping on my window. I stare straight ahead, contemplating just driving off.
Sighing, I crack the window a few inches. “What is it?”
She looks… not better. But not worse, either. The smell that reaches me tells me she’s swapped to a new kind of medicine. The alcoholic kind. “You haven’t been here for months.”
Good of you to notice . “You know why I haven’t been here.”
I always thought my mom was one of the good ones. Warm, loving, and kind. But as I grew up, I realised that anyone would look good stacked up against Charles Rivers.
She hiccups. “You need to speak to your father.”
“Hard pass.” Fucking hell . My eyes slide to Nia, my heart squeezing. She looks fucking miserable. “Nee? You can still come with me.”
It’s not the first time I’ve offered. Slowly, she shakes her head.
She has a kinder heart than I do. Or more of a tolerance for bullshit.
But my mom grips the edge of the window, stopping me from driving off. “Annie Evans told me you’re working at the construction site.”
My lips thin. “Yes. Anything else?”
“Your father is furious—,”
“He can go to fucking hell!” My temper, held in place by a single, frayed thread, snaps. “He has no place in my life. Not since he put my mate at risk and tried to hide her away in a cell so she’d die alone . That’s who he is, mom. Don’t you dare judge me for working so I can provide for my mate. That’s what you do for the ones you love. It’s the bare fucking minimum .”
Just for a moment, pity flickers in my chest. “I’m not surprised you don’t recognise it. Not with him as an example.”
My mother looks affronted. “Brett would never speak to me—,”
“Don’t you dare,” I say quietly. But there’s a warning in my voice. “Don’t you dare say his name to me. Don’t you hold him up to me as any sort of paragon of virtue after what he did to her.”
She shrinks back, one hand splayed across her chest.
“Theo,” Nia whispers. “I’m sorry.”
I can’t look at her. “You need to get tested for the feral gene, Nee. I can help you. Don’t trust what he says.”
“You got tested?” My mother asks the question.
“Of course I did. He lied. He hid it, with Brett. And then he tried to cover it up. Remember?”
But she’s shaking her head, the color leaching from her face. “Brett was a good boy. What he did – he didn’t mean it, Theo. He was sick.”
“My mate has seventeen poisoned scars in her skin from your good boy . Your standards aren’t worth shit. Nee, you’re always welcome at the house, but I’m not coming here again.”
“You can’t cut me off.” My mom sniffles. “I’ve already lost one son, Theo. Don’t be so cruel.”
My mouth opens—
“Theo!”
Fear flashes across my mother’s face. Across Nia’s, too. She ducks her head, wrapping her arms around herself as if she’s trying to make herself smaller.
Charles Rivers looks the same as he always has. Pristine, shiny. Expensive, in his immaculate suit and shiny shoes as he jogs down the steps. “Theo, wait.”
I slide my eyes back to Nia’s face. And I give her my full attention, this time.
She flinches. “Don’t.”
Leaning forward, I switch off the engine. My mom steps back as I swing the door open and climb out. My father’s lip curls. “Look at the state of you. You’ve made your point, Theo. You can have a crew on my lot with twice the damn money. Run the whole joint. This little tantrum isn’t proving anything.”
Ignoring him, I step up to my sister. Nia jerks as I lift her chin, her eyes widening. “Theo.”
I brush my finger over the dark shadow, and she flinches. “Go into the house.”
Turning away, I face my father. His ruddy face seems darker than it used to. A few extra shades of red, courtesy of his favorite steak and bourbon. “I’d crawl in the gutter before ever working for you.”
“You’re being ridiculous. It’s been long enough. I know you’re upset about that girl —,”
My hand snaps out, coiling around his neck. “Keep any mention of my mate out of your fucking mouth. You don’t talk about her.”
My mother screeches, but my eyes are only for my father as I squeeze. Months of slugging bags of cement around the yard make it all too fucking easy to lift him until he’s tottering on his edges of his shiny fucking shoes, scuffing the edges.
He chokes out the words as I turn, slamming him against the door of the truck. “She’s nothing more than an animal now—,”
My vision glazes over, my fist pulling back. “The fuck did you call her?”
