Chapter 6
The sound of a belt cracking against skin came through the walls.
Poor Tommy was getting another beating.
With his mental disabilities, he was constantly messing things up.
Since moving in here, I’d been listening to them scream at him and smack him around pretty much every day.
One afternoon I bumped into Tom down in the courtyard.
He was wheeling himself toward the corner store, his face looking like a punching bag-all purple and yellow bruises.
The building’s exit had this brutal steep ramp, and he was fighting to get his chair up it.
Kid just didn’t have the arm strength-kept rolling backward every time he tried.
I walked over and grabbed his chair handles, giving him a solid push to the top.
Tom glanced back and realized it was me.
“Thanks,” he muttered, looking at his lap.
“You want me to call the cops?”
“Waste of time. They’ll just kick our asses worse later.”
Tom’s eyes went dark, his voice dripping with hate.
“Yeah, you’re right. Sometimes social media gets better results than 911 anyway.”
I said it super casually, like I was commenting on the weather.
Tom froze completely. When he looked up again, there was this razor-sharp intelligence in his eyes.
Smart kid-he knew exactly what I was getting at.
I’m pretty close with one of Theodore’s distant cousins.
She asked me to grab lunch the other day.
“Oh my God, Harper, you have to hear this.”
Theodore’s been begging his parents for money, whining about having two extra mouths to feed.”
I stabbed my salad and waited for the gossip.
“His parents completely lost their shit on him! Told him it’s Ava’s screwed-up genes that made those two disabled kids, and-get this-they want to hook him up with someone new!”
That was news to me. “Wait, didn’t he marry Ava?”
“Theodore’s desperate to ditch those kids. He’s been scheming for a divorce since day one.”
“So who’s the lucky lady…?”
She got all secretive and leaned in.
“Some family friend’s daughter who cleans houses. She’s gonna be their new ‘housekeeper.””
And by housekeeper you mean…”
“Breeding stock. His parents promised him he can dump Ava the second this chick pops out a healthy boy.”
She started cackling.
“What a fucked-up family.”
I couldn’t help laughing too, because Theodore was about to learn what karma felt like.
I just didn’t expect Little Miss Housekeeper to show up so fast.
Three days later, I saw this pretty young thing coming and going from Ava’s place.
Ava was obviously pissed about it.
But since her future mother-in-law was paying the bills, she had to suck it up.
The minute this cute little homewrecker moved in, Theodore started treating Ava like hot garbage.
“All you do is sit around the house being useless. Get off your ass and find a job.”
“Are you kidding me? I was your mistress for years, gave you two kids, and now you’re throwing me away?”
Ava’s voice was so shrill it probably woke up half the building.
‘Don’t you dare bring up those kids! Your busted genetics made busted children!”
‘Go fuck yourself! You worthless piece of shit!”
About two seconds later, it sounded like they were having a full-scale war with kitchen appliances over there.
