Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
“A predator, that’s what you are. She was fucking fifteen, man. We were both older. There’s this thing called statutory rape. You’re fucking lucky she had a dumb-as-fuck mom, because it took everything my mom and sister had to hold my father and me back from beating you with a baseball bat. Instead, we sat on the sidelines because Leigh wanted your child, said she’d make it work, loved you through it all. Man, you are one sick fuck.” Phoenix pulls me back, away from David. Now would be the time to go ahead and call the police. The problem, though, is the girls would know. There would be no protecting them from watching their father have the officers he once worked with surrounding him. It was hard enough to shield them from the news reporters, as well as other agencies that have three-letter acronyms. They questioned me, and they questioned the girls, with me there, of course. With Baboosh and Nix hanging out right where we could see them, to step in if they got out of line. I felt like I was the one who took money and drugs that were seized instead of David with their line of questioning. You watch the movies, the television shows, but nothing prepares you for hours and hours of listening to them ask the same questions worded differently.
“I don’t regret what you did. Does it suck that you felt the need to undermine Nix even though it was never that way between us? Yes. He was looking out for me while you weren’t. David, you had it all. The two loving parents who doted on you, never having any problems growing up. Now here you are, in your thirties, creating problems because you can. Conrad and Sherry embody the epitome of unconditional love. I’ll never understand what you did, and frankly, I don’t care. What I care about are the two girls in the house and the man standing beside me. As for you, good luck.” I don’t ask why he’s back, assuming the reasoning is he found the newspaper in which Mr. McCallister placed an announcement of the divorce. We tried to do it in another town, more populated, with a bigger newspaper population, but it wasn’t allowed. If he were incarcerated, it would have been feasible, but with David being a fugitive, things were a bit tricky. It’s also why it’s taking longer. Two weeks may not seem like long to you, but it is to me. Mr. McCallister filed the paperwork, those damn acronym people along with the sheriff’s office filed a motion, and here we freaking are.
I go to head back into the house. Nix is hot on my heels, protecting me from David yet again, placing himself in harm’s way. I realize what Phoenix has been doing all along, shielding me and my girls. David is my past. Nix is my present as well as my future. What my future ex-husband did, taking that right away from me without consulting me to create Rory, hurts. You never regret having your children, no matter the time when you become a mother, not a womb donor like my own, who didn’t even know who the father was. And while Nix took the decision off my shoulders, it was different. We talked about it. I’m not fifteen like I was back then. I could have put a stop to it, but I didn’t and still don’t want to.
“Cops are coming, Leigh. You wanna get inside and be with the girls quick-like, okay? I’m walking you to the door. I want all three of my girls to stay away from the windows. The cops are closing in. I’m going to stay out here. If you can, call his parents so they don’t hear about it from the news.” Nix and his supersonic hearing. The man can hear an ant crawling down the hall.
“Okay. Be safe. David isn’t worth sitting beside him in a jail cell.” Not that I’d let Nix do that. One call to his parents, and we’d all be down there beating on the door until they released him.
“No, the fuck he’s not. I’m still gonna stay out here and make sure he doesn’t do anything dumb. David’s already done enough of that.” I hit the code to the door. Nix waits until I’m inside, closing the door himself, essentially guarding us in the best way possible.
30
ROSALEIGH
“I called the cops,” Rory tells me the minute I’m inside. She’s sitting on the couch, phone in her hand, tears welling in her eyes. My baby girl, the one I raised while I was raising myself, the one who would lose her shit if I didn’t rock her to sleep for each nap and each bedtime. Always so strong and courageous, calling law enforcement on her own father. She should have never had to do that.