Page 66 of The Impact (Parachutes #3)

“I know. It’s just…if we’re transitioning soon,” Drew hinted to them joining homes, and Tahli picked up the rest of the donut, stuffing her face. Finally, Dali stormed into the kitchen, resting little bitch face in place.

“Mom, where’s my lipliner?”

“I don’t know,” Tahli wrinkled her nose.

“Yes, you do! You borrowed it yesterday when you couldn’t find yours, and I need it now!”

“Little girl, I know you better watch your mouth because I bought that goddamn lipliner.”

“So? You just take things because you bought them? Did Dad take the Benz back from you when you divorced him? No, you traded it in for a stupid Jeep. Who trades in a Benz for a Jeep?”

Terran dropped her jaw, chocolate frosting ringing her lips. With her blood on a slow simmer, Tahli snorted.

“See? Now, when I smack the shit out of her…then I’m the bad guy, right?” She asked Drew, challenging the way he often came to Dali’s defense. He kissed his teeth.

“Here, Doll. Have a donut. It’ll make you feel better.”

“First of all,” Dali pinched the air with both fingers, “Don’t call me Doll.”

“Dali,” Tahli warned.

“What? I’m not being rude. I’m actually looking out for you, Drew. My father would freakin’ annihilate you if he heard you call me his nickname. And I know he already beat you up before.”

“Dali,” Tahli glared.

“Second. I’m sugar-free. Literally everyone knows that. Oh, I forgot. You’re only allowed here when we’re not here–”

“Dali Hayes. Now, the disrespect to me? We’ll deal with that later. But I know you better apologize to Drew right now!” The bass in Tahli’s voice shut Dali up. Her glower seethed, but she smartly turned to Drew.

“I’m sorry, Drew. I really am. I’m just tired.”

“It’s okay,” he muttered, clearing his throat. Beyond Tahli’s reluctance of her children living with another man, or Vin’s reaction to their children living with another man…Tahli wasn’t sure if Drew was prepared to live with three children. He never wanted kids.

“I was at my father’s house over the weekend,” Dali explained away, now typing into her phone. “But I barely got any sleep. My father and his new girlfriend, Bianca…they were…you know…like all night long.”

Tahli’s coffee cup slipped from her hand, crashing to the floor. Both she and Drew jumped back from the splatter, and Drew bent down to gather the pieces.

“I mean, they thought they were being quiet, but it was just screaming and moaning and screaming and moaning and–”

“Dali Ellery mothafuckin’ Hayes! I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I know you better turn around, go upstairs, take off that too small shirt and too much makeup, climb ya little stank, bitch-ass back in that bed, and start from fucking scratch!

” Tahli boomed. “Because you may be too old for me to put belt to ass but you’re the perfect age to square the fuck up.

Now get out of here!” Tahli bellowed at the top of her lungs, harsher and more out of control than she imagined.

Heaving, tears pricked Tahli’s lenses, as Dali’s face dropped, transforming her back to the child she knew, not the demon she’d just encountered.

“I’m sorry,” Dali murmured. Then she spun on her heels.

Tahli was a statue, unable to face Drew. She felt the heat of his glare teaming up with the flare of her nostrils.

“Come on, Terran,” Milo re-entered the kitchen, taking Terran by the hand. Terran obliged, but not before seizing another donut.

As Tahli gripped the counter, Drew started to walk from the kitchen. Then he shocked her with a hurl of the donut box, sending donuts flying to the wall and crashing to the floor.

“Drew! What the fuck?”

“Yes!” Drew screamed back. “What the fuck, Tahli? I’m coming in here with donuts, trying to be Stepdaddy of the Year, and you’re losing your shit because you find out your ex-husband is screwing someone else!”

“First of all, he doesn’t need to be screwing anybody with my children around. And second, you saw how disrespectful she was being–”

“You were completely out of control, and it was all about what she was fucking saying. Don’t give me that shit!”

“Don’t fucking yell at me in my fucking house! None of this shit has anything to do with you!”

That tied his tongue. She watched Drew raise his face to her kitchen ceiling.

“This is ridiculous,” he mumbled. “You know…I just knew that after what he did, I didn’t have to be perfect for you anymore. Perfect Princess Tahli had gotten her heart broken by Superman Vin, and maybe the good guy would finally be good enough for her without all the fucking work.”

Tahli’s face warped into muddle. “So…let me get this straight…you thought because my ex-husband hid a baby from me that I would be humbled enough for anything? Is that why you’re here?”

“I’m here because I love you. Don’t twist my words.”

