Page 208 of The Way I Hate Him
“Common decency?” I ask. “You treated me like a discarded pet. How is that decent?”
“Could have taken you with me,” she says. “Not sure you’d have gotten where you are today if you’d come with me. I saved you from a life of drugs and alcohol abuse.”
“Is that what you tell yourself at night so you can sleep?” I nod. “Okay.”
Her eyes fall flat, anger simmering in her facial expressions. “You might think I was a terrible mother, but I was selfless by deciding to leave you with your grandma.”
“How is that selfless? If you were any bit of a good mother, you would have stayed here and raised me. You had a good job. You had friends and a support system. You left because you were selfish. Not selfless.”
“You have no idea what I was going through when I made that decision.”
“Yeah, an early midlife crisis, where you thought your life could change if you just got rid of me.”
She dramatically rolls her eyes. “Here we go, playing the victim card again.”
“I’m not playing any card,” I shout, losing what thin-veiled cool I had. I pat my chest. “I am the victim.”
She shakes her head. “Sorry you see it that way, but from where I’m sitting, I see you in a beautiful, large house, your wallet full, and everything you could possibly want at your fingertips. You would not have had that if it wasn’t for me.”
“And I’d trade it all fucking in to have one ounce of a parents’ love. Do you realize the trauma I’ve gone through, the abandonment issues I have because of you?” I say before I can stop myself. It’s almost as if seeing her, knowing she’s here to ask for something, has unleashed a part of me that I’ve suppressed for many years.
“Well, then, your grandma has filled your mind with delusions.” She stands from the couch and holds out the envelope to me.
“What’s that?” I ask, not taking it.
“Something Ray came across. Thought you might want to see it.”
Fucking Ray, my mom’s husband. He’s just as much of a drain on society as my mom. They met one weekend when she was still around, and he was one of the main reasons she moved away. Because she’d rather be with him.Period.
I take the envelope from my mom and open up the back. There are pictures inside...fuck me.
Blackmail? She’s here to blackmail me now?
Fucking Christ.
I slip the pictures out, and it’s of me from when I was on tour this past year. Couldn’t tell you the night, but there’s an empty bottle of tequila in my hand, a naked woman on my lap, and a dead expression on my face. You can’t see anything but her butt crack, but she’s naked, that’s for damn sure.
“They’re screenshots from a video that was taken.”
“Wait, what?” I ask.
She nods. “A sex tape.”
I drag my hand over my face, the realization hitting me.
“And that’s the mayor of Nashville’s daughter on your lap.”
“What?” I ask.
She nods, her smile all the reason I hate this woman. A parent should be supportive, not thrilled that she’s about to blackmail her own son.
“It was brought to our attention that it will be released in the next week if the demands are not met.”
I grip the photo tightly in my fist and meet my mom’s eyes. “What demands?”
“Seems like Ray has a way to stop this all from happening, but you know . . . it’s going to cost something.”
Of course.
