Page 16 of Protecting His Woman
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am, I just ...can I sit?”Dhalia pointed to the toilet.
“Sure.”
She put the toilet lid down and perched on the top.
Vicki waited, knowing there was no point in rushing her sister.Dhalia ran her fingers through her long, blonde hair.She was such a beautiful young woman.Fourteen, going on what felt like forty at times.There had been many boys coming to the house, knocking on the door, wanting to take her out.Dhalia was not interested.She wanted to get her education, open a beauty salon, and have a life that was nowhere near complicated like their mother’s.
“You’ve got to let her go,” Dhalia said.“I know she’s our mom and we should love her, and I guess a small smidge of me does.I do love Mom, but ...I hate her, Vicki.She’s not going to change.She is the same woman she has always been.I mean, one day I came home from school, and she was passed out, and left a line of cocaine on the fucking table ...Betsy could have been playing in it.”Dhalia stopped and her little hands clenched into fists.“She’s toxic, Vicki, and you have a way of stopping her.Don’t let your kind heart distract from the fact she is going to ruin your life, if you let her.”
Chapter Five
There was a small placewithin Old County that no one but Damion knew about.It was near the river, away from families, surrounded by the forest, yet open enough to allow you to think you could escape.
From the moment he walked into the diner and saw how tired Vicki was, he knew the decision he had given her was driving her crazy.She looked like she hadn’t slept.So, he informed Tank he would be a waitress down.
He watched as Vicki tilted her head up to the sky, and she looked so damn happy.This is what he wanted for her.She hadn’t had an easy life.He was aware a lot of people had fucked-up lives in Old County.That was the price of living there.However, most families didn’t have an addict mom who only thought of herself.There were good people in Old County who loved their kids and would do anything for them.They certainly wouldn’t sell them.
“How long have you known about this place?”Vicki asked, spinning toward him.
“A while.”He found it when he was back in high school.There had been a few requests to purchase land nearby, but he always refused.Some pieces of heaven needed to be preserved.There were other parts of Old County that could be used to sell land and all that shit.
“It’s amazing,” Vicki said.“Do you come here often?”
“When the need arises.”It was rare for him to need a solitary place to call his own.In all honesty, it was not necessary at all, but he had a feeling she needed to get away.“There is nothing but you, the world, and God, and that is a majestic feeling.”
Vicki smiled.“I didn’t think you believed in God.”
“I believe, just like I know there is a devil,” he said.“We all have difficult choices to make.It is hard for us to do that, surrounded by everyone.”
Vicki sighed, running fingers through her hair.
“Frank knew.It would seem it’s pretty big news you giving me a decision like this,” Vicki said.
“It’s not.You’re a civilian, and it was you who was put at risk by your own mother.If she wasn’t family, I would have dealt with it.”
