“I will never help you in whatever plan you came up with in that twisted head of yours. Roy believed Caleb and that’s not going to change.” She leaned back, lacing her hands together as if she was deep in thought. My eyes darted around the room, looking for anything that could help me out of this situation. She was clearly delusional and I had no idea what she was capable of. I had to get free in order to keep Caleb safe from this crazy woman.
“Oh, are you looking for this maybe?” She reached her small hand into her front pocket and then dangled my phone, just inches in front of my face until she let it drop onto the floor. “Oopsie,” she said in a singsong voice as it crashed to the floor and then she ground her heel against it to make sure it was completely ruined. “We wouldn’t want you getting a hold of that now would we, dear?”
“Please, just don’t hurt Caleb. He doesn’t deserve it. He’s already gone through enough pain, thanks to you. He didn’t ask for any of this, he’s just an innocent boy.” I sent a silent prayer, hoping that Caleb stayed where I had told him to go even though I knew if Shelia really wanted to get to him she would. It made me wonder why she hadn’t already tried.
“Oh, I wouldn’t think of it,” she gasped, holding a hand to her heart, like she even had one. Evil bitch. “No, no, no. Who would want to hurt that sweet boy? See, that’s where you come in. We are going to have a nice little chat with Roy in which you tearfully explain that it, was in fact you, who took out all your frustrations out on sweet Caleb.
“All of the stress over the past couple of months has finally gotten to you. The wedding, the whole paternity testing, and having Caleb’s father come back into his life unexpectedly. And of course who could forget that baby that you unfortunately lost? What a shame that was. In all reality, it was probably for the best. Did you really want another brat around to have to deal with? I think the one you have is enough, right?”
I swallowed over the lump in my throat at the picture she was trying to paint. Roy would never believe it; at least I didn’t think he would. Yes, I had been heartbroken over the loss of our baby and had fallen into a deep depression, but Roy had been very understanding. He would know that I would never lay a hand on Caleb.
“Roy wouldn’t ever believe you anyway, so why waste your breath? He knows you’re crazy and he’s not going to believe whatever little story you spout off to him. So why don’t we just make this a little bit easier and let me go. You can go, I won’t call the police and we can all try to get on with our lives.”
“Oh no, no, no sweetie,” she wagged a finger at me and turned towards the kitchen. “You aren’t talking your way out of this one. Roy thinks you’re such a perfect mother, a young woman stepping up to take on the challenge of taking care of a little boy who is really her brother.
“That whore of a mother you had should have just stayed out of Roy’s business, instead of sending that letter, which in my opinion, ruined his life. But unfortunately, he doesn’t see it that way. Your mother had to go and stir the pot even beyond the grave, so I guess I’ll just have to get used to the idea of having a stepchild around.” Her voice became louder as she rounded the corner and came back into the room, tapping her palm with the cordless phone we kept in the kitchen.
Chase insisted on having a home phone, even though it was rare nowadays with cell phones. He always wanted one in case of emergencies. This would definitely count as one and would work great if only I could get my hands free to pry it out of the bitch’s hands.
“Now, I’m going to call Roy and you’re going to admit to be the one abusing Caleb. See, you’ve been doing it for years in fact. It’s just so stressful taking care of a young boy while you have everything else on your plate. And you are going to explain it to him just like that.”
“Oh, really?” I bit out, “and why exactly would I do that?”
“Well, because if you don’t,” she responded in an icy tone it sent chills down my spine. She reached around behind her back, pulling out a gun that she must have had tucked into her pants and I instantly stiffened, “I’ll just have to use this. Don’t worry about the explanation dear, I have all of that planned out as well.” She took a step closer to me, the glint of the gun reflecting off the evil glare of her eyes that were focused intently on me.
“It will go something like this. I came over to the house, to apologize for the misunderstanding. Caleb loves spending time with me, but of course young children tend to make up stories, they enjoy living in fantasies from time to time. Caleb ran towards me as soon I stepped into the house, wrapping my legs into a tight hug, cringing away from the woman that was his supposed mother.