Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 80902 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80902 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Mom? If this is too much—”
“No. I can do this. I’ve talked about it plenty in therapy, and I’ve told Bill everything. Okay.” She starts talking, and in spite of her voice cracking a few times, she manages to keep going.
Her memory of that night lines up pretty well with what Phoenix said. They were watching reruns on TV when they heard engines and then the door burst open. Dan pushed her towards the kitchen, and she ran. She hid in a closet, listening to yelling and smashing, and worked up the courage to leave the closet to try and find her phone and call the police. Except she never made it that far.
“When I was running away, two of them caught me.” Her voice hitches. “I thought… Well, I thought a lot of things. Then one of their friends came busting into the kitchen and told them to go help Dodger. This man, his eyes were so cold, Shel, but he just stared at me and then told me to run. He told me to get the—excuse my language—get the fuck out and forget I saw anything. I don’t know what I would’ve done, but then I heard a gun go off and I knew there was nothing I could do to help Dan other than get out and call for help. I probably owe him my life. Not that being less of a monster than the other monsters is praise worthy.”
I think about Havoc and the way he holds me, Sledge and how good he is with Mia, and even Phoenix, despite everything. Phoenix might be one of the monsters hiding under my bed, but I can't pretend they haven't all done things that would shock me. Things that might not be as selfish and cruel as Dodger, but I bet they've hurt people.
I don’t know.
“Shel? Why are you asking after all these years? Is Mia asking questions?”
“No. I just… I ran into some people I knew from back in the day and we got to talking.”
“Shelby, do you need help? Do you need to come home?”
“No. No, I'm fine. It's not like… last time. Things are a little complicated, but nothing I can't handle. Do you remember what any of them looked like?”
“Honey, they all looked the same to me. Big and scary. Tattoos, wild hair, wild eyes. Some of them had handkerchiefs around their faces. I know Dodger was there because you showed me pictures and I heard his name. He was the one that started yelling at Dan. Oh, and I think the man who told me to run was called Ruin. That’s what one of his friends said after the shooting started. ‘Ruin, get in here.’ “
My heart sinks a little.
“Shel, I don’t know what’s going on, but maybe you should come for a visit. Bring Mia and you can stay until you feel better.”
“No, we’re fine.” There is no way I’m dragging her back into everything, not when she’s finally happy and moving on. I don’t need any more lives on my conscience.
“Are you in danger?”
That's a difficult question. But as long as I'm here, surrounded by the Eagles and inside the compound, I don’t think there is anywhere that I would be safer. That doesn’t mean I’m safe, exactly, but I don’t think running right now would help. “No. I'm probably just overthinking things. Dredging up the past.” I look over at Mia and Dante, literally rolling in the mud while Izzy and Liam watch and laugh. “Mia’s made a really good friend lately. They're playing together right now. I'm going to have to hose them down before they're allowed back in the house.” I say it in as light a tone as I can, trying to convince Mom that nothing's too seriously wrong. She'll only get worried. More worried. Let her think I’m still at Sledge’s house.
“I don't like the idea of you worried about all this old stuff again. Who was it you ran into?”
I give her the only name I can. “Havoc. You remember him, right? He helped me move back home.”
“Oh, I liked him. I hope he’s doing well. He was the only one that ever checked up on you. Handsome, if you like that sort of thing. Too old for you, though.”
“Mom…”
“Well he was. I saw the way you looked at him sometimes when he visited. I suppose now that you’re a little older—”
“Mom!”
“Give that beautiful girl of yours a big kiss for me, okay? Bill is coming home soon and we’re going out. He wants to teach me to play golf. Can you imagine? Me? Golf?”
“You’ll be great. I'll call you next week and we'll figure out a time for a visit, okay? It's only a couple hours to drive. I really should visit more often.”
“You really should.” Her tone is only a little chiding, though. “I can't wait. You're sure everything is okay? My door's always open for you, you know that. I love you, baby girl.”