Page 62 of Trailer Trash

“Get out.”

“Gladly. Just remember karma’s a bitch, Stella, so maybe take a good hard look at how you got here.”

“Neely Kate!” she screamed, and the baby started crying.

I braced myself and walked into the living room.

Stella was livid—more so than I’d ever seen her. “Get the fuck out!” she screamed, pointing to the door. “Get out of my house!”

Jed tried to put the crying baby in the crib in the living room, but she wrapped her small hands around his arm, clinging for dear life. His jaw clenched as he pried her off. He stood there for a moment as if to gather himself, then turned to stare down at Stella. “There’s a special place in hell for people who mistreat defenseless children, and I suspect you’ve already got your place reserved.”

“Get. Out!” she screeched. “And don’t you come back, Neely Kate!”

Jed moved to the door and opened it, waiting for me to exit. I didn’t say a word to Stella as I headed outside, trying to shake loose from the desperation and hopelessness that had soaked into my soul. Jed followed, closing the door behind him. I expected him to slam it shut, but he seemed more controlled now that we’d left Stella’s hellish den. He was reaching for his phone and tapping on the screen before we even reached the staircase to the parking lot.

I didn’t say a word as he placed his call, an anonymous tip about a mother neglecting her baby, giving Stella’s name and address. Then he got into the car and grabbed the steering wheel.

I got in next to him, slightly unnerved by the rage he was suppressing. I waited for him to back out of the space after he started the car, but he didn’t move, just watched the door with narrowed eyes.

After a minute or two, some of the tension eased out of him and he turned toward me. “I’m sorry. I blew it in there.”

I shook my head. “No. You didn’t.”

“I did. Now I’m worried she’ll run before the authorities show up.”

“No,” I said. “She won’t. She wouldn’t dream of me doin’ it. She thinks I’m too weak. And you . . . she would expect you to defend Crystal with your fists, not by calling Family Services.”

“That’s sick and twisted.”

“And yet that’s her life.”

He kept his eyes on the door. “It used to be yours.”

“Until I left. But I lived through a lot of shit before I left, Jed.”

He didn’t answer, and I started to get nervous.

“How long do you plan to stay here?” I asked.

“Long enough to make sure she doesn’t bolt.”

“I never asked her about Kate,” I said. “I don’t know if Kate found her.”

“We found Stella in less than half an hour. If Zelda talked about her, then it’s a safe bet that Kate found her too.”

He was probably right.

His body was so tense it was practically twitching, but he relaxed slightly as he turned to face me. “What did he make you do, Neely Kate?”

I swallowed, my fear rising.

He shook his head, turning back to stare out the windshield. “No. You don’t have to answer that.”

“Do you want to know?” I asked.

“I thought I did. Now I’m not so sure.”

“Because I disgust you?”

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