Page 38 of Ringer's Freedom

“Excuse me?” Renee screams. “You do not get to talk to me like that!”

“Just leave, Mom,” I add, trying to stop Sasha from running away.

Shit, if I were her, I’d be running away too. My mom looks like a crazy fucking psycho. Who the hell knows what's going through Sasha’s head right now.

I watch the train wreck that is my mom and dad arguing in front of me for just a moment before grabbing Sasha’s hand and leading her to her car. Once we’re out of earshot, I turn to her as she opens her car door to leave. “Don’t listen to her. She’s crazy and my dad has absolutely no feelings for her anymore. If you really care about my dad, come up to my apartment with me and wait for her to leave, then let him explain. She’s only here to pick some shit up. Then she’s hopefully moving away for good.”

“Be honest with me, Lilah,” she sniffles. “If I do this thing with your dad, is Renee just going to keep popping up?”

I wince at her question. Unfortunately, no one ever knows what Renee is planning. She shows up when she feels like it and leaves just as fast. “I can’t answer that, Sash. We all hope she doesn’t come back, but she always does. My dad knows her game. He deals with it so I don’t have too.”

Sasha nods and looks back towards my dad. Something must click in her head because she closes her door, presses the lock, and turns towards me. “Let’s go.”

I smile, thankful my dad has someone in his corner. It’s a plus for me that she’s someone pretty damn important to me too.

On the down side, the only way to get to my apartment is to pass where my dad and Renee are currently in a screaming match. Eyes forward, we start walking back up the drive.

“Lilah Jane! Do not just walk away from me like that!” Renee shrieks behind me.

I don’t skip a step as I continue on, pulling Sasha behind me. “Fuck off, Renee.”

She’s shouting so loud at my dad that I can hear her even as we climb my stairs. “You’re going to let that spoiled brat talk to me like that? Your mother ruined that child!”

If she hadn’t brought Nana into it, I would have kept on climbing the steps. I would have taken Sasha into my apartment and kept her busy until my dad came for her. I would have let Renee spout her stupid bullshit like she always does.

That woman can do any damn thing she wants. She can leave for the rest of my life, she can call me names, and she can make our lives miserable. But the one thing she doesn’t get to do? She does not get to bring my poor nana into it.

Sasha gasps behind me as I leave her on the steps to my apartment and rush back down.

My dad’s strong arms catch me around my waist, stopping me as I charge at my so-called mother. Tears sting my eyes as I fight against his grip. “Nana was more of a mother to me than you ever were! You don’t get to tarnish her name and say shit about the way that I turned out! You weren’t there!”

Renee smirks at me and shrugs. “You’re proving my point by how you are acting right now, Lilah Jane.”

“Quit fucking calling me that!” I wipe the hot tears across my cheek with the back of my hand. “Get the fuck out of our lives and stay gone, Renee. No one fucking wants you here.”

Her smile falters just slightly before she recovers with a smug grin. “Oh believe me, little girl. I’m gone. Just like I’ve always said, I’ve found someone to give me the life I’ve always wanted. This shit hole was never enough for me.” Her eyes rake over me and my dad and she turns her nose up at us. “You two have never been enough.”

I can vaguely hear Sasha’s gasp from the garage through the roaring in my ears.

Even though I can’t stand the woman in front of me, it still hurts to continuously hear that you aren’t good enough for one of the only people that’s supposed to love you unconditionally. I go limp in my dad’s arms, no longer fighting him as I shake my head and laugh. “Good thing you were never a good enough mother for us either.”

She opens her mouth to respond, but my dad is faster than her. “Get the fuck off of my property, Renee.”

“Oh Thomas, I know you aren’t serious,” she chuckles, waving her manicured hand.

“If you don’t get in your car and leave right fucking now, you’ll find out just how fucking serious I am,” Dad seethes. I can feel his chest shaking with anger against my back.

“Calm down, no need to get your panties in a wad. I’m leaving.”

Like the mature adult Renee is, she flips her hair over her shoulder and flicks us off as she exaggeratedly sways her hips back and forth to her car. I will her stupid heel to break or get stuck in a crack so she’ll fall flat on her face.

The thought is too much to bear, and I break into a fit of giggles as Renee’s tires squeal down the road.

“What the hell?” Dad asks before joining in my laughter.

“Oh, nothing,” I giggle, waving him off. “I was just picturing her heel breaking and her falling flat on her face, popping one of her fake boobs.”

“Don’t forget her lips,” Sasha adds quietly.

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