Chapter 33 #2
I head back in the direction of the hallway to make sure the other rooms are clear.
I check the bathroom first, grimacing at the state of it.
There isn’t a chance in hell that Greer has been in here because I’m sure she’d have something to say about it.
I pull the door closed and make my way to the main bedroom.
I turn the knob slowly and push the door open a crack.
The room is empty, which doesn’t fill me with the same glee as it did finding Theo’s empty.
I needed him out of the way, but for my plan to work, it hinged on Diane being here.
I look around the room before walking over to the bed.
It’s easy to see which side of the bed Diane sleeps on, thanks to a pink pair of reading glasses sitting on the nightstand, along with a jar of face cream and a prescription bottle with her name on it.
I take the phone from my bag and leave it on her pillow in clear sight.
Nothing seems out of place, which just won’t do.
I yank open the closet and see a large bag on the top shelf.
I tug it down and shove handfuls of Josh’s clothes inside, dropping empty hangers to the floor.
Moving around the room, I knock over a half empty beer bottle from the top of the other nightstand , letting the contents spill onto the floor.
Spotting the heavy-looking ashtray filled with cigarette buts beside it has my lip curling.
I pick it up and launch it at the freestanding mirror in the corner, feeling satisfied when it shatters.
I stomp out of the room, back to the living room, and check on Josh once more.
He’s still breathing, more the pity, but out cold nonetheless.
I continue to destroy the place, this time breaking plates and glasses, kicking in the kitchen cupboards with my boot, and knocking over the kitchen chairs.
I find the whole process oddly cathartic.
When I hear a car approach, I stop and smooth down my jacket and jeans, tucking my hair behind my ears.
I make my way back to Theo’s room and hide behind his door, leaving it wide open so Diane can see in without seeing me.
I want to text Theo to make sure he’s safe, but I can’t just yet, not knowing if he’s in a safe enough space to reply. We’ve come too far now to fuck it up.
I hear the door open and Diane curse when she takes in the mess. Dammit, Josh,” she mutters. “Clean up this mess before he wakes up, Theo, or a black eye will be the least of your worries.”
My eyes slip closed as I bite back a curse of my own. Dammit, Theo, you’re supposed to be long gone.
“Why are we doing this? He was finally out of our lives. Is this really what you want for us? For me?”
My heart breaks at the sound of his voice and instantly fills me with anger. I want to march into that room, rip her ovaries off, and beat her with them. She doesn’t deserve to be a mother.
“Me, me, me. That’s all you think about, Theo.
But what about me? I carried you for nine fucking months when I could have just as easily aborted you.
I fed you, bathed you, clothed you. And this is the thanks I get—a selfish boy who’d rather run back to his fake mommy than stand beside his real one. ”
“Delphi isn’t my fake mother. You are. You wanna know why? Because this black eye wouldn’t have happened if I were living with her. If she saw someone do this, she’d have killed them.”
“Well, your precious Delphi isn’t here now, is she? You think she’s all that, but I still won, didn’t I? I still got the one thing she couldn’t have. You.”
Theo’s breathing turns ragged. “Why did you even fight for me if you didn’t want me? I was happy, damn you.”
“You ruined my fucking life!” she screeches. “You don’t get to be happy. You get to do as I fucking say. Remember what happens if you don’t.” She cackles cruelly.
Theo speaks louder, hoping I’m here like we planned. Maybe even hoping I’m not, because shit has already gone sideways. “Yeah, the bomb. I’m not sure I even believe that bullshit.”
“You believed it enough to come back,” she says with glee.
“You expect me to believe some random guy told you they have The Book Nook wired?”
“That random guy coughed up a quarter of a million dollars to get Josh out of that hellhole. So I trust him a lot fucking more than you right now when it’s your fault he was even there in the first place.”
“You know what? Fuck you, Diane. I’m done.”
“You leave this trailer again, and I’ll blow that bitch up myself. You sure you can live with that?”
“I won’t leave, but I’m not spending another fucking second with you, either. You make me sick.”
The sound of a slap reverberates through the trailer.
I suck in a sharp breath. Fuck this. Nobody touches my boy.
Before I can move, though, Theo is rushing into the room and slamming his door closed.
