The Town (Book 1, Lonstino & Greenwood Series)

Chapter 34 - Hannah

LEWIS

The door of the store slams shut and I don't even need to look at who's here, because there's only one person who behaves like that.

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT! WHY DID YOU DO IT?"

I finish giving the receipt and the bag of sweets to my customer, who gives a frightened look at Hannah. Besides having a big foul mouth, she's leaving quite an impression. Her skirt is too short for the windy weather outside and her open jacket shows a blouse that seems to have been made without the top two buttons. I take my time coming from behind the register and lean against the counter. This isn't the first time she comes around throwing insults and probably won't be the last. The only difference is that she does this usually on a Friday and today it's Tuesday.

"What do you want?" I ask calmly.

"WHAT DO I WANT?" She paces the store. "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU CALL SOCIAL SERVICES ON ME?"

"First of all, I'm standing here in front of you, so you don't need to scream at me. Second, I haven't called social services, although that is something I should have done a long time ago."

"Then why the hell did they appear at my house this morning to give me a warning?"

"A warning?" My words come out lace with sarcasm. "With everything you have done to the boys, you are way past the warning stage."

"It was probably the little whore you are dating, right? The one living at that fat sack brother of mine," she comes closer and I can smell alcohol and menthol cigarettes in her breath.

"In case you haven't noticed, your brother is a lean and fit man. So calling him anything along the lines of fat is completely inaccurate. And don't try to compare with yourself with the woman in my life, she doesn't fuck a new man weekly."

Her slap doesn't have the desired result because she really deserved that insult. Far from making me fear her, it makes me feel stronger.

"YOU WERE ALWAYS A DICK! I DON'T KNOW WHAT I SAW IN YOU! YOU AND YOUR STUPID CANDY ARE WORTHLESS," she tumbles down one of my displays. "JUST LIKE YOU WERE IN BED, ABSOLUTELY WORTHLESS!"

In the past, words like that hurt me so much, but not anymore. 

"You come into my shop, insult me, assault me, and you have a warning from social services. Hannah, why don't you just sign the full custody of the boys to me and avoid me calling the cops?"

"And give you that pleasure? NEVER!"

I ball my fists and keep my arms tight at my sides. I want to hurt her. I want to make her feel all the pain and humiliation she's made me feel in the past years. But I'm better than that, I'm better than her, a decent person, and now I have many reasons to live.

"I can see it in your eyes, you want to hit me! Put a finger on me and you will never see those kids again."

Her sick smile evokes the fear I felt while living together and I need to keep calm for the sake of my sons. I hear the door and hope a client doesn't come in and witnesses our exchange. A man comes inside and sports a blank and bored expression.

"Hannah, are you done here?"

"Yes, I'm done with this fucker," she kicks the candy on the floor. "You will pay for this, Lewis. You and those horrible brats will suffer."

The man rolls his eyes and holds her arm to lead her outside. That seems to be her newest fling and the man who doesn't want my boys around. Knowing my security cameras have recorded our exchange gives me some peace of mind. If I hear one more thing she's done to the boys, I'll press charges. I kneel to pick up the candy from the floor, but my stomach knots and I bend over from the pain.