Chapter 39
“Mom, we’re home,” Greaser calls through the house when he opens the door, and Iris immediately rushes from the kitchen to greet us.
“I’ve cleaned the place from top to bottom and made up the main bedroom for you both,” she tells us excitedly.
“What's going on?” I ask her, trying to ignore the fact that Greaser still has the barrel of his gun hidden behind my back and digging into my spine.
“Here, put her here.” Iris sits on the couch and taps the space beside her. ”Welcome home, my beautiful girl.” She fusses over her as Greaser shuffles me forward so he can carefully place Mia's car seat where she wants it.
“I’m so happy you changed your mind, Alicia, and we want you to know we aren’t going to hold what happened against you.
You made a mistake, but you’ve rectified it now.
We’re all going to be so happy here.” She starts to unbuckle Mia from her seat, and when I move to stop her, Greaser grabs my arm and digs the gun deeper into my flesh.
“There you are, look at you.” Iris holds her in her arms. “She could do with putting a little more weight on, but Grandma’s here to make sure Mommy feeds you properly, isn’t she?” She smothers Mia’s face with kisses.
“The room’s ready for you.” She smiles up at us. “Take all the time you need. I’ve got this little one.”
Greaser nods his head at her, and I stumble on my feet as he forces me toward the bedroom.
“Your mom thinks I’m here out of choice?” I whisper-yell at him as he closes the door behind us. All this feels far too surreal. It can’t be happening.
“My mom doesn’t know what day of the fuckin’ week it is when she’s off her meds,” he tells me, throwing me onto the bed.
“We need to talk,” he says, keeping the gun in his hand and looking oddly nervous.
“Okay, but I’d rather do it with Mia here with me; if your mom's off her med—”
“Mom's fine, she’d never hurt her!” he yells at me, scratching his beard like he’s agitated. “And stop calling our daughter that, it’s not her name.”
I’m starting to wonder if Iris is the only person who hasn’t taken their meds. There's something different about Greaser; all the way here, he’s been ranting and not making any sense.
“I’m sorry, I’m just scared,” I admit, hoping I can play the pity card and stop anyone from getting hurt.
“You never have to be scared when you're with me.” He crouches down in front of me and uses the gun to stroke the hair out of my face.
“Vike wants you to think I killed Raze; he wants them all to think it because he knows the only way to keep us apart is to make me dead.” His words come out fast and erratically.
“No, Greaser, he–”
“Don’t call me that. Call me Sid; you did once before, and I liked it.” He smiles so warmly it makes me shudder.
“Okay, Sid. Vike isn’t trying to make you dead.”
“He is…don’t lie for him. I fuckin’ heard him in our bedroom this mornin’. He’s gonna try to frame me for Raze’s murder, but I didn’t do it. I can prove I didn’t do it, but you're not gonna like what ya hear.”
“You heard? Greaser, you can’t hav–”
“Did you really think I’d leave the two of you alone?” He shakes his head at me and laughs, “Baby, I love you. I was never gonna leave you alone with him. I had to protect what's mine.” My body turns cold
“I saw the things he did to you. I watched you pretend you liked it because you had to, and it’s okay. I’m gonna make it all better.” His hand slides between my legs, groping my pussy and making me gasp.
“You’ve been watching? But how?”
“The morning after you left me. I placed a few cameras in your room while I was packing my things. You hurt me, Alicia. You hurt me…But it’s okay. I can forgive you, just like you're gonna forgive me.” He smiles again.
“You’ve been watching us?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing, all those conversations we’ve had in that room; all the times we’ve been intimate together, making love. Greaser has been watching.
“I was protecting you; protecting you both. Vike isn’t the man for you. You’re gonna realize that when you see how gentle I can be.” He moves in to kiss me, and quickly I pull back.
“No…no, no, Alicia, we’re not playing that game anymore. I’ve seen for myself that you ain’t shy.”
“It’s not that, Greaser. I just gave birth three weeks ago; my body's not ready for that yet. You can call the doctor and ask him yourself. I’m not making excuses or playing games.” I have to try to reason with this man.
“I won’t hurt you. I’ll be gentle. I just wanna love you.”
“I know, and that's nice. But–” I shut myself up when I hear my little girl crying, and as I go to get up and go to her, Greaser uses his brute force to slam me back down.
“No, Alicia, Mom is taking care of her. We need to talk. This is important, it’s about us and our future.”
“Okay, Greaser, what is it that you want to tell me so bad?” I give my full attention, praying that Mia is only crying because she’s hungry.
“I couldn’t have killed Raze, like Vike is trying to make you believe. I couldn’t have done it, because I spent that night before our wedding with Trinity.” He closes his eyes like he’s disappointed in himself.
“Okay, that's okay. We can call Wrath and explain, no one is gonna blame you for something you didn’t do.” I take his hand in mine when I hear my baby’s cries getting louder.
“Shut her up, Mom!” Greaser yells aggressively, not taking his eyes off mine. “What do you mean it’s okay? You’re okay with the fact I slept with Trinity the night before we got married?” He stands and takes a step back.
