Ella was going to be so mad. She hated the smell of cigarettes. Maybe
Chantel had some room freshener spray. As much as Chantel was depressed these
days, I trusted her more than mom. Mom put the live cigarette in her tea.
“Are you leaving?” I asked. She drank my tea and smoked my cigs and told
me she had cancer. I’m sure she did everything she came here to do.
“I wanted to ask if I could stay the night,” she said.
“No.” My answer was immediate and without hesitation.
“I would like to spend time with Graycen,” she said.
“Then do it somewhere else.”
“I want to see this girl, Ella. Your father said she’s Ricky’s niece.”
Thunder boomed and my bones rattled. She spoke to dad? She left dad and
me. She abandoned me. She saved her own skin. She put herself before her child.
I would never do that to Ella. Everything I did was for Ella. I would bet that
mom wanted to kill Ella. I hated my dad for making me a killer, but I hated mom
more for leaving me with him. At least dad was woven into the fabric of my life
where mom barely existed.
Graycen’s car pulled up in front of the house. I looked at the clock.
They had been gone almost two hours. Had it really been that long?
“Mom, you need to leave,” I said.
“Why?”
“I don’t want you to
meet Ella,” I said. Was my voice shaking? I had such a bad feeling. Maybe I
should kill her before anything bad happened. The umbrella’s pointy tip
gleamed.
The door opened. Ella
bounced inside and gave mom a thousand-watt smile. Graycen crossed his arms and
leaned against the wall with a smug look on his face, the bastard. He loved
mom. He didn’t understand why I hated her, no matter how many times I
explained.
“Hi, I’m Ella,” she said
sticking out her hand.
Mom’s frail hand took
Ella’s. “I’m Yara. And I think we’ll be best friends.”