thing about it. And if I was being fair, I’d have to admit Billy had been a sweet kid that I could figure was extremely altered along the way because of Paul’s abuse. And when he wasn’t beating on Billy, he was beating on my mother. Not that she was any better, either, but Paul wasn’t a pillar of righteousness. He had no business being here. Billy wasn’t his biological kid in the end, and through the grapevine, I’d heard he hadn’t responded kindly to that news. He’d gotten thrown out of Dave Thames’ auto shop after he showed up throwing his drunk fists around.
That was all Paul was good at: starting trouble. Maybe one time in his life he was stronger than everyone else. But that time had fled him years ago, and now he was just a drunk jerk with too big of an ego.
I looked past him real quick, expecting to see my mother trailing not far off behind him. I spotted her small figure in the passenger seat of the truck. She wasn’t looking out at us. Her arms were crossed and she was looking forlornly into her lap. She actually looked like a picture perfect abuse victim if you didn’t know her, but I did. I knew this horrible bitch well to know she played the act, pretending to be meek and twitchy when anyone advanced in her direction really quick.
But where was this bitch when I told her Billy was terrorising me? Where was she when she passed by my bedroom as I screwed the locks in as a way to deter the guy from breaking into my room? I still remembered her snicker as the lock fell apart when I tried to screw it in too quick.
“Fucking idiot,” she’d whispered.
Paul was violent, but he’d never physically touched me. He’d just been flat out negligent, which I’d have preferred over the verbal abuse this woman put me through.
Jesus, what a nightmare that house was. I felt a slew of unwelcome emotions as I stood before Paul, realizing I’d put up with a lot when I’d lived there. If I was so scarred over such a short time, I couldn’t imagine a lifetime of it, and that just made me sad for anyone out there that had endured so much worse than I did.
My face twisted in anger now as I looked at this douchebag. “Still waiting for you to tell me what I did for you, Paul.”
He looked past me now, ignoring me entirely. “He’s out. I know he’s out. Everyone’s been talking about it. I want to see the asshole that took my son’s life away. I want him to know he’s not welcome here! Y’hear?!” He shrieked over me. “You ain’t welcome here, Conor Thames!”
“And you’re not welcome at my door.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I see his fucking face.”
“You wouldn’t like seeing his face, Paul. He’s different than you remember.”
“He’s a little pussy, isn’t he?”
If he only knew how wrong he was.
“Get. Off.” I growled now, staring daggers into his red face. “I’m giving you one more chance, Paul, before I start making calls.”
His beady eyes met mine and he looked smug. “Suddenly got a spine now, Charlotte?”
Ah, so he thought I was still that frightened girl from before? Fucker didn’t know me at all.
I enunciated my words slowly as my glare deepened. “Fuck. Off. My. Porch.”
He smiled lazily. “How long do you think the cops are gonna take to come answering, Charlotte?”
I gave him a twisted smile of my own. “Who says I’ll be calling the cops?”
He just stared at me.
Taking another step closer, I hissed, “Do you think Max Locke will like hearing you’ve been coming around, terrorizing me?”
“I didn’t come here for you,” he retorted, defensively. His tone changed completely. He looked uncertain and, there it was again, shocked. “You know that, too.”
“Oh, but that’s not true.” I changed my tone, pretended to play the victim as I cried, “Mr Locke, I’m scared he’s going to hurt me! Please, Locke, please save me before he beats my door down!”
Paul’s face fell. “You know I didn’t come here for you.”
I kept my smile cool as I replied evenly, “You want to explain that to Locke himself? Who do you think he’ll believe, Paul? You…or me?”
Paul’s expression went flat now as he took a staggered step back, like I was suddenly made of fire and I might burn him.