“Nothin’s ever that simple,” he replied.
“I didn’t expect it to be quite so complicated.”
“You know they figured it all out,” he said. “They were together a long ass time. Went through shit that most relationships wouldn’t have survived.”
“Case and point,” I said jokingly, pointing to myself.
“Yeah,” he said, his arms tightening around me. “I’d be singin’ soprano if I fucked around.”
“And I’d be married to some rich guy with a yacht,” I replied.
“Rich, huh?”
“I’ve already done the love thing,” I said easily. “The next time would be for money.”
“Sorry to disappoint ya.” He laughed. “But that ain’t ever gonna happen.”
“Good,” I said, looking over my shoulder to meet his eyes.
“You know you were their second chance,” he said, growing serious. “The kid they never thought they’d have.”
“A moody teenager with authority issues,” I replied. “Lucky them.”
“They loved you.” His lips curved up at the corners. “And is there any other kind of teenager?”
“Lily,” we both said at the same time.
“Come on,” he said, tugging me back toward the door. “Better to rip the bandaid off.”
“Whoever started that phrase was an idiot,” I argued as we stepped inside. “It hurts way less to soak it in water and peel it off slowly.”
“It’s just an expression. Don’t overthink it.”
“Ma,” Will interrupted, standing at the other end of the long hallway. “Ceecee’s on the phone.”
“What?” I hurried toward him. My oldest daughter had called from California the day before on Thanksgiving, and she never called two days in a row. She was too busy doing her thing a thousand miles away from her family… but I wasn’t bitter about it. “Why is she calling again?”
“No idea,” Will said, handing me the phone. “She wont tell me shit.”
“Cecilia,” I said as soon as the phone was pressed securely to my ear. “What’s wrong?”
Chapter 14
Charlie
“I can’t tell you much without gettin’ a look at her.”
“You’re not lookin’ at shit,” I shot back, pacing back and forth across the floor.
Doc had sedated Vera and she’d never know if he checked her out, but it didn’t set right with me—letting him look at her when she wasn’t aware of it. He meant well, but it made my skin crawl.
“Just keep giving her the penicillin,” I ordered. “That’ll fix whatever’s goin’ on, right?”
“Yeah, kid,” he said, leaning against the wall. “It’ll clear up the infection she’s fightin’, but fuck knows what that backroom doctor did. Could be all sorts of problems we don’t know about.”
The thought of that made me break out in a cold sweat.
“Just give her the meds,” I said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “We’ll figure the rest of the shit out later.”
“You’re the boss,” he replied. “You need to keep a close watch on that left eye, alright? It swells any more you let me know.”
He left, shutting the door behind him, and I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes. Jesus, what a fucking mess.
I’d damn near gone through the roof when Nadine told me she’d taken Vera for an abortion. What had the old broad been thinking? It wasn’t as if they didn’t know how to reach me, she lived next to my mother for chrissake.
Guilt and anger fought for supremacy inside me. I should’ve been more careful. If I was being honest with myself I knew I shouldn’t have gone there in the first place, but since I had—I should’ve been a hell of a lot more careful. I tried to think back, wondering if there was a time I hadn’t suited up before the big show, but I couldn’t remember. I wouldn’t have taken that chance, right? I knew better. My dad may have been an asshole and not exactly fatherly, but he had put the fear of God in me about getting a girl pregnant.
Kids were fine when you wanted them but they were a fucking disaster when you didn’t. I wouldn’t have made that mistake. Would I?
Jesus, why hadn’t they called me? I could’ve taken care of it. Even if Vera had been set on the abortion, I still could’ve helped. You couldn’t be surrounded by club whores and not know the best places to get problems taken care of. At the very least I could have taken Vera to a reputable doctor instead of some fucker working out of a vet’s office after hours.
I refused to think about how scared Vera must have been, but the thought nagged at me anyway. Shit, she was just a kid. Old enough, I’d thought, but still completely green. I’d been the only one in there, the only person she’d let anywhere near her, and now…
I stood back up and flexed my arms, fighting the urge to hit something. Anything. I wanted to kill that motherfucking butcher. Strangle him with my bare hands. Take his fingers, his ears, his nuts, and then stuff them down his throat until he choked on them.