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Evangeline
Itake Marco’s hand as he leads me out of my little apartment over the garage. Grams is missing from the kitchen now. Even though I know I have nothing to fear with Marco by my side, nerves begin to take flight in my stomach. I try to remain strong, and with each step we take closer to the main Bradford house, the worry dissipates and my anger begins to assert itself.
Hours ago, I was worried that I’d have to live under Trent and Mrs. Bradford’s thumb for the rest of my life, and now with Marco by my side, those worries no longer exist.
“You good?” Marco turns to face me as we approach the front door. He reaches up to tuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear.
“Yes.” Whenever he’s with me, I’m more than good. He’s changed my life, and I’ll forever be grateful for that. I wonder what would’ve happened if I didn't have him. My stomach cramps at the thought. Not only from the fear of what might’ve happened to me but of having never known Marco. My heart wouldn’t realize it was missing a piece.
“Let’s do this so we can put it behind us.” I’m not exactly sure what we’re going to be doing, but I want to get it over and done with. I want all of us to be able to move forward, and I want to do it without fear. We reach the front door, which is slightly ajar, and Marco pushes it open the rest of the way. I can hear raised voices coming from another room. The loudest being that of my grams.
I’ve never actually been inside the main part of the Bradford’s home. Grams would never let me come over and help. I think she was trying to keep them as far away from me as possible. Marco squeezes my hand tighter.
“I think your grams got to them before I could.” We round the corner, and I see my grandma has Mrs. Bradford by the hair. Sure, that’s shocking and all, but it’s the knife she has to her throat that has my jaw hitting the floor.
“Grams.” I let go of Marco’s hand. Trent and his father come rushing into the room at the same time. I run toward Grams.
“Don’t move,” Marco barks at the two of them. Trent hides behind his father like the coward that he is. He’s probably hoping that he’s not next in line to receive my grandma’s wrath.
“Apologize.” Grams pushes the knife more into Mrs. Bradford’s throat. I shouldn’t take pleasure in the fear I see in her eyes, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.
“I’m sorry!” A tear leaks down her face. I’m not buying it. Sure, she’s scared but she’s not sorry. She’s only sorry that someone is making her pay for what she did to me.
“Grams.” I grab her elbow. Being this close to Mrs. Bradford, I can see her cheek is red. The clear outline of a handprint is on her face. I’m guessing Grams roughed her up a bit before she pulled the knife.
“I said don’t fucking move,” Marco repeats. I don’t turn to look at him until I hear a click. Then I glance over to see he’s got a gun on both Mr. Bradford and Trent. “Think this belongs to you, Trent.” I know Marco has them handled, so I turn my attention back to my grandma before she ends up killing someone.
“I knew that I had to get to her before the Davincis. I had to get a few licks of my own.” Grams smirks.
I’ve never seen this side of her. She’s always so sweet and loving. That is until you cross someone she loves. Apparently, she turns into a total badass when that happens. I nod, letting her know that I understand while I continue to help guide the knife away from Mrs. Bradford’s throat.
“Let go of the knife, Grams.” She obeys, but doesn’t let go of the grip she has on Mrs. Bradford’s hair.
“Come on, Grams. She’s not worth it.”
She lets go of Mrs. Bradford’s hair as she slowly brings the knife away from her throat.
“You stay away from my grandbaby. You understand me?” She points the knife at Mrs. Bradford, who nods and steps away.
“You’re fired, you old hag!” she yells as she starts to run across the room. I stick my foot out, tripping her. She lands hard on the marble floor and I hear a faint noise that sounds like a crack.
“Oops.” I stand, a little shocked at my own actions, but she called my grams an old hag. Mrs. Bradford starts to cry as she rolls to her back, holding her nose.
“She’s gonna need another nose job.” Grams laughs from beside me.
“Crazy bitch needs more than a nose job.” Marco’s eyes flick down to Mrs. Bradford on the floor. “You’re not going to check on your own mother or wife?” Marco levels both of the men with a stare. Not that Trent is a man. He’s far from it. He might be a legal adult but he isn’t anywhere close to being a man.
“You told us not to move,” Trent all but whines.
“I’d take a bullet to get to my mom or my girl if she was bleeding on the floor.” I know he’s not talking about his real mom but about his sister, Sophia. She’s his older sister, but she has a motherly hold over him. As for his girl, I know he’s talking about me, and I have no doubt that he’s one hundred percent telling the truth.
“I want to apologize, Marco.” Mr. Bradford raises his hands higher. “I thought I’d gotten them under control.”
“It’s clear you have no control over anything.” Marco keeps his gun trained on Trent. I’m surprised when his father steps in front of him.
“It was a mistake. Family can be hard to control.”
A look of understanding passes over Marco’s face and I know he’s thinking about his own parents. He told me about them.
