“How are you feeling?” she tried to ask, attempting to ignore the hate filled words that were going to be strewn at her.
“Oh, now you care? You’re such a bitch, Evie.” The way she sneered Ev’s stage name had shame rolling through her body. She had never been proud of dancing for money, but she loved to dance.
“I’ve always cared, Lace,” she told her sister softly. “It’s why I looked for you.”
“As if, you whore. You only want what I had! You even stole my son from me! Give him back, give him back right now!” Her screaming escalated in pitch to an ear-piercing level.
Feeling lost and scared, Ev lashed out, knowing full well she shouldn’t have. “Maybe if you weren’t always so doped up on drugs, this wouldn’t have happened. You wouldn’t be lying here, and I wouldn’t have been wondering if you were going to die or not!” She felt the emotion pulse through her entire body. She was so tired and sad.
Lacey seemed to mull her words over in her mind. She actually looked like they penetrated the recesses of her subconscious.
“How dare you!” Her words were low, almost deadly, as she strained against the bonds holding her down. “There’s a reason mom left you.” Shock must have shown on Ev’s face. Lacey’s laugh unnerved her. There was no humor, just malice rolling off of her in waves. “She hated you! The moron that spawned you paid Mom to kill you after birth. Instead, she snorted another line and after that, it was always about how much she hated you. That’s why she left. You’re the problem in everyone’s life.” Her sick laughter rang true. It was all of Ev’s worst fears come true. She had always convinced herself that her mom left to give her a better life.
Tears flowed down her cheek as she whispered brokenly, “You’re wrong.” Turning to the doctor, she asked him, “I don’t have to come back do I?”
“Well,” he hesitated looking between her and Lacey. “Technically, no. We do have a rehab clinic willing to take her at the end of the month. You just need to sign off on it with them.”
“I’ll do it, but I won’t be back unless absolutely necessary.” She was trying to ignore the harsh words Lacey was throwing at her.
“We’ll call once we’ve got all the paperwork from the clinic for you or if there are any changes.”
“Thank you for everything.” She shook his hand quickly. Turning back to Lacey, she told her as calm as can be, “I love you, Lace. I want to be able to help you, and I will, but not until you do your part. Once the doctor has confirmed you won’t be like this, then Casey and I will bring Andy to see you.”
She didn’t wait for a response. Turning on her heel, she almost broke down when she heard a whispered fear-filled, “Evelyn, please.”
It took all the strength she had not turn and run into her sister’s arms, but she couldn’t. She didn’t have the strength to handle her nastiness. Walking from the room, Lacey spewed more hate-filled words at her. She felt like her heart was going to snap in two.
Her defeat permeated the air. She wouldn’t even look up at Casey when he wrapped his free arm around her since Andy had fallen asleep on his shoulder. When he felt her tense, he wanted to pound his fist through a wall. That bitch had beaten her down to the point she doubted herself, and he was pissed the fuck off.
Case didn’t need her to tell him what happened. He’d heard most of Lacey’s screaming. Hell, most everyone in the hospital had. They were prepared for how hostile she would be, just not expecting that experience after such a wonderful afternoon.
“Can we go home, please,” she whispered so low he almost didn’t hear her.
“Yeah, Kitten, we can.” Her arms wrapped around herself for protection, and her shoulders slumped with her sadness. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was fighting back tears, too.
As soon as they were outside, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Head tilted back, face towards the sky. Bags lined under her eyes while her sadness lurked in their depths.
After getting Andy buckled into his seat, he lifted her up into hers, snapping the belt into place as well. Leaving a lingering kiss on her forehead as he climbed back out, a small smile lit her face, giving him hope she wasn’t totally beaten.
Before he climbed in, he sent a quick text to Dom asking if they’d take Andy that night instead of on the weekend. Thankfully, his best friend was no dumbass and knew immediately that they needed this time. He was going to prove to her why all those things her sister said were wrong, and that she was absolutely perfect and completely lovable.
By the time they reached the farm, Ev had passed out from her silent crying she thought she’d hidden from him, and Andy was in the backseat trying to sing along with Carrie Underwood on the radio. Turning to face the boy as they parked in front of Dom’s house, he asked quietly, “Want to have that sleepover with Jaxson tonight?”
“Yeah!” he cheered quietly knowing Ev was sleeping.
Getting Andy unbuckled, he anticipated that Dee would have gone to his cabin to grab the boy’s stuff. “Hey, guys,” she called from the door.
“You sure this is all right?” he didn’t want to intrude.
“It’s fine, man,” Dom told him coming up from behind Dee. “How’s she doing?”
He hadn’t filled them in entirely on what had transpired, but his friends knew where they’d been. “She took some stuff hard. Especially about her mom. I'm not sure if it’s true, or if we’ll ever find out.” That part killed him. He’d love nothing more than to have those answers for her.
“Fuck,” Dom cursed. Andy pointed at him in warning making them all bust out laughing. “Duly noted, little dude. Jax is in the kitchen waiting for you. Get to it!”
“Thanks, guys!” he called going back to his truck.
They waved as he left for their cabin. Shutting the truck off, he jumped out, running to the other side, hoping not to wake Ev. He’d wanted to surprise her about their baby in some huge, fancy way, but he now knew she was going to need all of his love and reassurance before he told her.