When she reappeared, she spotted me hanging out in the hallway and smiled.
Gideon's mother was a beautiful woman, with long straight black hair and the same amazing blue eyes as her son and Ireland.
Just looking at her made my heart hurt.
I missed Gideon so much.
It was an hourly battle with myself not to contact him and take whatever I could get."Eva."
She greeted me with air kisses for each of my cheeks.
"Christopher said it was you.
I didn't recognize you at first.
You look so different with your hair like that.
I think it's lovely."
"Thanks.
I need to talk to you.
Privately."
"Oh?" She frowned.
"Is something wrong? Is it Gideon?" "Come on."
I gestured deeper down the hallway, toward the emergency exit."What's this about?" Once we were away from the bathrooms, I told her.
"Remember when Gideon was a child and he told you he'd been abused or violated?" Her face paled.
"He told you about that?" "No.
But I've witnessed his nightmares.
His horrible, ugly, vicious nightmares where he begs for mercy."
My voice was low but throbbed with anger.
It was all I could do not to keep my hands to myself as she stood there looking both embarrassed and militant.
"It was your job to protect and support him!" Her chin went up.
"You don't know - ""You're not to blame for what happened before you knew."
I got in her face, felt satisfaction when she took a step back.
"But anything that happened after he told you is entirely your fault."
"Fuck you," she spat at me.
"You have no idea what you're talking about.
How dare you come up to me like this and say these things to me when you're clueless!" "Yeah, I dare.
Your son is seriously damaged by what happened to him, and your refusal to believe him made it a million times worse."