Page 115 of Power
Chapter twenty-three
Reece
Mymother’sinterviewyesterday has sent me into a tailspin. I’ve barely been able to get out of bed, let alone be a functioning mom to Emily. I stare out the window in the bedroom, having no energy to do anything but to lie in bed.
“Mom, do you want to help me in the garden?” Emily asks as she sits on the bed and stares at me.
“I’m not feeling my best again today, Emily. Do you mind if we do it tomorrow?”
Her features soften and her shoulders sink. “Yeah, that’s okay,” her voice can’t hide the disappointment.
“I’m sorry, baby.” I reach for Emily to drag her down onto the bed and hug her. “There’s a lot of stuff going on in my head, and I’m kinda struggling a bit. Do you understand?”
“Has this got something to do with Bennett being the president and you being an escort? That shouldn’t really matter, should it, Mom?”
“Some other things have happened too.”
“Like what?”
I know Emily is only ten, but the fact is, she’s in the middle if this too. “Um, yesterday, my mother gave an interview to a TV station about me.”
Emily rapidly turns to look at me. “I have a grandma?” Her eyes widen and sparkle with anticipation.
My throat constricts as tears prickle my eyes. All I’ve been doing since yesterday is feeling sorry for myself and crying. “You do. But I haven’t spoken to her since before you were born.”
I fear Emily’s going to ask the question. “Why?”
I can’t hide the truth from her forever, not now considering the entire world knows our names. “Um.” I close my eyes, dreading this conversation. “Okay, sit up.” Emily sits on the edge of the bed. I push up and sit cross-legged on the bed. “Okay. Um.” She mimics my posture and sits opposite me. Her big brown eyes are curiously staring and waiting for my explanation. I can barely look at Emily because this is the one time in my life, I’m so embarrassed about how we’ve ended up here. I don’t want her to know how she was conceived, but at the same time I’m going to have to be transparent and honest.
“It’s okay, Mommy.” She reaches across and places her little hands over mine. “If you don’t want...”
“No, I have to tell you.” I look up at her and smile softly. “Um, so my mother is not a very nice person.”
“What do you mean?”
I have no idea where to start. “My mom had boyfriends who’d come over and stay.” Emily’s brows draw in together. “I don’t know who my dad is.”
“Did he leave, like mine did?”
I close my eyes and lift my hand to run through my hair. My heart is racing as I struggle with having to be so honest with Emily at such a young age. “We’ll get to him in a little bit, okay?” Emily’s lips pull up into a tight smile as she nods. “Mom would like to drink quite a lot, and so did her boyfriends. When I was nearly thirteen her then-boyfriend stumbled into my room one night, and laid in my bed.”
“Aha,” Emily acknowledges but doesn’t fully understand what I’m saying.
“The first time he did it, he had no idea he’d come into my room. He was so sorry, and apologized so much.”
“That’s good,” Emily innocently replies.
“It was, but it didn’t stop there. He started drinking less and less, and my mom would drink so much she’d pass out. He then started doing things to me.” Emily’s forehead crinkles with concern. “Bad things he shouldn’t have done.”
“Did he force himself on you?” I look down at my legs. I reach for the pillow and hug it toward my body before slowly nodding. “What happened?” she asks in a small voice.
I won’t give her the specifics; she doesn’t need to know. “Eventually mom found out, and threw me out of the house.”
“But, you didn’t do anything wrong…did you?” I shake my head, still unable to look at her. “Why did she throw you out?”
“Because she’s nasty and thought I was trying to steal her boyfriend.”
“That’s disgusting.” There’s a long pause. “Where did you go to live?”