As soon as he spots me, his eyes widen, and I’m yanked into his arms. I hold him tight as he buries his face against my neck and breathes me in, his rage and heartbreak making him practically vibrate.
When I feel him calm a little, I pull back and cup his jaw. “Tell me what’s going on,” I whisper.
“She woke up happy. And I just knew something was wrong. How fucked-up is that? I made sure I did what you said. I just had a feeling, you know? Then, just before I left for school, there was a knock, and she practically skipped to the door. It was Josh, and she let him waltz right in. I fucking froze, Delphi. I should have run then. But I just couldn’t get my head around the fact that she let him back in with that big-ass smile on her face when she’s been miserable for the last two weeks.
Before I could do anything, he hit me. I fell onto the counter and curled up, knowing it was safer that way.
I must have passed out. When I woke up, I could hear the TV and mom telling Josh CPS was coming later for a visit, so he had to leave me alone for now. ”
He jumps when he hears banging in the living area, but I keep my hand pressed to the door and urge him to carry on.
“When I got to my feet, the coffee table was already littered with empty bottles, and Mom was smoking a joint. Josh told me to get him a beer, or he’d slash my throat and bury me in the backyard and tell CPS I ran away. Mom just laughed.”
He swallows as I tilt his face to get a better look at it. That’s going to look ten times worse tomorrow. I’m getting really fucking tired of seeing bruises on this kid’s face.
“So I got him a beer and slipped the powder inside like you told me to. I watched him drink it before I went to my room. I texted you and climbed out the window. I was almost to the shop when she pulled up in the truck, like she knew exactly where I would go.
“She yelled at me to get in the truck. I wasn’t going to, Delphi, but she started telling me about this guy who’d bailed Josh out and how he’d wired The Book Nook to explode. I want to believe she’s lying, but I couldn’t take that risk.”
He takes a shaky breath as I stroke his cheek.
“The Book Nook will be closed and empty by now. I doubt there is a bomb there at all, but we need to tweak the plan just in case. You need to leave now. Call Havoc and tell him about the bomb threat. He’ll send someone to check it out, then throw the phone in the river. ”
“But what if you need to reach me? What if you need my help?”
“Theo, you’ve done your bit. It’s time for me to do mine. I won’t let them hurt you anymore. You know that, right?”
“But I don’t want you to get hurt either.”
“Trust me.”
His mouth snaps shut as he stares into my eyes before cursing. He hugs me tightly before hurrying over to the window.
“Hey, Theo.” He turns to look at me. “Ask Havoc for a ride and head straight to the clubhouse. Don’t tell Kruger anything about me being here.”
He swallows before nodding. “I know. I remember.”
I watch him climb out the window before I take a deep breath, bracing myself when I hear Diane calling Theo. “Looks like it’s my time to shine.”
I stand tall, aim my gun ready, and swing the door open. Diane stands there with the phone I left on her pillow in her hand. “What the fuck is this? You have another…” Her voice trails off when she realizes I’m not Theo. Oh, and I’m armed.
“Who the fuck are you?”
I narrow my eyes at her. She cannot be this dumb. Or maybe she can. “I’m Josh’s girlfriend. Who the fuck are you?”
Her mouth drops open before she storms into the living room, screaming about cheating bastards, like I don’t have a gun pointed at her.
I walk in and watch with detached amusement as she lays into him. He doesn’t stir once, not even when she throws the phone at his head. It takes her five whole minutes before she realizes something is wrong.
“Josh?”
I gasp dramatically. “Oh my god, you killed him. You killed Josh.”
Her face goes white as she stumbles back, shaking her head. “No. The phone hardly touched him. He was already like this when I found him. He… he…” She shakes her head, her eyes moving to the hallway. “Where’s Theo?”
“Why? Want someone to pin it on?”
“I need him.”
“Fuck you, bitch. What you needed was a hysterectomy and a lobotomy. Now I’m not a surgeon, but I’m more than willing to give it a go.”
“I can’t believe Josh brought his whore here. He promised he wouldn’t do that again.”
“So you know he fucks around, but as long as you don’t see it, it’s okay? Wow, and here was me, thinking there was nothing lower than your IQ. But I didn’t factor in your self-esteem.”
She eyes me, her gaze running up my body with a sneer. “What the fuck would he want with a fat bitch like you?”
