Page 104 of More Than Nothing
The public defender exchanged some quiet words with Elenie, gave her shoulder a squeeze and left.
“I’ll see you when you’re done,” Dorsey said, gathering up her paperwork.
Belltower led them to the holding cells. Guy-rope taut, Roman followed in Elenie’s footsteps. Desperate to touch her, everything in him wanted to grasp Elenie’s fingers in his own, professionalism be damned, but her arms were folded tightly around her body and she didn’t give so much as a glance over her shoulder.
The custody officer handed over his keys to the detective. Unlocking one of the cell doors, Belltower gestured to Elenie and Roman to step inside, giving them a little respectful distance.
Athena perched on a bunk, her back against the wall, watchful eyes swiveled to the door. In skin-tight jeans and a chunky knit sweater, she looked disconcertingly mall-ready but the tendons in her neck were taut and her fingers twitched, drumming on the mattress.
“Mom.” Elenie’s voice cracked slightly on the single word and Roman felt the echo in his chest. She was shaking so hard, the hem of her skirt juddered against the backs of her knees.
“Are we getting out of here?” Athena dropped both feet to the floor, ignoring Roman and the detective completely. Her nostrils flared and she plucked at her sleeves.
“I—” Elenie stuttered on her reply. “I’m not sure they’re done with you yet.”
Athena’s pupils darted over Elenie’s face, her brows arcing, and Roman saw the moment of reckoning hit her like a storm burst. “You’ve done this. I don’t know how, but you have.” Her lips clamped so firmly they drained of color. Something fearful crawled across her expression. “You need to undo it,” she hissed.
“Even if I could, I wouldn’t.” Elenie shook her head.
“Get. My. Husband. Out. Of. Jail.”
“No.”
Roman saw Elenie swallow. Athena curled her fingers so tightly into her palms that her nails would have punctured the skin if she hadn’t bitten them all short.
“I need him,” she said.
“We can manage without Frank. I’ll help you. We can do it together.”
It was agony to hear Elenie beg.
Athena studied her with wild eyes and she let out a burst of panic-roughened laughter. “You can’t help me—you can’t give me any of the things he does. I don’t need you. I need Frank!”
“Mom—”
Athena reared back, a fleck of spit bubbling at the corner of her mouth. “I don’t want to hear it! I can’t believe you would do this to us.”
“Ididn’t do this to us.”
Her mother wasn’t listening. All reasoning had fled. “I gave up everything for you! You’ve been a burden to me from the day you were born. All I wanted was the chance to live my own goddamn life.”
“You can live your own life now. Start again. Tell them what you know about Frank and wipe the slate clean.”
Athena scoffed. “I love him. You don’t turn on people you love.”
Elenie flinched. “What about me, Mom? Where do we go from here?”
Roman cataloged the array of expressions that chased each other across Athena’s face. Fear, fury, confusion, dread. She was on the edge, near a meltdown, far weaker than her daughter. There was a moment when she wavered. Then her eyes hardened, her mouth twisted, and she stepped away.
“You are nothing to me.” Each word was a bullet. “I’m done with you.”
“You don’t mean that.” Elenie’s voice was a whisper.
Athena lifted her chin. “I do.”
Elenie searched her mother’s face during the silent standoff that followed. Time dragged its feet through the tangible hostility. Eventually, she nodded.
“I’m done too.” Her dignity sent splinters through Roman’s heart. “Goodbye, Mom.” In the doorway, Belltower stepped aside. She walked past him and out of the door without looking back.
