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mixed up in biker politics, so I tell her his real name now that I know it

Sophia looks up at me and I can see soht I don’t want to hurt when I look at her I want to think that whatever good Tricky had in hiave it all to Sophia and that is why he was so evil “I will alorry,” she whispers as tears burn in her eyes

“Oh, sweetheart” I hug her tighter to one He can’t hurt us anyain”

“Is it wrong…what I mean is, I hate Dad for how he treated us For the stuff he did to you, but is it bad if part of onna be bad like hi that she even thinks there is so with her

“You are nothing like your father You are ss he could never be It’s okay to feel sad and confused He wasn’t a good man, but he was your father A bad one, but still your father There were a few tiood, do you remember? When he took you to the zoo, or how he custoood moments were few and far between, but he wasn’t always a terrible father to her, just, irl, there is no right or wrong way to feel right now” I know I a Tricky really screwed both of us up in the head It ht not hurt if I wentto be okay We have each other” My daughter and I lived through hell and I will be damned if ill let another man dictate our lives

Sophia eventually goes off to her room and I tidy up the apartood forsorry forTricky’s money, but I’ve earned it for the shit he did towhen I feel better and don’t look like athat da that house of horrors and taking Sophia and this new baby far away froet all about us and move on to his next fuck

A knock sounds at the door and I figure it is the food I ordered before Grady showed upwho it is, but I damn ish I had It’s Susan My cunt stepsister

Chapter 24

Susan

“It’s true Tricky nearly killed you Happy says you got hih so the deed Nikki looks like shit but even under all the bruises she is still pretty

“What do you want, Susan?”

“I wanted to talk to you about Grady Can I come in?”

She steps aside and I walk inside unsure of how to start off this conversation But it is a conversation we should have had a long tione and no longer controlling ize for all of the terrible shit I put Nikki through I tortured her but I don’t want to be that person anymore I feel free for the first time in my life Free of the hold Mother kept over me “You shouldn’t be so hard on Grady”

She laughs “You think I a people I don’t knohy I even let you in”

“Me either but here we are I know I put you through hell and I wanted to say I’m sorry”