Page 87 of Stolen Fate
Evelyn nodded, and made a move to leave when Camila shrieked, “Where do you think you’re taking my son, bitch? I told you I am his mother, and I want to see him!” She turned to me then, her eyes a bit glazed. I knew right away she was using again. “You would be so cruel as to keep him from me, Jace?”
I moved forward and I knew I looked angry when, even with her mind hopped up on dope, she stepped back, getting back some sense of self-preservation.
I took note of all the ways she had let herself go since I kicked her out, from the dry, brittle brown hair and her pale, grayish complexion that even makeup couldn’t hide, to the fact that she had lost weight—and it wasn’t like she had much to lose to begin with.
She was still in designer clothing, but they were ones she bought when she had been married to me and had easy access to my bank account. They now hung off her frame, the fabric coming loose from one too many rounds in the washing machine.
She was a far cry away from her former self, and I couldn’t bring myself to care.
“You. Are. Not. His. Mother,” I said, enunciating each word so she understood where I saw her position in Elliot’s life. She wasn’t his mother in more than one sense of the word. And we both knew that was true. “The police are on their way. Now, you can leave before they get here, and get whatever the hell it is you’re using flushed out of your system, or you can stay here and wait for them to arrest you and give you a drug test. I won’t bail you out of trouble this time. For all I care, you can rot behind bars for the rest of your miserable life.”
“You would do that to me?” Tears sprang to her eyes, but I stood where I was. I knew all of her tricks by now.
“I would do worse to you if I could get away with it,” I said, quietly. I didn’t want Elliot to have to witness all of my ugly side, but no one could bring that out of me more than Camila. “I already told you, there is nothing and will never be anything between us. You understand that?”
She shook her head and her gaze moved to Evelyn and Elliot. I moved closer to them. It felt dirty that she was even able to look at them.
She didn’t deserve to be able to.
“Don’t look at them—look at me, and understand this. Stay the fuck away from me and my family. Do you understand?”
“You’d leave me destitute? After all I’ve done for you? I’m not asking for much, just some financial support, and I promise I won’t ever go near Elliot again.”
Evelyn made a noise of disgust behind me; a mistake, because it brought Camila’s attention back to her.
“Why are you acting like this with the nanny? Why are you getting so protective?” she asked.
Then her lips formed in an ugly smirk. “Are you fucking the help already? What would the world think of you? And seriously, her? Your standards have really dropped since me, huh?”
I could see Evelyn wrapping her hands protectively around Elliot’s small body as she took a small step back. I hated that they were even there to witness this.
“My standards have never been as low as they had been when I started dating you. They dropped even further after we got married. Don’t even try to compare yourself to anyone, but least of all her. You’ll never compare.”
Camila’s smile died on her lips and then it curled into a snarl directed at Evelyn. “You’re just a plaything for him now. A temporary amusement. Don’t fool yourself into thinking he could be more. That he could be a better man. Just look at how he treats the mother of his child.”
I had had enough. I made a move toward Camila and she backed away from me, her eyes widening in fear. I didn’t get off on scaring women—I’d lived most of life aware of my size compared to other people, and to women especially—but I needed Camila to fear me. I needed her to fear me enough to leave us the fuck alone, and I didn’t care if I had to use my size to achieve that. I leaned down until our faces were inches apart, and spoke quietly, coldly. “You are not his mother. You have never been his mother and you will never be his mother. Don’t you fucking dare claim that title, do you fucking hear me?”
She blanched, and it was taking everything in me not to reach out and physically remove her from the property. I would if I needed to, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to touch her, and luckily it didn’t seem like I would need to because I heard police sirens coming our way.
I looked back at Evelyn. “Please take him inside,” I said, my voice desperate.
Evelyn nodded and walked back inside with Elliot. I blocked Camila’s path when she made a move to grab at them, and I watched as Evelyn disappeared from sight with the most precious person in the world to me.
