Because in one month, the ten-year promise I made with my father would finally come due.
——
Hayden Abbott's foot kicked against my shin. Again. And again.
I didn't flinch. Didn't speak. Just watched the scenery blur past the window.
We'd barely pulled up to the house when I spotted a slender figure kneeling at the bottom of the front steps.
Pamela Henson wore a spotless white dress, her eyes swollen and rimmed red, as though she'd been crying for hours.
When she saw us approach, her voice cracked with a perfect, trembling sob.
"Gloria Pruitt... I'm so sorry. You've suffered so much these past few years, and it's all my fault. I'm the one who—"
Something flickered in the depths of Leon's eyes. Pity. Tenderness. Gone in an instant, but I saw it.
Hayden tore away from me and threw his arms around Pamela's elbow. He whipped his head back and glared at me with pure venom.
"Mama Pamela, get up! This isn't your fault!"
"It's all because of her! She ruins everything!"
Mama Pamela.
Those two words drove into me like a needle straight through the eardrum.