“Magnolia, I don’t have a house right now. I have a motel room. But my home should be done soon. It is really neat. It used to be an old cabin I dreamed of as a little girl. You can decorate your room anyway you want.” I smile as I think about her decorating one of the massive bedrooms in the spacious house.
“I get my own room?” Her face brightens and I see the first genuine smile since I walked into my parents’ shit box of a house. I wipe my tear stained face and turn to Chrome. He sits attentively on the couch wearing a blinding smile. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I see the hint of a tear in the corner of his eye.
“You get anything you want from here on out, kiddo. Anything at all.” I have so much time to make up for, and there is nothing I wouldn’t give her. Not a damn thing.
“Star, why don’t we let Magnolia and your mom spend a little time together, and we can hash out the details of her coming with you?” My father’s words catch me off guard, but I think it is a good idea. I don’t want Magnolia, or Maggie, exposed to whatever kind of argument the discussion may become. I want her protected from everything.
“Mind if I join you?” Chrome’s voice comes from behind me, and I am torn. He is really a major part of my life, but I think it is way too soon to involve him in major decisions with Magnolia. I would never ask the same of him when it came to Scarlett.
“Just for support, Star.” He reaches his hand out and squeezes mine. His touch calms me, giving me the strength I know I’m going to need. Thankfully, I will be handling it with my father, someone who wasn’t as much of a shit bag when I was growing up.
“That is fine.” I give him the little bit of a smile I can conjure up. I should be jumping for joy, but until my daughter is in my car, leaving this place with me, I will remain guarded.
We walk into the dated kitchen and sit around a wicker kitchen table. The walls are just as stained in here as they are in the living room. I want to bitch that this is no place for a child to be raised, but could I have provided more over the years? Would Willow have been a victim of my drug use, and whatever colorful behavior I brought home with me on more than one occasion? Maybe things truly worked out the way they were meant to. I shove my own personal judgment to the side and pay attention to my dad.
“We’re leaving on Sunday. A motel isn’t the ideal place for you two to live, but it will have to do for the time being, Star.” Before I can say anything about them completely dumping her like a piece of trash, Chrome takes charge of the situation.
“Neither of them is returning to that motel. They are staying with me and my daughter until the house is finished. Simple as that.”
I turn to face him, and I know there isn’t room for discussion on this topic. I think about all the pros and cons of spending that time together, but having Magnolia adjust to my parents leaving with Scarlett’s company may just be the best possible transition. Seeing as Scarlett and Magnolia are around the same age, the question plagues me. Does Chrome know my baby girl?
“Did you…” I pause, looking for words that won’t offend him, but I don’t have to finish my question before he knows what I am trying to ask.
“Scarlett and Magnolia are in the same class. Had I known all of this, I would have done something about it long ago. I’m sorry, Star.” Here is this big fucking biker guy, looking as though he wants to cry for me. I want to smile, but I can’t. I want to wrap my arms around him, but I don’t. I just leave it be. There will be a time and place for us to have this heart-to-heart without my father involved.
“She can spend one last night here. I will be back in the morning to pick her up. Please make sure she packs everything. I don’t want her forced to leave anything more than she already has to behind. I know how shitty it can feel, since I was forced to so many times as a girl.”
I wrap my arms around my baby girl after we’re done, giving her all the love I hold in my body, and I promise her I will be back bright and early in the morning to start our new lives together. It all feels like a dream and I pray that, when I wake up tomorrow morning, life will still be as fucking wonderful as it is right this minute.
When she is safely out of the room, I feel the rage burn through my body.
“Don’t you even fucking walk out of this room. Turn your fucking pathetic asses around and face the fucking music for once in your fucking lives,” I yell in my parents’ direction. They freeze in place, slowly turning around. I can feel the heat radiating off of my face as my temper boils over. I just can’t hold it all back anymore. It has been stuck here for far too long.
“All these years. All these fucking years,” I mumble under my breath while staring at the floor, unable to meet their eyes. “First, you don’t protect me from that monster. I tried to tell you over and over again, but you fucking ignored me. You ignored your fucking eight-year-old child telling you something was wrong. I was eight!”
“Star, that is why we didn’t invite him here tonight.” My mother’s voice is a mere whisper, but I can still make out every single word. Didn’t invite him? So that fucking makes it okay somehow?
“Did he know? Did he fucking know my daughter was here with you? Did he fucking see her? Did he fucking spend time with her?” I swear on everything that is holy in this world they better answer no. They better not have allowed that monster anywhere near my fucking angel.
“Star, you are being irrational. He made a mistake.” A mistake that lasted for almost two fucking decades? I don’t think so. Mistakes are a one-time thing.
“Did he?” I scream. I can feel the tears pricking at my eyes again. If there is a God at all in this world, they will say no.
“He knew Magnolia was his daughter, but he wasn’t around often enough to spend time with her.” My father’s words do nothing but piss me off even more.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” I pace back and forth across the room. I want to punch something. I need to fucking break something. I spy a picture frame in the corner of the room, and as I pass by it, I pick it up and chuck it right at my mother’s head. She jumps and it narrowly makes contact with her before smashing into pieces against the wall.
“How fucking stupid could you be? All those years I told you what he did to me. All those years you ignored my pleas for help. Then you are stupid enough to leave him alone with her. I will never fucking forgive you, I can tell you that.” My chest heaves as I struggle to catch my breath. Chrome’s hand holds tightly onto my waist, keeping me steady on my feet while I unload years of hate for them.
“I can fucking guarantee you two fucking things.” My voice starts low and gets louder with every word. “You better say your goodbyes, because you are never going to get the opportunity to see my daughter ever again. As for her father, she will be safe. He will never hurt her the way he hurt me. Never. I can fucking promise you that!”
I don’t want to give them another day of her life. I don’t want to leave without my daughter, but instead of considering my parents’ happiness, I try to tell myself this last night is what Magnolia needs. These are the people who have raised her for the last five years.
I turn and walk out the door without looking back. Did that really just happen?
“So you mean to tell me, for the past five years, she has lived with our parents, and nobody had the fucking common decency to tell you until they wanted to dump her on you and return to their own fucking pathetic lives?” Seven’s voice pierces my eardrum through the phone line. Pissed would have been the way to describe her before I told her what our parents conspired to do. Now that she knows, I am pretty sure she wants to kill them and then piss on their bodies. Not that I would object to that.