“I don’t know, might be that your coochy has seen more men pass through it than the communal showers down at the Y. Anyway, I think we’re getting a little sidetracked. With Theo out of here, it won’t be long before he gets help.”
She whips her head around and takes a step toward the hallway. “Theo. Theo. Come here, baby, Mommy needs you. You’re only a boy. They won’t do anything to you if you say it was an accident.”
“Okay, IQ is actually lower than your self-esteem. Good, I was worried for a minute you might get a bright idea and the spark would ignite us all. Theo is gone. You’re on your own.
Tell me, Diane, why’d you get him back? You didn’t need him.
He’s only a drain on your money when he’s here, so what’s the deal? ”
“Josh needed him. Theo’s young, good-looking. People pay good money to—”
I storm over and press the gun against her forehead. “You were going to sell your son.”
“No…no, not sell, just loan. Just needed enough money to get us back on our feet so we could move. Get a fresh start.”
“Did you even get clean?”
“There’s always some guy who will fudge the results of shit if you suck them off hard enough.”
I grab her hair and shove her away from me, grinning when she trips and hits the corner of the kitchen counter. “To think I thought Josh was the biggest monster here. You’re his fucking mother. Well, you were. I know someone ready and waiting to welcome him home with open arms.”
Her face hardens as she spits. “Delphi? She can’t have him. He’s mine.”
“He’s not a fucking toy that you can throw to your friends to play with. Did he touch him?” I point the gun at Josh.
“No,” she answers, but she looks away. I don’t miss the flash of guilt. She’s either lying, and he has, or he’s planning on it. And still this piece of shit let him back in.
“Liar. Guess I’d better speed this up a little. I can practically hear the sirens in the distance.”
I tilt my head and sight my gun on Josh before pulling the trigger twice, hitting him once in the chest, once in the face. Diane opens her mouth to scream, but I swing the gun to her head. “Scream, and you’re next.”
She snaps her mouth shut. I pull out the small kit in the inner zipper of my bag and toss it to her. “What you did is unforgivable. But you’re still his mother, so I’m giving you a choice. You can go out the same way as Josh, or you can drift off into oblivion. Choose, now.”
With a shaky hand, she unwraps the gift and finds a rubber band and the pre-made cocktail loaded into a syringe. She doesn’t hesitate. She wraps the band around her bicep, finds a vein she hasn’t ruined, and jabs the needle in. Her face goes lax almost immediately.
“You don’t deserve him. You never fucking did. I hope you rot in hell.”
I place the gun in her hands, her finger on the trigger. This is going to hurt like fuck, but I don’t hesitate. I aim the gun at my arm and fire.
I scream, nice and loud, hoping the neighbors hear me, as white-hot fire rips up my arm.
I let go of the gun, and her grip slackens.
I let it fall in her lap as I pull my gloves off and shove them into the bottom of my bag.
I pull my phone out and dial 911 as I grab a towel from the counter and press it to my arm with a groan.
When the call connects, I slide to the floor and lean against the wall, keeping my eye on Diane in case she jumps up like Michael Myers and shoots me.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“Help, I’ve been shot.”
“You’ve been shot? Is the shooter still there?”
“Yes, but I think they’re unconscious. I can’t tell without getting closer,” I whimper.
“No, stay where you are, ma’am. Help will be with you soon. Can you tell me where you are?”
I reel off the address I memorized just for this point.
“Can you tell me your name?”
“Delphi. Delphi Anders.”
“Alright, Delphi, is there anyone else in the house besides you and the shooter?”
“A man, but he’s dead. His face is…is… oh god I’m going to be sick.”
I drop the call and do just that, as the adrenaline crash makes my stomach pitch.
Once I’m done, I slide back, feeling myself get lightheaded.
Which gives me another idea. I eye the puke warily before leaning closer and lying down next to it.
I gather some spit in my mouth and use my tongue to slip it out of my lips and let it drip down the side of my face.
I let my eyes flutter closed for a second as fatigue washes over me, but I can’t sleep yet. I’m not done. I frown when I hear the sound of a bike outside. No, not bike. Bikes.
“Shit, not now, dammit,” I grumble just as the door is kicked in and a pissed-off Kruger appears before me in all his lethal glory.