Page 13 of Feeding Hope
I began laughing. Dante would have been furious at that.
“Dante now knows how to recycle properly. Then his clothes stank because, you know, he’d been going through the trash, so I told him to wash them. He took them to Ace and expected Ace to do it. Ace laughed his ass off and slapped him on the shoulder, and ordered Dante to get on with it. Dante melted down. Axel verbally kicked his butt and offered to show Dante how to work the washer and dryer.”
“There had to be a cost!” I murmured, knowing Axel.
“Yup. Dante had to wash Axel’s stuff, too. Dante said no, and Axel told him to enjoy being stinky. It lasted twenty minutes, during which Gunner, Rock, Ace, and Lowrider all sprayed him with shit to make him smell good. It was as funny as hell. Dante screamed at us to stop spraying him, and Axel stated we would as long as he stank.
“The little fucker decided to use shower gel and wash his clothes as he wore them. Considering he only had four changes, he’s now stomping around in dripping wet clothes.”
“Who gave him the mop to clean up after himself?” I asked, knowing someone would have.
“Gunner. And jeez, Gunner’s getting a kick out of being an asshole. Every time Dante retaliates, he gets extra chores. He’s also on about calling child services as he’s claiming abuse.” Drake laughed louder.
“Yeah, good luck with that. They’d take him away for being an entitled, spoilt bastard.”
Drake went silent. “How’s Eddie and Tony?”
I considered my reply before answering. “Eddie’s quiet but seems more settled. Tony is his usual self, but more guarded and protective around Eddie. Dante’s words stabbed deep, and I don’t think Eddie will ever forget them. The repercussions will be long-term, I fear. I wish I could hug her and tell her it will all be okay, but Eddie’s no longer a little girl. This has left a significant wound.”
“Shit, I’m so sorry, Phoe. I should have listened,” Drake whispered, and I heard the self-recrimination and guilt in his voice. Should I absolve him? No, because then Drake wouldn’t learn either.
“See you in four days,” I murmured, and Drake made a noise of agreement before cutting the phone.
I gazed out of my tower window and sighed. Perhaps Eddie needed this space more than me? It was a thought.
Eddie
I was on edge when Dad and Dante returned, and it proved I was right to be. Dante looked contrite, but the moment his eyes landed on me, hatred flared. Yeah, Dante had no remorse whatsoever. I’d give him forty-eight hours, beside me, Tony stiffened as he caught the emotion in Dante’s gaze. Dante quickly wiped it, but we’d both seen it.
“Stay alert,” Tony whispered. I nodded.
Not even twenty-four hours had passed before Dante struck. We had oatmeal today, but it came with a variety of flavours. I was the only one who loved salted caramel on mine. Happily, I spooned a generous amount over my oatmeal and sat down.Dante was only allowed to fetch a plain breakfast and had to eat in the kitchen. But he could serve himself from this room, so he was present. Despite Dante being gone for a week, the punishments by Mama Phoe were still in effect.
I perked up as Fanatic entered. Now he lived with Willow and my nephew Danny over in Spearfish; Fanatic rarely joined us for breakfast.
“What we got?”
“Oatmeal, there’s golden syrup, Mama Phoe must have known you were coming,” I replied. Dante scowled in my direction, and Fanatic noticed.
“Get breakfast and go to the kitchen. You’re not meant to be here,” he stated.
Dante frowned and headed to the sideboard where the pots were lined up. Fanatic got what he wanted, and I scooped up a spoonful of oatmeal as he sat next to me. I ate it and then froze. There was too much salt, and seconds later, the burning began. My eyes started streaming as I gasped before gagging.
“Eddie?” Fanatic exclaimed as he patted my back.
“Water!” I croaked out as my hands flew to my throat. Was it closing? I panicked as I struggled to breathe, and all the time Dante stood smugly watching.
“What did you do?” Tony yelled, seeing his expression. Tony shoved Dante against the wall. The enjoyment bled from Dante’s face as Tony shook him and slammed him hard, banging his head.
“Eddie!” Mama Phoe cried as my vision blackened. My tongue was hanging out as I sobbed real tears. Scout handed me a glass of milk, and I gulped it down, but it didn’t help. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath, and panic was making everything worse. My hands clawed at my throat. Someone shoved a paper bag over my mouth, and I panted into it.
“Call an ambulance, she can’t breathe!” Mama Phoe cried.
“What was in that?” Tony demanded frantically as Dante grinned.
Dad pushed Tony aside and grabbed Dante by the front of his tee. “You little fucker! You thought last week was bad? Kid, you ain’t seen anything yet! What did you do to Eddie?”
“She likes salted caramel; I gave her salt!” Dante yelped.
