Page 18 of That Emerald Vow

My mother slaps me so hard, I see stars. “You ungrateful little shit! I give you and her everything. And you dare say shit like that?”

I move away when she tries slapping me again.

“You can do whatever you want to yourself, to your stupid boyfriend, even to me. But leave Dani out of it,” I beg her as my voice cracks. “Please, Mom.”

Her face breaks into a smirk as she gently places her hand to comb through my hair. “Oh, sweetheart.” The little boy in me longing for maternal love leans into her touch.

The gentle caress turns into her grabbing my hair with all her strength.I feel several strands rip out. “I. Do. Everything. For. You. Kids,” she spits out. “Now, it’s time for at least one of you to earn your keep.”Is she gonna make Dani . . .I can’t even finish the thought.

She shoves me to the floor, my back hitting the edge of the mattress frame. I wince in pain. “Mom! Please!”

Without a second glance in my direction, she heads out the door. “I am going out for a bit. If you know what’s good for you and your sister, you’ll have my dinner ready by the time I return.”

I get up, ignoring the pain in my back, and head to my room. Once safely inside, I take out the hidden phone in my sock drawer. We don’t have a mobile plan, but I paid for some minutes for my illegal activities and for emergencies on a burner phone. I dial in the number I’ve saved for the last few years but never had the balls to use. With each ring, my hope depletes until I hear the line connect and a familiar voice say, “Police Department. Detective Whitey speaking.”

“She doesn’t deserve our sympathy.” I close my eyes and find it in me to calm down. Internally, I am seething, but my need to comfort my sister trumps my own need to process these feelings. I stand up to go towards Dani and kneel in front of her. She’s a young adult now, but she still looks so young. Naive to the cruelty of the world . . . The cruelty of our mother.“She never earned it,” I say, taking both of her hands in mine.

“I know, but she’s our m—” Dani starts.

“She gave birth to us, and I will mourn the loss of the mother she was meant to be.” I smile at her as I squeeze her hands. “But that woman doesn’t exist. She didn’t get to see how her beautiful daughter turned out so amazing, even with a jackass for a brother.” I wink at her.

With tear-filled eyes, she smiles. “You didn’t do so bad.” Dani squeezes my hand before saying, “I love you, D . . . but they’re considering early release as she has mereweeks.”

“No,” I say, looking up sternly, knowing where this is going.

“They asked where she can stay,” Dani says, tears spilling over.

“No,” I say louder. “It is not safe for her to stay here.”

“Come on, D. It’s been six years. Maybe she’s—” Dani starts.

I stand up because I need to move around. There are so many emotions rushing through me. “There’s no changing someone like that. She’s not staying here. That’s final.”

“You don’t control me,” Dani says. “It’s only a few months. You have no say.”

I turn to her. “First of all, you are absolutely right.Iraised you to be a strong, independent woman.” I emphasize theI,and the pain in my voice is clear. “She was too busy getting high. Second of all, she is not gonna keep you safe. She’ll just drag you down with her.”

“D.”

“No. And thirdly, if she really is dying, then that is more trauma that you don’t need to suffer through for a woman who didn’t do jack shit for us.” I go back towards her. “Listen, I know you feel a sense of responsibility. But I promise you, you don’t need to. She doesn’t deserve it. I’ll talk to the lawyer, okay?”

“But what if—”

Cutting her off, I say through clenched teeth, “If I must, I’ll get her hospice. Butwehave nothing else to do with her.”

She looks instantly relieved, making concern flood in versus the anger I feel about my mother still causing issues from prison. Dani doesn’t even know the grave details of how she went in other than drugs. The drugs are what got her thrown into prison before she could have done anything else to scar my poor sister. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Oh . . . Okay.” Her shoulders relax. “I thought we had to take her in. So I tried to accept it.”

“You don’t have to accept anything. You don’t have to deal with her.” Ipull her into my arms. “I’m sorry if my pigheadedness stopped you from talking to me earlier.”

“Thanks, Damon,” says Dani as she nuzzles into my chest. There is nothing I won’t do for her.

“No more giving her money either. That’s yours. I’ll deal with her,” I say as I rub her back, feeling the tension continue to release from her body. “Now enough of that. Tell your big bro all about what’s been going on.”

She pulls back, looking sheepish. “I have a new girlfriend!”

I laugh. “Come on. Let’s go grab some lunch and you can tell me all about her.” A warmth expands in my chest at the idea of my little sister finding love, and I can’t help but smile as Charlie’s laughing face fills my head.

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