Page 118 of Army
“Okay.”
“Tell the cunt she’s never welcomed in this house again!” her mother screamed in the background.
Mia’s stomach churned. “I heard Mom,” she said softly.
“Uh … Mom wanted me to call to say she … uh … she doesn’t want you to come to Shark’s funeral.”
“You killed him!” her mother screamed.
“Do you believe that?” Mia asked Dean.
“I dunno. I know he was a pain in the ass to you, Finn, and Tucker. I didn’t really know him. He left when I was young, but you’ve always been good to me.”
“Gimme the fucking phone, you piece of shit.”
“Bye,” Dean said quickly.
Mia braced herself for the onslaught of verbal abuse that would soon spew from her mom’s mouth.
“This is your fault, you ungrateful bitch. Shark set you up in business and this is how you repay him? You fuck his enemy? You bitch!”
“That isn’t what happened, Mom,” Mia replied.
“Shut that stupid mouth of yours! Noe told me everything. You’re nothing but a traitor slut. You’re evil. You fucked the enemy knowing it would hurt your brother.”
“I didn’t fall in love just to fuck Vic over. I don’t even know why my love life was his business in the first place.”
“Noe says you’re still fucking the bastard. You’re such a whore. I should’ve had an abortion. If I did, Shark would still be here.”
“But you didn’t abort me, Mom. And since you’re telling me how you feel, let me share some of my thoughts, okay? If you would’ve acted like a mother, our whole family wouldn’t be so fucked up.”
“None of the shit that you fucking brats bring to me is my fault. I needed to have a life, but you always held that against me—Vic never did.” Her mother’s voice cracked.
I’m done.The thought echoed through her brain and slipped into her heart. “Mom, I feel awful about Vic, but you’ll never believe that. Ever since I was young, you resented me and treated me worse than any of my brothers. I didn’t choose to be your daughter—I was born into it. So I’m going to free both of us right now. Since I make your life so miserable, I won’t contact you anymore, and you don’t ever have to talk to me again.”
“You ungrateful cunt. I gave up everything for you!”
Mia shook her head, knowing her mother would never take responsibility for any of her actions.
“Don’t you dare come to Shark’s funeral or I’ll kill you. You took my favorite child away from me!”
“Are you really telling me that in front of Dean?”
“Stop mixing me up!” her mother yelled.
“Goodbye, Mom,” Mia said softly.
She placed the phone down on the table and waited for the tears to come, but they didn’t. For the very first time, Mia felt liberated from the chains her mother had put around her. After twenty-six years, it was finally over, and Mia could breathe again. Of course, she’d be there for her brothers if they needed her, but the tug of war Mia and her mom had been playing all these years had finally ended.
* * *
The room hadblue-painted concrete walls, a table, and two wooden chairs. Mia sat waiting for the guard to bring Army to the attorney room, her heart beating wildly. The door clicked open and Army entered in an orange jumpsuit emblazoned with the name of the jail on it, and her heart melted. Even though his left eye was black and blue and practically swollen shut, and there were some red abrasions dotting his face and arms, Mia thought he was the most handsome man in the world, and she was dying to kiss him, but she didn’t want to jeopardize the chance of seeing him again while he was incarcerated.
The guard closed the door and stood watch in the hallway. Army grabbed her hand and squeezed it, his blue eyes piercing into her.
“Are they treating you all right?” Mia asked.
“I’m good. Fuck, baby, things got outta control the other night. How’s Taylor?”
