Page 98 of The Temptation
With a quiet sigh, I sit up and accept the call.
The sudden glare from the phone cuts through the darkness like a blade, and I have to rub my eyes, blinking hard as they struggle to adjust.
When my focus finally comes, and I get a good look at my mother’s battered, bruised face, I leap to my feet.
“What the fuck happened to your face?” I growl. “Who did that to you?”
“Romeo,” she cries. “I-I need your help.”
“What happened?” I roar as I move to the end of thebed and snatch up the tracksuit pants I dumped there earlier. “Was it him?”
“He checked himself out of rehab. He was angry because I hadn’t been visiting him. I don’t get my disability cheque until the end of the week, and without a car?—”
“Where are you?”
That fucker has crossed the line this time, and there’s no coming back from here.
“I’m hiding at the park down the street from my house. You know the one?”
I somehow managed to slide my pants on with one hand. “Don’t move. I’m on my way.”
“Please hurry. If he finds me, I’m not sure what he’ll do.”
I drop the phone onto the bed and shrug into my T-shirt. When I pop my head through the neck hole, I see Lucia rushing from the room.
If she thinks she’s coming with me, she’s mistaken.
By the time I grab a hoodie and slip into my shoes, she’s already returned, fully dressed.
“You’re staying here,” I snap.
“No, I’m not,” she retorts. “I’m not letting you go on your own.”
Not letting me.
I bark out a laugh, but it’s not a humorous one. I’m a grown fucking man. I don’t answer to her … I don’t answer to anyone. I’ve been navigating life solo for as long as I can remember.
“I’ll bring Killer inside; he’ll look after you until I get back.”
I go to move past her, but she grabs my arm. “I’m coming, Romeo, whether you like it or not.”
“It amuses me that you think you have a choice here, sweetheart.” I meet her eyes, giving her a look that tells her Imean business. “You remember what happened the last time I took you with me?”
“Nothing happened. We both made it back here safely.”
“You got seen!” I yell, louder than I meant to, and the words hang heavy in the air.
That thought stops me cold.
Am I so blinded with rage that I’m not thinking straight?
Is this a setup?
Doubt clouds my mind for a second, but I shake my head. No. I saw her face just now. She was beaten black and blue. It’s not the first time that bastard laid his hands on her, but I promise it will be the last.
“We can stand here all night arguing,” she snaps, “but that’s not going to help your mother.”
She’s right.
