Page 138 of Blade

Once I got home, I called my mother.

Surprise, surprise, she didn’t answer, either.

I left her a different message. Not one pleading for her to be the good person I knew she couldn’t be. She had never been a good person. She wouldn’t change now. Instead, I asked her to come here.

I knew what I was about to do would piss off everyone, but by the time they knew what I had done, it would be over.

Easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

It was less than an hour later when a car pulled into my driveway. She walked in without knocking, like she owned the place.

I knew she thought she should.

“Alright, Rebecca, I’m here. What do you want?”

I looked at the woman that gave birth to me. I knew her personality. Knew her temper. I knew what buttons to push to make her react.

“Why did you do it?”

She raised her eyebrow.

“You need to be more specific.”

“Grant. Why did you push him to go after me?”

She threw her head back and laughed.

“Grant was a catch. He was handsome, rich, and he wasn’t an asshole. You could do a lot worse. Youhavedone a lot worse.”

She threw herself into the kitchen chair and looked around the room.

“God, I hate this house. It needs to be torn down. That’s probably why she left it to you. She knew I would have demolished it.”

She looked back at me.

“What do you really want to know?”

“Why did you lie to my father and tell him you had an abortion? Did you hate me so much that you didn’t want me to have a dad? Why didn’t you get the abortion if you didn’t want me?”

“I wanted you, at first. I lied to him because I didn’t want him. He was a great fuck, but he was a beat cop with no drive. Declan wasn’t going anywhere. He had that brat to take care of and I had no interest in raising some punk kid.”

“You mean his little brother? My uncle?” I asked.

“I didn’t want him coming after me. You were supposed to be like me. You were supposed to be my partner in crime. I was going to teach you everything you needed to get a rich husband. Instead, you were like her. She was such a fucking hippie. Who names their kid after a tree, for Christ’s sake?”

She stood up from the table and started pacing. I could see the agitation taking hold, so I pushed.

“At least she loved me.”

“I LOVED YOU!” she screamed.

Taking a deep breath, she continued.

“She held you back. She didn’t want you to do anything more than she did. Wanted you to stay in this godforsaken town for the rest of your life. Born in Diamond Creek, die in Diamond Creek. Just like she did.”

“Is that so bad? She had a beautiful life. She had a happy life.” I stood from the table and walked over to the counter.

The knife block was sitting right behind me, within reach.

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