Page 20 of The Broken Note

My phone buzzes, but I don’t glance at it. Mom is sitting across from me. Viola is beside me. It’s so quiet that I can hear each coarse breath rattling in my lungs.

“What happened last year, mom?” Viola whispers. “What happened that night?”

“That night… I decided to take a shortcut home when I heard grunting and the sounds of a struggle.” She inhales deeply, fingers moving into her pocket for a cigarette.

Viola leans forward.

I hold my breath as mom puffs out smoke.

“I should have run away, but I didn’t. Stupid of me. But I did the next best thing. I hid behind a dumpster and stayed out of sight. When I heard things go quiet, I figured the fight was done and the guys had left.”

“And?” Viola croaks.

“I was wrong.” Mom’s brown eyes glaze over as if she’s reliving the moment. “Therehewas. Covered in someone’s blood. Knife in his hand. Looked like the devil come to life. And he was staring right at me.”

Viola shivers.

I frown. I don’t know if I believe her.

I don’t believe anything that comes out of her mouth.

But Viola is transfixed.

“If you witnessed a murder, why didn’t you tell the police? Why run away and play dead?” My sister’s eyes are earnest. A glimmer of her innocence rising from the ashes.

I’d be relieved—but that innocence is bordering on naïveté. An ignorance that would allow a child to play with fire.

Or with a snake.

“You know my history,” mom says, sighing in a way that makes her look pitiful and frail. “I’ve been in and out of rehab. No matter what I said, the police wouldn’t have believed me. And I couldn’t take the chance. What if that guy came after you two? He didn’t seem like the type to let a witness walk.”

I scoff.

Mom pretends not to hear. “I made the choice that would keep you both safe and, thankfully, Cadey agreed to cover for me.”

“I guess you both didn’t feel the need to share that with me.”

I open my mouth but mom steps in before I can. “Sweetheart, we just wanted to keep you safe. That’s all.”

Viola’s eyes soften on mom.

“If the situation was so dire, how is it okay to come back now? Isn’t that guy still out there?”

“I’ve already proven that I’m not going to be a problem.” Mom taps the cig on the table and it burns out. “I could have gone to the police by now, but I didn’t. And the case is closed. There were no witnesses. I’m free and clear.”

“Are you sure? It feels a little too easy.”

“I’m very sure.” Mom’s eyes dart to the side. Her hands are getting fidgety. Some would call it a sign of nerves, but I know exactly what that means.

It’s been too long since she’s gotten a hit. The cigs aren’t keeping her urges at bay anymore.

“Everything is fine now.” Mom smiles and pulls her hands under the table. Probably to scratch. Sometimes, she scratched herself to the point of bleeding. It was the scariest thing to see as a kid. No six-year-old wants their mom to be hurt, but when she’s the one inflicting her own pain…

“Vi, it’s time for bed.” I check my watch. “It’ll be hard to wake up for school tomorrow.”

Mom rises. “I’ll get some rest too.”

“Where are you going?” I stop her with a cold look.