Page 33 of Cross My Heart
His mother’s angry curses echo through the walls.
“Remember the promise I made you? No one is ever going to hurt you again, not as long as I’m around? Remember that?”
The poor kid doesn’t make any moves, although I can see in his eyes that he hears me.
“Is that your mother over there?” I say, pointing behind him.
Tate’s eyes travel towards the door again, and he pales, but nods.
“Well, she seems a little scary right now, but I’ve got you,” I tell Tate, drawing him in for a hug. “I am going to send her away and let your dad handle it. I need you to help me with the girls while I do that. They are in the family room sleeping in their pack n’ plays. I need you to go in there, close the door and sing them a song, very quietly, so they stay sleeping. Can you do that for me?”
With one shaky look at the door, he turns and heads to the family room.
What the hell do I do now? Where is Preston?
I know I can’t let her into the house, she’s terrifying.What did Dex ever see in her?I wonder. I pull out my phone and do the only thing I can think of, I facetime Dex. He doesn’t answer. Come on. Please answer the phone. I try three more times before he finally picks up.
“Lanie, sorry, I was going through customs. Everything alright?” he says, sounding out of breath.
“I, well…” I begin, but he cuts me off.
“What’s that noise, Lanie? What’s going on?” He asks, concern lining his question.
“We have a visitor,” I say, walking to the front door and quickly slipping outside, immediately closing the door behind me. Not letting Tate’s mother in the house, while hopefully keeping whatever is going to happen now from reaching Tate’s ears.
“Who the hell are you?” She screams. “Why didn’t you let my son come to the door?” My face is ashen as I turn the phone around so Dex can see his ex-wife face to face.
“Answer me, God damn it.” Tate’s mother yells.
Before I know what is happening, she slaps me across the face with enough force to send me reeling back into the door.
“Anna, that is enough!” comes Dexter’s angry, pained scream. “Lanie, are you alright? Let me see you.” I’m dizzy but manage to turn the camera on myself in time to see his eyes fill with a rage I’ve never seen before. I look up, trying to keep tabs on the woman who will likely strike again when I realize Preston has pulled into the driveway and is sprinting towards us.
“Anna, what the fuck are you doing here? Lanie? What the hell? Did you hit her, Anna?” Preston looks as wild as Dexter, who is now shouting through the phone. Preston finally hears him and grabs the phone from me.
“Preston? Thank fuck. Get Lanie in the house, please, keep her phone though, I need to deal with Anna.”
“You and me both,” he grumbles.
“Deal with me? Me? I am their mother, you assholes,” she shrieks, sounding slightly unhinged.
Preston ignores her, turning his back to talk to me. “Lanie, go inside, alright? Check on the kids.”
I nod and run through the door, but not before I hear Dexter’s dangerously low voice, “You gave up the right to call yourself a mother the minute you walked away.If you ever come near my kids or touch Lanie again, I’ll kill you myself.”
I run to the kitchen, pausing at the family room door to listen for Tate. He is still singing to the girls and sounds calm. I hurry to the kitchen for an ice pack, then head back to Tate. The poor kid, that bitch did something to him, I can just feel it. He was so stricken when he saw her through the window. I know that fear.
I slip into the room, but when Tate turns to see me, he bursts into tears. “Hey, buddy!” I say, trying to fake a calm I don’t feel. “It's okay, I’m fine, I was in such a hurry to get to you I ran into the door. You’re okay now, I’m here.”
He raises his hand to remove the ice pack.
“Hey, I’m fine. Preston is here. He is sending your mom away and letting your dad deal with her. Do you want to talk about what just happened? You didn’t seem very happy to see her.”
Tate shakes his head and quietly says, “She doesn’t like me.”
My heart breaks for him. He buries his head into my neck and cries just as Preston slips into the room. A furious expression on his face.
When his eyes land on mine, he swears. “Fuck!”