His nose collapses under the hit, crunching as liquid flows, spattering us both. His lip splits open. The skin above his eye.
And his cheekbone. In the same place as the bruise on my sister’s face.
All the while, my mother cries for him.
Disgusted, I let him slide to the ground. “You’re not coming back in this house.”
My mother sucks in a breath, worrying her hands as she steps around me. My hand snaps out, stopping her from getting closer.
“You have a daughter,” I say shortly. “And an asshole for a mate who put his hands on her. Decide which one is more important. Right fucking now.”
Her face crumples as she looks down to where Charles groans on the floor. “You don’t understand.”
“You’re right,” I say harshly. “And I don’t want to. I don’t want to know why you’re still giving him the time of day when he bruised Nia’s fucking face. Choose. Now .”
“Theo.” She sobs it. “He’s your father.”
“He’s no father of mine.” I take a step back. “What’s it going to be?”
Charles moans, brushing his face as it twists. “This is my house.”
“If you step back over that door when Nia is inside, I’ll kill you.” My mother gasps, but I ignore his grunts of pain as I address her, desperation and fury lacing my words. “If you choose him, Nia is coming with me now, and you’ve lost three kids. Choose Nia. Hell, choose yourself . He’s an abusive piece of shit.”
“Theo.” Nia’s hand brushes my back. “It’s okay—,”
“No.” Twisting, I point at her. “No, it’s fucking not. You don’t ever think this is okay, Nee. Nobody ever lays a fucking hand on you. You hear me?”
She glances at my mom uncertainly, and it hits me.
She doesn’t think my mom will choose her.
And that feels like a knife sliding between my ribs. “This is your chance to prove that you could still be the mom I thought you were.”
My mother flinches. She looks at Charles for a long moment, and my heart flips.
But then she steps back. Turns her back.
I pull in a long breath as she walks over to Nia, her voice unsteady. “Go on inside, Nia. We’re going to sort this out.”
“Get his wallet, Nee.” I glance down. “And his keys.”
She comes running back out, handing them to me. Hooking my arm around her shoulders, I tug her close, pressing my lips to her hair. “I’m glad you called me.”
“I’m sorry.” She lets out a muffled sob. “You have so much going on.”
“Never too much. Not for you, okay? Call any of us, Nee. Especially now. He’s not coming back in.”
“Okay,” she whispers. I watch as she walks back in, her head bowed.
She doesn’t look back. My father rolls to his knees, spitting blood. “My fucking house—,”
I yank off the key to the house before throwing the set at him. “Not anymore. We’ll work out the legal side, but you go to a hotel. Rent a place. Anywhere else but here. If you try to get in, I meant what I said.”
He wipes the back of his hand over his mouth. “May? I don’t even have any clothes.”
My mother doesn’t look at him. “Use the bag you think I don’t know about in the boot of your car for now.”
I pull one of his many bank cards free, handing it to my mom. “You keep access to that card open for them.”
And I nod at my mom. “Go inside now. Lock the doors. You get Nia to call if he tries to come back.”
Slowly, she turns. Her eyes fall. “Theo, I…,”
“No.” My voice is tight. “This is not a magic fix. This is about keeping Nia safe. You need to do better.”
My mother stares at me. I wonder what she sees. Finally, she nods.
“May,” my father snaps. But my mom doesn’t look back as she walks up the steps, closing the door behind her.
I move in between, blocking his view. “On your way, Charles.”
He spits again. “She won’t throw me out.”
“She just did.” And if she takes him back, I won’t step in a second time. I’ll take Nia and she can live with her own choices. “I won’t ask again.”
My father sneers. “You’re no son of mine. They ruined you, that pack.”
Thank fuck for that. “I wouldn’t say another word about my pack, or my mate. You have no leverage over me anymore.”
He scoffs, dragging himself to his feet. My hand curls into fists as I take a step, and my father flinches, stumbling back. “I’m going.”
He staggers across the verge to where his car is parked on the drive, fumbling with the keys. I watch as he pulls out, staying until he’s out of sight before digging out my phone.
The message from Oscar in our group chat sits at the top.
Theo, where are you? Everything okay?
I’m already getting back in the truck.
Taking out the trash. See you soon.