Chapter 27 #2
“You disappeared without getting a new phone, Cash. Thought you’d get a few days away from me, didn’t ya.” He crooks his head around me. “Look who’s here. Livianna, did ya have fun stealing my nephew away?”
“We had the best time, John.” She stands beside me, painting on a brave face. “Even better without you around.”
He growls and takes a step toward her.
I push her behind me. “Uncle John, leave her alone.”
“I wasn’t gonna touch her. She’s not worth it.” His gaze moves to the floor.
He focuses on something. Before I have the chance to make sense of it, he bends over and picks up the test Livianna dropped. He flips the stick and peers at the results window.
“Well, what do we have here? Is that…” He brings it closer to his face. “Two dark blue lines. What does that mean?”
I brace myself for the hell that’s sure to follow. “You’re a smart guy. I’m sure you can figure it out.”
He flicks the plastic test at me. It almost hits me in the head, but my reflexes have me grabbing it out of the air.
“Get rid of it, Cash!” He explodes, pushes me aside, and goes for Livianna. “You manipulative little girl! Do you think you can trap him? He’s meant for greatness, not this.”
I trip to the side but stabilize myself and fist his shirt. “Touch her and fucking die.”
“She’s a slut.” He takes my hand in his and squeezes it so hard it cracks.
“You’re gonna break it and then what are you left with?” I eye his grip, getting ready to beat the living shit out of him. “My voice alone isn’t enough. Not with all the competition out there. You’ve said it yourself.”
“You didn’t see what I saw on New Year’s Eve.” He releases me. “She let that guy fuck her and then tried to say nothing happened, but I saw her clothes. Something definitely took place. Think with your head, Cash. It’s probably not even your kid.”
I see red. I’m on top of him, pounding on him in seconds. Livianna screams and tries to pull me off him. Somehow she gets yanked to the floor. The three of us are rolling around.
He’s going for her while I’m trying to protect her and take him out at the same time. His fist hits my jaw and everything goes black.
I regain consciousness to screams, grunts, and cursing coming from all directions. My vision is blurry, so I blink and try to get my mind right.
“John, you’re going to hurt her!” My ma’s yelling brings it all back.
Adrenaline has me stumbling to my feet. My ma is trying to pull my uncle away from Livianna as he kicks her in the stomach. With each blow her tiny body takes, the light fades from her terrified eyes.
“You motherfucker!” I charge and tackle him.
We land on the bed and I swear I’m gonna kill him.
“Bubba, don’t!” My ma wraps her arms around my shoulders. “We need to help Livianna.”
Livianna coughs as she cries. I release my uncle, hurry to her side on the floor, and pull her into my lap.
“Lily. I’m sorry, love.” Fire flows through my veins.
I’m beyond livid. My body trembles, but I bring in deep breaths to calm myself down. I find my ma’s gaze.
She stands between my uncle and me. I don’t have to explain what’s going on because she has the pregnancy test with her palm wrapped around it.
She turns to my uncle. “John, get out of my house.”
“Victoria, they’re going to ruin everything.” He gets to his feet. “There are bigger things we need to worry about. You know this.”
She points to the bedroom door. “Go. We’ll talk about this later when the kids aren’t around.”
“That baby is going to be the death of all of us.” He glares. “It needs to be taken care of.”
“You know that’s not an option. That’s not how I raised my son. There will be no discussion of terminating her pregnancy. That baby is my grandchild. You can choose to accept it or consider yourself out of our lives.” She stares, determination burning in her eyes.
He growls deep from his chest and stomps out of the house. Livianna shakes in my arms as bile rises in my throat.
Ma sits next to us and runs her palm over Livianna’s belly. “We need to see your stomach, honey.”
“No.” Livianna pushes my ma’s hand away. “I don’t want to.”
“Okay. We don’t need to look.” Ma glances at me.
Her concerned expression tells me she wants me to intervene.
“Please show me.” I lean over and kiss Livianna on the temple. “I need to know what he did to you.”
“He kicked me repeatedly.” Her eyes gloss over. “We don’t need to see the proof. We all saw what he did.”
“Lily, if he hit you hard enough…” My throat burns and my chest tightens. “You might need to go to a doctor.”
She waits for a moment, then grips the bottom of her sweatshirt with one hand and the top of her bottoms with the other. She moves the material until her bare skin comes into view. It’s bright red, with spots of blue and purple indicating broken blood vessels.
I close my eyes and bear down on my teeth. I’m sick and empty inside. My uncle is gonna pay for this.
Ma gasps. “Livianna, we need to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.” She puts her clothes back in place. “I need to go home.”
“No, you don’t.” Bren stands in my doorway. “What’s going on?”