She doesn’t take two steps before she notices me. Immediately, her eyes become daggers, and her face hardens. My jaw ticks, and I’m trying not to let my lip curl into a snarl. I give her a curt nod, daring her to finish that sentence. She scoffs and spins so fast that Lexi flinches. Seeing that reaction makes my blood boil. There’s only one reason someone would react like that.
“Mother, please. This is James. We work together.”
“Oh really? At this hour? In yourhome? Well, since you’re practically undressing in front of him, am I to assume you’ve started working at a whorehouse?” She spins, focused on me again. “Come on, Alexis, what kind of idiot do you think I am?”
“Mother, I?—”
“And you,” she spins on me, wagging her finger, but not stepping any closer. “What kind of man intrudes on an innocent young woman’s home at this time of night? Are you here to take advantage of my daughter? It’s obvious you are with how she’s dressed. Clearly asking for it, so I suppose I shouldn’t blame you?”
Her words are poisonous, not protective. She barely gives me a second glance. My fists clench in anger, and I want to throw her the fuck out, but this isn’t my home, and Lexi is begging me not to with her eyes.
“Two more minutes, and he’d be defiling you right here on the couch. Is that what you want, Alexis? Should I put a sign on the door advertising you to the entire neighborhood? The Strauss Whore House.”
“Mother, that’s not what happened! I just got home. I was on my way to get changed. I swear.” She grabs her sweater off the back of the couch and pulls it back on. “Please, go home.”
Her mother grabs Lexi’s arm and pulls her close. I go to move, but Lexi shakes her head, staring right into me. Her mother thinks I can’t hear the next part, or at least pretends to think that.
“How dare you, Alexis? You’re done up like a damn harlot, and I find you alone in the home we provide you with this lecherous older man? I bet he’s married. Home wrecking slut.” She sneers. “You lie to me so you can bring this filthy man into your bed to spread his depraved seed? Why do I even bother with you? You’re just like your rotten sister. Is this what you’ve been doing all day? Lying on your back for him?”
“Mother, I?—”
She’s staring Lexi down hard. “I should have never let you move out alone. I told you that you couldn’t handle the responsibilities and temptations. God is testing you, and clearly, I have failed you as a mother.” She’s a pompous windbag, looking down her nose at the child she’s tormented for too long. “You’ve brought the devil into your home, welcomed his seduction into your bed, and stained your eternal, lust-filled soul. I won’t have a filthy daughter claiming me as her mother.”
“Please stop!” Tears stream down her face as she holds her stomach. I won’t stand by anymore. I move behind Lexi, sliding a hand to her back to tell her I’m here for her. Her mother literally clutches her chest as if she’s having a heart attack.
“You’re done here,” I say, feeling Lexi press against my hand.
She gawks at Lexi, then at me. When that doesn’t get her anywhere, she scoffs at us. “Are you seriously asking me to leave you alone with this…this… pig? Your father is going to hear about this. Where did we go wrong with you, Alexis? I gave up so much for you and your sister, and this is how you treat me? It hurts me, Alexis. It hurts that you do these things to me.”
“Please, mother? Please, just go.”
It comes out as a whimper. My hand finds hers while my eyes don’t leave her mother’s. No one deserves this, especially not from a parent. I hope being here keeps her physically safe for now, but I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. I’ve been there, I’ve been in this situation, and it’s utterly helpless from her position.
“You are so dramatic. You had better be at the church and on your damn knees in the morning. Your father is going to want to talk to you about this. About what Jesus thinks of whores like your sister. I will not have a Jezebel for a daughter. Do you understand me?”
“No, mother, you can’t tell him. Please? I haven’t done?—”
My hand comes up, catching her mother’s arm in mid-swing, inches from Lexi’s terrified face.
“Lexi has asked you nicely to leave. Go. Now.” My voice is a growl, and I’m careful not to squeeze her wrist. I could already see the police report now, and I’m not about to put Lexi in that situation.
“How dare you touch me!” She pulls her hand back and rips the door open. “This conversation is not over, Alexis.”
The door slams shut, and I grab Lexi, holding her tight. “I’ll let go if you tell me to, Angel. You’re okay now,” I whisper as I rub her back and let her sob into my chest. “I’m sorry if I’ve made things worse, but I wasn’t going to let her hit you.”
I don’t hush her or tell her not to cry. I don’t lie and say everything will be okay. I hold her, rocking her gently until she pulls away on her own, trying to wipe her face.
“It’s alright. I’m so embarrassed that you had to be here for that—for her.”
“Lexi, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. She does, you don’t.” I wipe away her tears. That’s two nights in a row I’ve done that. I’ll be damned if it will be three. “How often does she hit you?”
“It’s not…it’s not like that. I should have known better than to?—”
“Hey, look at me.” I tilt her chin back so she has to look. “No oneshould ever hit you. Do you understand? I’m not going to let her touch you again. No one will touch you like that again.”
In an instant, she buries her face in my chest again and she finally lets out the sobs she tried hard to hold back. Strawberries fill my nose from her shampoo as I kiss the top of her head and whisper her reassurances that she’s alright for now.
“I should have known; I should have known she’d do something like that. I shouldn’t have had you come up here. I did this to myself.”
