It’s been nearly a decade since Lianna disappeared. Clay’s action only prove that his political gain is more important than his daughter’s emotional state.
Does he not know she’s been through enough?
That she slices her wrists as if she’s her own art piece?
Did he not see the change when she came back from France? How she didn’t leave the house; how no fucking person could reach her because she lived in a hell situated in her own mind? My hands shake, my body following suit, as I try to tamper down the rage. Clay has carried so much weight over me, a pull to hurt his child—my wife. He’s a despicable human and the fact that he so callously disregards the woman I’m in love with only turns my hatred into a tangible and combustible thing.
“You’re a-alive?” Joey’s voice breaks. The little girl who was abandoned and forced into the arms of a psychotic bitch like Marsha comes through. She’s so young right now as she barely keeps herself from not running to the woman in front of her.
“Joey,” I say, breaking her panic-filled fog. Her gaze meets mine. Eyes that I’ve loved for years, amber and frozen in time, stilled and ever-feeling, look at me for help and comfort, something I haven’t offered her in a long time. Something that has to change.
We are always fighting each other, pushing, colliding in a crash that takes us deeper in the thrall of hatred. The softness I’d once freely given rises in me, wanting to give and give, making sure that look on her face never comes back.
I hate her.
I love her.
I want to destroy her
Then when there’s nothing left, I want to fix everything.
Instead of being a dick, I get up and close the distance between us. She’s so fragile at this moment, wrapping her arms around my middle, holding me like I’ll protect her.
Oh, I will.
Even as I hate her.
She doesn’t cry, but her entire body shakes with shock. Like the first time I saw Francis after his accident. He was bruised from head to toe, in casts, and connected to machines. But he was alive. He made it.
“Baby girl,” her mother slurs. It reminds me of being wasted beyond my own comprehension. Unable to see straight or speak clearly but attempting to anyway.
“I think it’s best if she rests,” I offer, seeing her mom having a hard time standing. She’s high as a fucking kite, sailing the clouds, bouncing from here to there and nowhere at the same time. It’s disgusting, and I hate it. Doesn’t matter that Nate is an addict and I love him like a brother, this woman means nothing to me, and being this way in front of my wife as she trembles from head to toe in my arms has me on edge.
“Let me take her,” I tell Joey. She nods against my chest, not letting me go. It’s endearing and so fucking sad. I pull her off me gently, tilting her head up. “Meet me in the bedroom, Sous.” Her eyes lose her foreign expression and lighten a little. She nods, and I kiss her forehead, needing her to feel my support in some way. She shivers and steps away, heading to our room.
“Mrs. Moore,” I sound out.
“It’s just Lia. Clay divorced me years ago when he could.”
“Why would you come back?” I demand, realizing how callous I sound. “Why now when his re-election is months away?”
“He doesn’t deserve to be in the senate,” she hisses, her eyes unable to focus on mine. “He and that whore of his don’t deserve happiness.”
“And you decided that ruining my wife’s life is acceptable? She was destroyed because of you. You took a beautiful teenager, ready to face the world with her parents, to a woman who’s jaded by all things maternal.”
“T-That’s wasn’t my intention. My little Josephine wasn’t meant to be hurt. Clay kept me away.”
“From what I can tell, it was with very good reason. Look at you. You’re a goddamn mess. And now that he’s using me, I have no choice but to fix it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Yes, Toby, what do you mean?” Joey’s head peeks around the door. She looks both somber and angry at the same time. Who knew those two emotions could live side by side and hurt me worse?
“Your dad owns me, Sous.” It’s the first real shred of honesty I’ve offered her in so long. It isn’t a surprise when this bit of information knocks her a step