Page 20 of Coerced Queen

“You could’ve called me,” I say.

“Bah.”My mom waves a hand.“Don’t make such a fuss over nothing.Bertrand is a tough guy.Fucking asshole deserved more than a cut in the arm.He’ll survive.”

“I should call the cops.”

“On your own mother?”she shrieks.“What kind of a daughter are you?Here I am out of concern, worrying my poor stomach into barfing, and this is the welcome I get.”

“Cut the crap, Mom.I wasn’t born yesterday.”

She scratches her chin.“I need money and a place to crash.”

“You can’t stay here.”

“What?”Her upper lip curls.“Are you going to throw me out on the fucking street?Don’t you give a damn what happens to me?”

“I do, which is why I pulled a lot of strings to get a place for you at the center.”

Spreading her arms, she says, “I want another chance.I changed.I swear it.I thought you were minced meat.Made me realize shit.Made me realize what I’d been missin.’So there I was, bawling my eyes out, thinking I need to make this right.”She wipes the back of her hand over her eyes.“I want to live with you again.Just for a while.You can test-drive it, see how it goes.”

“Here’s the deal, Mom.If you go back to the center and prove that you can stay sober and clean, we can discuss your living arrangements.Until then, you’re on your own.It’s your choice.”

Livy makes a sound of agreement.

“Fucking lethal,” my mom says, placing a palm on her heart.“You cut me to the bone, baby.I swear to God, you know how to bleed me.”

“That’s my offer.”I cross my arms.“Take it or leave it.”

“That’s low,” she says, looking wounded.“Fucking low.”

“I’ll pay for another week at the center.If you haven’t returned there when that time is up, I’ll tell them they can give your place to someone else.And then you can forget about asking me for help again.”

“Jeez,” she says, taking a step back.“Never thought you could be so cruel.”

“Think it over,” I say, closing the door in her face.

Livy looks at me with pride.“You did the right thing.”

Maybe, but it doesn’t hurt less.Turning my own mother away is one of the most difficult things I’ve done.

“Do you think she’ll go back?”I ask, uncertainty gnawing at me.Because if something happens to her, I’ll never stop blaming myself.

“Who knows?”Livy sighs.“Whatever she decides, it’s out of your hands.You’ve done as much as you could.”Her voice turns wary.“One thing is for sure.If she does come back to live with you, none of us will sleep easy.”

“Oh, she won’t be living here.If her psychologist deems her in a healthy enough state of mind to leave the center, I’ll get her a place of her own.If she doesn’t want to stay alone, I’ll move her into a retirement village where she’ll be between people of her age.”

“I’m glad you’re thinking straight.You don’t need this on top of everything else that’s happening.”

Livy is right.As usual, my mom is making a mess of things, and the timing couldn’t be worse.

Blowing out a long breath, I get my phone to inform my mom’s psychologist of the turn of events.

ChapterNine

Saverio

My wife has a warped sense of duty.She sits at my bedside no matter how long I ignore her, sponging down my arms and showing me photos of Claire as payment for saving her life.

When she wrings out the sponge and brings it back to the skin of my elbow, I catch her wrist.“You don’t have to do this.There are nurses for that.”

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