Page 4 of Crowned in Sin
“Mom…” Tears started blurring my vision, and she reached up to wipe them away.
“Be brave, baby.” She sniffled. “Be brave for me, okay? Be brave and leave andnevercome back.”
“I won’t leave you, Mom.” I pleaded. “You can come with me!”
“I can’t, baby.” She smiled sadly and turned her arm over to show me the slight bump in her wrist where Frank implanted a tracking microchip a year ago. “You know he’ll find me as soon as I leave, baby. And if I go with you, he’ll find you too.”
“But he’s going to hurt you when he finds that I’m gone.”
“That’s alright.” She wrapped me up in a bear hug, and buried her face in the crook of my neck as she planted one fierce kiss after another on my cheek. “I’ll be alright.”
“No, you won’t, Mom.” Tears were running down my face now. “You know you won’t be.”
“Yes I will, Lyddie.” She finally pulled away, her thumbs brushing away my tears as fast as they were falling. “As long as I know that he won’t find you, then I will be alright. Now go. Go before he comes home.”
I remained standing in place, refusing to believe that this was really happening. But Mom continued wiping away my tears, and continued to look at me with pleading eyes. Slowly, I nodded once, and then threw myself in her arms for one last hug, not knowing if I’d ever feel it again.
She squeezed me as hard as she could, and there was a part of me that suspected she was doing the same thing as me: memorizing this moment so that she could replay it in whatever hell Frank was about to inflict on her when he came home.
When we finally broke apart, she was crying too.
“I’ll come back and save you from him, Mom.” I balled my fingers into a fist around the strap of the duffel bag. “I swear it.”
Seven years later,and I’m no closer to saving her than I did as a scared seventeen-year-old running away from a house full of monsters. I blink and stare up at the ceiling as tears fall hot and fast from my eyes, not bothering to reach up and wipe them away.
A soft gentle knock comes at my door, and I sniffle once before I manage to choke out. “Come in.”
The door opens and Bella walks in, looking radiant and beautiful in her wedding dress. Worry lines her face the moment she sees my tears.
“Are you okay?” She sits down next to me and takes my hand.
I force myself to breathe, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t fight back the stinging tears stabbing me in the back of my throat.Stop it! Stop it! You can’t cry on the day of Bella’s wedding. You can’t ruin this day for her!
Finally, I manage to choke out in a quivering voice that cracks with every other word. “I need to go home, Bella.”
“Why?” A protective tenor slithers into her voice and her grip around my hand tightens. “What did Nico say to you?”
I manage to let a small, mirthless laugh tumble out of my lips. “No, it’s got nothing to do with him.”
Even though he’s the reason why I read the text in the first place.But it does nobody any good to say that part out loud.
“Then why do you need to leave? Lydia, please just talk to me.”
I’ve never told Bella the full story of that night when I left, nor have I ever told her about what I escaped. She knew better than to ask over the years, but I think she always kind of had an idea of what happened.
I purse my lips into a line and rack my brains to find the simplest possible explanation that won’t have me dumping out years of trauma on my best friend.
I settle on the simplest possible rendition. “My mom needs my help.”
“Your mom?”
I nod. “That’s why I need to go home. And I know that there’s still the brunch tomorrow morning, and I feel terrible–”
“Don’t.” She cuts me off as she wraps me up in a bear hug, whispering. “Don’t you dare tell me that you feel terrible for skipping brunch tomorrow when your mom needs your help.”
“But I’m the maid of honor,” I whisper into her hair. “I have responsibilities.”
“The only responsibility you have right now, Lydia,” she replies, “is to go home and help your mom. You don’t have to worry about tomorrow. It’s just brunch.”