“I’m not twisting your words; I’m repeating your words. But what? Is this all some fucking competition with Vin that you can finally win?”

“No! This is all me…trying to show you…that I can be a better man for you! But for some reason, everywhere I turn, Vin is still fucking here. I can’t get out of his fucking shadow,” Drew spewed.

Tahli had no retort, and Drew didn’t give her room for one. He only trampled over smashed donuts, leaving Tahli where she stood.

“I need to speak to you. Matter of fact, put Bianca on the phone. I need to talk to both of you.”

“What?” Vin had barked. “She’s not here.”

“Oh, but she was there this past weekend when my children were.”

“She wasn’t.”

“Oh, yeah? Then why did Dali say you two were basically fucking the entire weekend and she couldn’t get any sleep? The kids just started school, Vin!”

It took a second for Vin to answer. “DJ, we’ll do the rest of the problems in a minute. Do your Social Studies. We’ll come back to the math.” When Vin was obviously alone, his even tone carried on.

“Tahli…all of that fucking we did when we were married and when were we ever reckless enough to keep our kids up and let them hear us? Bianca doesn’t come here when the kids are here.

She wouldn’t do that, and I wouldn’t do that.

I damn sure ain’t fucking nobody with my kids in the house. I ain’t that fucking hard up for sex.”

“But Dali said…” Tahli had stopped short, realizing she was the viola being played, and who the fiddler was.

She apologized to Vin. He confirmed it was in the wind.

Now, whatever moonlight slipped through the cracks of the blinds was enough to cast faint shadows in the bedroom Tahli was now familiar with, yet still not at home in. She couldn’t rest.

The light snores from Drew told of his peace. She stared at him for a while, running eyes over his features in the dark. Handsome, loyal, safe. Handsome, loyal, safe. Nervous system could rest. Or should …

Tahli flipped again in her toss-and-turn dance, searching for her crumb of comfort.

Drew had spent the night. The kids were back at Vin’s because he begged for them.

He was an anomaly of ex-husbands. He always wanted their damn kids.

But Tahli long ago knew, Vin felt he was his best self with his children.

Always had this strange fear of not being with Tahli and their family; afraid of the man he was without them.

It went as far back as their dating years.

Tahli recalled how badly he didn’t want her to go to North Carolina to visit her mother.

But this Friday night, Tahli welcomed the break. It gave her and Drew a chance to reconnect. Express feelings, mend differences…a lot of that lately. They had a romantic dinner and went to the movies. Made love in the shower after. So, what was pulling Tahli from the sweet embrace of sleep?

Dali? Tahli wondered, peering at the wall through the blackness.

She and Dali had reconciled, with apologies and promises they would both work on offenses they would be back to committing soon.

But even with the teenaged-daughter drama a constant, something bigger sat in the pit of Tahli’s stomach, growing.

Darker. A cold wickedness creeping over her.

It watered her eyes. Put a chill to her skin. Lodged chunky fear in her throat.

When the phone rang, it was almost welcomed. Like an impending doom showing its face. The dread of its arrival but a slight relief of finding out what it was.

“Yes.” Tahli breathed out, sitting erect in the bed, insides twisting in the devil’s fists.

“Tahli.” The way Vanessa spoke Tahli’s name snatched her breath. Not only was it after 1am, but Tahli could hear the whirring of wind. Vanessa was not home, and that was far from Vanessa’s norm.

“What’s wrong? Where are you?” Tahli’s demanding questions stirred Drew awake.

“Your father just received a call from Luis Castillo.” Vanessa said it like Tahli was supposed to know who that was. Drew’s hand laid on her shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” He urged sleepily.

Tahli almost shifted from his touch but forced herself not to.

He took stuff like that personally, in spite of her overstimulation issues.

Being touched at the height of her anxiety, or distress, or focus drove Tahli to the edge of madness.

Certain people knew that. “The captain of the Fair Haven Fire Department.”

Tahli’s veins iced over. There wasn’t a name for the feeling a mother has when her children are in danger. Only a secret club that a few unlucky ones experience once in their lives. Had to be once. Because who could survive this crippling feeling more than once?

“There’s a fire at the house, Tahli. We’re on our way–”

Tahli leapt from the bed. She flew to the stairs barefoot, Drew’s calling echoing behind her.

“Tahli! Tahli! Vanessa, what’s going on?

” she gathered Drew’s voice in the distance, as she snatched her BMW keys from the counter.

If her Nike slides weren’t by the door, she wouldn’t have wasted time putting on shoes.

But Tahli shuffled feet into them, snatching the door open and racing to her car in her nightie.