Page 46 of Ruthless Blade

Dad’s house. Our house. And she wanted to...get rid of it?

The place we grew up in. The one that had writing on the wall by the pantry, lines hand drawn to mark our heights. Where Kayden and I shared our first kiss...a bittersweet memory I didn't so easily want to forget, even though I should.

"It's a house, Alexis." Mom said it dismissively, my teary gaze meeting hers. “You don’t live there anymore, and it’s an empty house filled with memories of ghosts.”

I scoffed, “Memories of ghosts? Do you fucking hear yourself right now?”

Her gaze narrowed, “Don’t use that tone with me.”

“How can I not? You’re dismissing Dad as if being married to him was an inconvenience. You’re writing off Jake as if he didn’t fucking matter. This is bullshit Mom, and you fucking know it.”

"Lex," Kayden's hand found my knee under the table.

No, he wasn’t going to tell me to calm down. No one was. I had good reason to be upset.

I glared at him, “I’m not going to calm down. I don’t care who thinks I’m crazy. That house stores memories of our family,” I turned my head to look at her, “And the fact that you are so ready to get rid of it...”

"We haven't decided on anything final," Mr. Daniel cut me off, but his tone was gentle, as if he was afraid I’d break. "It's only a conversation right now."

"Of course." Mom smiled sweetly, as if she’d already made up her fucking mind. She looked at my plate, the smile quickly vanishing off her face. “You’ve barely touched your food."

I looked down at my plate, the untouched steak, mashed potatoes and corn glaring at me. I pushed it back, "I'm not hungry."

"You're never hungry anymore."

“How would you know?” Wow. She really had some nerve. She’d been absent from my life for the most part of this last year and NOW wanted to act like she knew everything about me.

“You used to eat all the time...” Her eyes roamed over me, looking for anything she could pick apart.

My hands curled into fists. I’m about to lose my shit.

Kayden's hand tightened on my knee.

"Nora." Mr. Daniel’s voice held a warning in it that surprised me. I didn’t think he would be one to stick up for me because of the way things were with him and his son.

"I'm only saying." She took a sip of wine, unbothered. Her gaze flicked over me as if I was a bug that needed to be smashed. Useless. "It's been over a year. At some point, we need to leave the past behind us, move on.”

This fucking woman.

I raised a brow, “Is it wrong to miss Jake? Is it wrong to miss Dad? Is it wrong to be sad when they were taken from us only a year ago?! What’s wrong is you pointing out my flaws because I’m grieving!”

Her lips tilted up in a smile that was both cruel and dangerous. She never liked when I stuck up for myself. She’d especially hated that I did it in front of Kayden and his dad.

This is not the Mom I grew up with. Someone took over her body. There’s no way she’s in there. “I’m saying that I’m worried about you.”

“You’re not worried about me. You don’t give a fuck.”

Her smile dipped, “That’s uncalled for.”

“Is it? Or are you upset that I’m telling the truth?”

“Alexis, I’m not going to let you treat me that way.”

The guys said absolutely nothing, but continued to watch the soap opera unfold in front of them. Probably the best drama they’d seen in a while.

I titled my head to the side, trying to figure her out. “Treat you... Treat you in what way? You must mean, the way you treat me? The way you’ve treated me since they died.”

She stood up, placing her glass down, hands on her hips. Her gaze narrowed as if she was furious I had challenged her in front of her new boyfriend. He needed to understand what he was getting into, and I was tired of getting shit for being in pain.