Page 219 of Bad for Me

The eat-in dining room is set for four and we serve ourselves before taking a seat. Jude sits across from me, and his proximity makes me feel trapped. Every time I look up, I see him staring back at me with the same cold, empty eyes he had six years ago. Honestly, being with the three of them again makes me feel sick to my stomach. I have no solitude to eat because I can’t stop thinking about why I’m here.

What could have possibly changed to make me welcomed here again, after clearly being told I was never allowed back?

“Are you feeling okay?” Colin asks me.

“Yeah, you barely touched your food,” Cain adds, gesturing toward my full plate.

Are they fucking serious right now?Do they think we can all just sit here and play house after what’s happened?

“No, I’mnotokay. My aunt died, and since she was my only family, I’m alone. I got fired from my job before Cain abducted me. I’m being forced to sit at a table with three men who acted like I didn’t exist for the past six years for some mysterious reason they won’t share. You forced me back to a place I was excommunicated from. And I almost got blown up—almostdied.”

I take a sip of my wine, trying to forget how scared I was when the bombs went off.

Jude sighs, rolling his eyes like my reality inconveniences him.

“I wanted to enjoy our Christmas dinner first, but I can see you’re going to be difficult. So let’s cut to the chase. You’re welcome here again because I said so,” Jude decrees, like the arrogant fucking king he thinks he is, then takes a bite of some chicken. He leisurely sips his wine, as if that small morsel of information is justification enough.

“Because you said so?”

“Yeah, Wisteria Jean, because I fucking say so,” he growls with finality.

I set my cloth napkin on my table and stand up. “In that case, it was nice to see you all again. I’m leaving.”

Before I can even step away from the table, Cain grabs my wrist.

“Baby girl, please stay,” he implores me. “Jude, I think we need to share more than that…”

“My father has been in a coma for a year. When I took over for him, I decided it was time for you to come back home,” Jude says.

“I’m sorry about Father Mannix…but that still doesn’t explain the bombs. Or why these two were stalking me. Or why I’m not safe. Colin said those people that bombed the house are part of the reason I needed to come back here–they’re after me.”

“I think we need to explain it from the beginning and tell Wisteria about her mother.” Cain gives me a tense look, as if he’s preparing himself for something bad. His eyes dart to Colin, who then looks at Jude.

Whatever silent conversation they’re having, it doesn’t bode well for me. The fact that they kepteverythingfrom me irritates me.

“What does my mother have to do with it—she was dead long before Aunt Norma and I were kicked out.” Thinking of losing my mother and leaving the only home I ever had only adds to the uncomfortably irritating feeling wrapping around my limbs, pushing it way down my throat.

“Your mom wasn’t who she said she was,” Jude answers me.

I wait for him to elaborate, but he just sits there, assessing me as if he was trying to think of a way to deliver the big, bad secret they were all keeping from me.

“I think I should pick it up from here,” Cain interrupts. “Do you remember coming here as a toddler, Wisteria?”

“Not really. Mom told me later we were fleeing her abusive ex boyfriend and that Aunt Norma came with us. We only had our backpacks. Y’all took us in, no questions asked. We stayed with Cain and his family until they had his little sister, and then we moved to our own little house nearby.”

“Did you ever notice she never had any baby pictures of you?” he asked in a leading way.

“No…” I think back to my childhood. Now that he mentions it, I never saw pictures of me as a baby. All of my pictures and memories in the scrapbooks we made were from The Farm.

“That’s because she wasn’t your biological mother. She was a long term plant from a rival gang, The Skulls, who also have a stake in the gun trade. They knew Father Mannix had a sweet spot for single moms, and that he’d let you both stay if she showed up with a bruised face and a kid in tow. Her orders were to get close to him, get information on shipments and how we ran. What we were selling to who and when. Our run routes. She threatened to expose us and our entire operation,” Jude continues.

“W-what?” That can’t be true. They have to be lying. She had to be my mother…because Norma was my aunt... “But what about my aunt?”

“Norma wasn’t your aunt,” Jude confirmed. “She was Crystal’s real sister though. The DNA test my father did after Crystal passed confirmed it.”

“He DNA tested them?”

“Of course. Your mom died right around the time he realized she was leaking information, and he got a DNA sample from her then. He asked me to get samples from you and Norma. The only reason my dad let you two stay on the farm after everything came to light was because Norma came to him on her own and confessed before he confronted her, saying she wanted out of her gang and was willing to play double agent,” Jude explained.

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