What on earth?
He stopped and I automatically stopped with him, Billy stopping with me. Then I looked where Mitch was looking and I felt my body turn to stone just like Mitch’s face and I knew when Billy saw them because his body did the same against mine.
Mom and Aunt Lulamae were standing outside my door. Their eyes were on us. Their hair was amped out to maximum volume. Their makeup was a tribute to raccoons. Their cle**age was bared. Their arms were crossed on their chests pushing it up and bearing more.
And their faces were smirking.
I knew why.
Standing with them was Jez.
Jez!
Billie’s mother.
My heart had stopped when my body turned to stone but taking in Jez, it started stuttering madly. No rhythm, it tripped unsteadily as my pleasure after the best day ever oozed out and fear settled in.
I hadn’t seen her in six years. She took off within months of Billie being born. She was bad news then and she looked like bad news now.
Worse.
She looked strung out, too thin, her clothing matched the skank level of my Mom and aunt’s and it was clear she didn’t pay much mind to her toilette except to cake on more makeup than even Mom and Aunt Lulamae wore. I didn’t even think this was possible but there it was in the lit breezeway. Proof.
Bill.
Bill had activated Mom and Aunt Lulamae to find her and bring her here to f**k with me.
And f**king with me meant f**king with Mitch, Billy and Billie.
Oh God.
I felt Billy’s body start shaking against me. Not little shakes, quakes. It rocked his frame and shook me out of my terrified surprise.
He knew Jez, of course, it had been a long time ago but he remembered her. Even though he was very young, he avoided her even then with instincts honed from living in that world. And considering he was nine going on ninety, he knew why she was there now.
And also, he’d never, not once, laid eyes on Melbamae and Lulamae Hanover. But he knew who they were and he knew why they were there now.
I shuffled Billy and I closer to Mitch and whispered urgently, “That’s Jez. Billie’s birth mother. Not Bud’s, Billie’s.”
“Right,” Mitch clipped, his tone even angrier, his mood rolling dangerously through the breezeway, his body still rock-solid.
“Late night for two little kids,” Mom called, still smirking and Mitch moved.
Not to my door. Not to his door.
To Derek and LaTanya’s door.
I was surprised by this but I followed, pulling a still shaking Billy with me and keeping my eyes on the Trailer Trash Trio.
Mitch spoke not a word but lifted a fist and pounded on the door. I didn’t know what he was doing and I didn’t ask. He was clearly going to lead and I was definitely going to follow.
Aunt Lulamae made a move to us, arms coming uncrossed, torso bent slightly, eyes on Billy. When she did, I shifted closer to Mitch, my arm tightening around Billy, I positioned so I was between her and my cousin, Billy between Mitch and me.
“Hello, Billy, I’m your grand-momma,” she cooed and Billy shoved his body closer to me in a way it seemed he wanted me to absorb it.
I held him tighter.
“Far’s I can see, she grew up kinda pretty,” I heard Jez mutter and my gaze cut to her to see her eyes on Billie, mild curiosity in them and not much else.