Page 62 of Filthy Savage

“You ain’t going nowhere.” She grabs my arm and yanks me hard, almost causing me to trip.

I clutch my stomach, the instant urge to protect my daughter hitting me like a pile of bricks.

“Don’t you fucking touch her!” Emily gets in the middle of us, and as she does, my mother’s hazy vision drops to my stomach, now visible from the way I hold it.

“Are you pregnant, you slut?”

The words are like a blow to my heart.

“Don’t call me that.” My upper lip curls and anger radiates through my limbs.

She laughs. “You think you can raise a child?”

Getting closer, I come face-to-face with her. “I can do much better than you ever have. Then again, that’s not saying much.”A slow-growing smile captures my lips. “I’ll give my daughter everything I can. Do everything for her. I’ll be the kind of mother you were never capable of being.”

“She’s never gonna love you.” Her mouth tremors. “Your father never did, either. And no matter how much you’ve wanted to know who he is, I’ll never tell you. He doesn’t want you. You know that, right?”

Her words are a sharp bite, but I don’t show her how much they affect me.

“He left you while you cried, begging him to stay.”

I force away the stinging blinding my vision, but it blinds me anyway. The pain from her words etched in my heart.

“I’m leaving. Goodbye, Mother.”

Her face grows ashen. “You can’t go. I’ll have nowhere to live.”

“Get a job. I did. Two, in fact, just so I could pay the rent here and afford to move. I’m done now. Figure it out yourself.”

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d have the courage to face her this way. But having a child, it’s given me a reason.

“Come on, Em.” I grab her arm and start out.

“You get back here, you ungrateful bitch! You’re nothing without me! I made you who you are!”

Opening the door to my blue sedan, I return my attention to her. “You’re right. You ruined me and turned me into who I had to become. But that’s all thanks to me. You did nothing but hurt me. Now you’ll never get to hurt my baby.”

Getting into the car, I shut the door on the life that once consumed me.

Now I have hope. A new beginning. And all the possibilities waiting for me on the other side.

CHAPTER 16

AMARA

ALMOST THREE MONTHS LATER

“Push!”

The doctor holds my feet while Emily and Lilith clutch my hands, with Patricia standing off to the side.

I can’t believe the last few months have flown by so quickly and I’m about to see my daughter for the first time. My heart aches that she’ll have no father, that I’m alone in this. But it’s what we have, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Come on. You’ve got this, Amara,” Emily says. “Fia can’t wait to meet her mama.”

Tears well in my eyes, and I give one big push until her cry fills the room, and emotions like I’ve never felt before hit me all at once.

“You have a healthy baby girl.” The doctor places her on my chest, and through the blinding vision, I see her face.

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