Worth Any Risk

Ch. 27 Confrontation

*Jordan

He leaves the diner and I can breathe again. I can focus my eyes again and deny the debilitating pain in my chest. Marge sets my food on the counter. She's talking to me, and I nod in agreement.

Yes, he is a jerk. I should have known. Can't trust any men these days, all the good ones, like her husband are already taken. But if I hang in there, I'll be all right.

"I'll be fine, you're right." I take the food. "Thanks for the support."

"Always. And you and baby Emma are always in my prayers. I know they'll find her and put that horrible man in jail."

I tell myself to smile in appreciation. All the prayers in the world haven't helped me so far, but I'm not willing to give them up. Her kindness, after Cole's demands, will have me on the floor sobbing in a minute. I wave goodbye, not trusting my voice.

My driver is waiting by the side of the building, cigarette lit. I called for transportation—what other choice did I have to get to work?

Suddenly, I'm resolved. All morning, I thought I'd go to Trey's mother and confront her and Eryn for good about their relationship with him, then at the last minute, I talked myself out of it, and called the Uber to take me to work.

I'm not putting this off any longer. I signal that I'm ready and he tosses his cigarette butt, blows a lungful of white smoke into the air.

"I've had something come up. There's another house I need to stop at before going to work."

"No problem." He opens the door for me since my hands are full. "It all goes on the tab, though."

"I know. Nothing is free." Everything in this life has come at a price for me. The cost is too high this time, though. I can't afford to lose everything precious and worth living for.

It's only worth losing everything and everyone else if I can get Emma back. I tell myself this over and over.

I give him the address from memory, hating that it's burned in my head so clearly. His car smells sharply of too many cleaning solutions and air fresheners, and by the time we bump onto Jo-Beth's driveway from the street, I'm nauseated. I climb out of the car, spine straight and head high. I have to be strong. Appearances are everything with this evil family.

I hesitate at the door, though, fist in the air. They've blamed me for all their problems, all their sorrows. They've blamed me so much and told me so many times everything was my fault, that I've almost started to believe it.

After Trey married me, and started work in a warehouse instead of making them proud by being a star athlete and student at the university, they blamed me for being a slut.

When my miscarriage came and Trey stayed married to me, living on minimum wage, they not only blamed me for his failures, but for Trey's father committing suicide. The man even said in a note that his failure of being a good father was why he killed himself. Sick.

Jo-Beth, Trey's mother, threw her bible at my face during the funeral.

Then, I got pregnant again on accident. Jo-Beth accused me of dragging her son down deeper in debt and depression. She warned me I would be his ruin. She said I loved to see him miserable.

She said I should kill myself and spare the world the grief of raising a child who would never amount to anything.

Trey kidnapped our daughter, and she said I got what I deserved. And through it all, Eryn nodded in agreement. Always in the background, always supporting her horrible family. And the worst part, was that I didn't even hate these women for what they did and said. I hated myself so much, there wasn't any room left over to hate them.