Page 19 of Watch Me Burn
“Crap, purify your mind, Anna.” Children were in this house, and so were my mom and Nathan. I needed to stop letting my thoughts roam to horny fantasies with an ex-con when there was a bigger investigation at play that would upend our family as we knew it.
I clapped my cheeks until they were hot pink, then stepped out of my car. The cherry finish of my Toyota glistened under the noon daylight, alongside the scratches I lacked the time and money to fix.
I tried opening the front door but it was locked—how odd. It was never locked during the day.
DING!
I waited outside my mother’s front porch for an answer. In a few seconds, the doorknob was turned to reveal her sunken face standing behind the door.
“Anna!” she exclaimed. I grinned and jumped into a hug, squeezing her like we didn’t meet every holiday and more.
Pulling away from my embrace, she commented, “You didn’t tell me you were coming.”
I playfully rolled my eyes, joking, “Just checking in on my good ol’ mom.”
By the looks of it, the years had gotten to her. I never wanted to say anything, but my mom’s health had been on a serious decline since the death of my dad. Her frame remained dangerously frail, the grip of her fingers so light I’d sometimes mistake it for air.
The death of my father was hard on her. If not for the fact she was clearly still drowned in grief, I didn’t believe she’d still be vilifying Ethan in the same way she did.
But that was assuming the courts were wrong.
My mom led me into her house, seating me at the dining table.
“We made a big homemade pizza for the kids. Dinner is in an hour,” she remarked. The aroma of freshly baked dough weakened my muscles.
“Ah, I really wish I could stay for a long family dinner, but I’m swamped in work this week.” I sighed.
My mom studied me with curiosity. “Again? Gosh, I know lawyers are overworked, but don’t you think this public defendant job is a little too much?”
I lifted my shoulders nonchalantly. “I’m happy with what I do. It’s the reason why I went into law in the first place.”
My mom shook her head solemnly. “You have a good heart, Anna. Just don’t let it be taken for granted.” A note wavered in her voice, but I didn’t see a reason to question why.
“Besides, I came here to drop off a little bit of help. I know you’re struggling to pay the mortgage on your own—”
“—Anna, I’m telling you, I’m fine! I don’t want you guys to keep babysitting me when I’m the one who should be caring after you. If I can’t even serve my role as your mother, what is my purpose?” Dramatically, she raised a hand to her forehead.
It had been a mess. The life insurance company had found a loophole to deny my mother her payout. She had fought them in court for years only to end up with tens of thousands in lawyers’ bills as well, leaving her pretty much penniless and mentally unable to work.
“Mom, you know we don’t mean it like that. Any single person would struggle to cover the cost of a home like this—and, being honest with you, it’s clear that you don’t work the same hours you used to.” I rose from my chair, progressing to her enclave in the wide kitchen. “A few hundred won’t bury me into the ground. Please, take it.”
My mom glanced down at the bills, then back up at me. “Not unless you stop speaking to this murderer.”
I stared at her in shock. “Seriously? Mom, we’ve been over this.”
“You say you care about my health, but then let my blood pressure shoot to the ceiling with the way you hang out with this man like he didn’t murder your father all those years ago. He’s a demon, and if you really want to know what’s stopping me from sleeping at night, it’s knowing my daughter would lay in bed with someone like him.”
Was she seriously implying we were shagging in my condo? I loved this woman . . . but wow!
“Listen, Mom, I’ve been able to look past a lot of stuff because I know that out of everyone in this house, you were hit the hardest by Dad’s death. But if you’re going to continue to talk down to me like this, I’m outta here.”
My mother contorted her face as if this was the most offensive statement ever. “Anna, I know you kids lost your father, but if you’d been through what I’d been through, you’d stop that terrible investigation of yours right now. You might think I talk for the sake of blabbering, but I am your mother! Ethan is a con artist and a monster.”
“But what if he’s not? If you really look at the facts, it just doesn’t add up,” I snarled, towering over her menacingly. “It breaks my heart as much as it scares me, but looking back, there wasn’t enough evidence at the scene for the police and us to pin him as the murderer.”
“I disagree. With a messed-up child like that, a simple look at his family history is all you need to know,” my mom snapped. Her eyes were cold and spiteful, void of any of the warmth she used to harbor for Ethan when we were children.
I shook my head in fury. Stalking out of the kitchen, I yanked my purse from the dining table. “Just watch me, Mom. We’ll find out the truth, and whether you’re ready to accept your mistake, you’ll be forced to digest that bitter pill in the future.”