“Of course, I am. Greaser, I–”
“No…no. NO!” You're not supposed to be like this; you're supposed to be mad. I fucked another woman, Alicia. I fucked her, just like you let him fuck you!” He screams in my face, and I feel myself starting to break. I can’t stand hearing Mia cry while being in here, unable to hold her.
“Greaser, let me take care of Mia,” I beg him, trying to keep calm.
“I told you, Mom's got it.” He marches over to the door and opens it.
“Shut her the hell up. Shut her up!” he bellows, slamming the door open and shut three times before he starts pacing the floor in front of me. “You don’t care; you really don’t fuckin’ care, do you?”
“Of course, I care; I care very much. I think you need some help, Sid.” I stand up, and he grabs hold of me fiercely, slamming me up against the wall and kissing me.
I can barely breathe as his tongue invades me, and all I can do is hold still and pray for it to be over.
“Tell me you feel it. Tell me you feel this, Alicia.” He pulls away, searching my eyes with his for the answer he wants.
“I can’t focus on anything until I know Mia’s okay,” I whisper. “Come on, Sid, let me go to our little girl and calm her down, then we can talk some more.”
“Our little girl.” He smiles as if he likes what he hears.
“That’s right, she needs us; your mom doesn’t sound like she’s coping out there.” I manage to laugh as I slide my hand into his. “Please, Siddy.” I tilt my head and smile at him.
“Of course.” He kisses me again, and I somehow manage to stand it without recoiling.
He leads me to the door, and when he opens it, I see Mia lying on the couch, screaming while Iris attempts to change her diaper.
“I haven't hurt her, I promise. It’s been a while since I did this, and she...she just won’t stop crying.” She stands up, stroking her forehead, looking confused, and I waste no more time, dragging my hand out of Greaser’s and rushing to my daughter.
“You can’t do anythin’, can you? Not a damn fuckin’ thing, you stupid bitch.” I pause from checking Mia over when I hear the loud slap Greaser serves his mother's face.
“I just wanted a couple of hours. A couple of fuckin’ hours to make love to my wife, and you couldn’t even take care of your own granddaughter.”
“Come here, baby girl.” I quickly do up the diaper she’s lying on and lift her up onto my chest, stroking her back and trying to calm her down.
“But she’s not your wife, is she, Sid? She never married you. She didn’t want to.” Iris surprises me with the tone she takes in answering him back.
“We were workin’ on that; fixin’ our mistakes. She’s here now, ain’t she?”
“So why are you holding a gun?” Iris laughs at him cruelly. “You told me she was coming back here with you because she’d changed her mind. I should have known you were lying.”
“Stop it, I mean it!” Greaser’s voice turns shaky as he warns her.
“Sid, you're so fuckin’ stupid. Do you think a real man like Vike is just gonna let you take her from him? I’ll bet he’s probably already on his way here to get her back and kick your ass again.” She glances back at me over her shoulder, and the smile she makes is harrowing.
“Why would a pretty girl like Alicia want you?” She turns back to look at her son.
“Moma, stop it.” He shakes his head as his eyes fill with tears.
“She loved Seggy, Sid. How could she ever love you? She doesn’t even want you as the consolation prize.” Iris laughs again, completely changed from her normal self.
“I said, stop it,” he warns her again, raising the gun in his hands and pointing it at her.
“She had his baby.” Iris continues fearlessly.
“She had his baby,” she repeats condescendingly.
“Which is more than what that little whore you knocked up back in Kansas was prepared to do for you. That girl couldn’t get herself to the clinic fast enough.
” Her laughing gets Greaser even more agitated.
“I told you to stop,” he growls at her through his teeth.
“Or you’ll do what? Shoot me?” She throws her head back dramatically. “Sweetheart, you're not man enough to shoot m—”
Mia lets out a piercing scream when the gun goes off, and when Iris's body flops to the ground, Greaser stands over it in the middle of the room, covered in her blood.
“It’s okay. It’s okay, you’re both safe now.
I was never gonna let her take our baby.
” He shakes himself out of his trance and rushes toward me.
“Is she okay? I didn’t mean to scare her.
” He starts touching Mia with his blood-spattered hands, trying to soothe her while I continue staring at Iris’s body in shock.
“You shot her. You killed her.” I shake my head and clutch my daughter tighter.
“She was gonna take her from you; it was all part of her plan, Alicia. She got the baby…and I...I got you, but I couldn’t let that happen. I know how it is to be raised by her. I know how she can fuck with your head.” He slams the handle of his gun repeatedly into the side of his skull
“It was always Seggy; never fuckin’ me. He was her favorite. She’d read him stories for hours; me…? I wouldn’t even get a kiss goodnight.” He looks back at the body on the floor and laughs. “Ain’t so fuckin’ smart now, are ya moma?”
Rising back on his feet, he takes Mia and places her back in her seat. “Come on.” He talks so sweetly to her as he holds out his hand for mine.
“Where are we going now?” I take it, because I have no other choice.
“We’re gonna make this little one a brother or sister.” He smiles, kissing my lips and forcing me back into the bedroom with the end of his gun.