Chapter 27

27

Iona

“ Y ou got new bedroom furniture,” Evenie commented, looking around.

“I did. I got new mattresses too. I um… in hopes of you coming home, I wanted us to have a fresh start. I put our old bedroom furniture in storage before Iona and I ever… you know. It didn’t feel right bringing another woman into a bed I shared with you. “Unfortunately, the storage unit flooded a few years ago, and everything had water damage. I replaced the second new set because I couldn’t have you in a bed I shared with someone else either.”

“Bastard!” I screamed at the video footage.

I was on the verge of throwing my phone, but I had to practice restraint. Watching this shit was doing more harm than good to my mental. I told myself I was going to take a break, but after our interaction in the pickup line today, I couldn’t help myself. As soon as the last child had been picked up, I hightailed it back to my office to grab my things and made a beeline for home.

For two weeks now, I’d been watching Tyrion’s house, and the more I watched, the more I hurt. The more I hurt, the angrier I became. I’d endured watching him and Evenie being hugged up and kissing and shit. I’d endured the sickeningly cute little family moments between them and Summer.

The green-eyed monster on my back was rearing its ugly head. It should have been me. It was supposed to be me.

“You didn’t want to fuck that bitch on the same bed you fucked me on? Like I’m some dirty whore!”

I tossed the phone on the bed as Tyrion disappeared into the bathroom, and Evenie unwrapped her towel. I didn’t want to see her fat ass get naked. Tyrion was tripping if he preferred her over me. Did he really think she could compete with me? Did she think she could compete with me?

The green-eyed monster on my back laughed. “She’s got him, and you don’t. I see no competition.”

“Shut up!” I yelled.

I yanked the covers back. Jumping to my feet, I stormed out of my room and into the kitchen to grab myself another drink. I’d already gone through a whole bottle of my strongest wine, and it did nothing for me. I needed something stronger.

Rummaging through my liquor cabinet, I pulled out a bottle of Hennessy and popped the cap open. Turning the bottle up, I took one long swig of it, not caring that it was burning my chest. I didn’t bother to grab a glass before heading back in the direction of my room. Just as I turned the corner, my doorbell rang.

“Nobody’s fucking home!” I yelled.

“Iona, open this damn door!”

It was my mother. She had some nerve showing up here after she called to have a wellness check done on me last week. I’d been minding my own business when there was a knock on my door. When I answered it, I was surprised to see an officer standing there. At first, I thought maybe Tyrion had found the cameras and figured out it was me that put them there. Once he explained the reason for his visit, I knew it was nobody but my mama.

She’d been calling me nonstop since she figured out I’d stopped taking my medication. I hated that she had access to my medical records. When I first got my diagnosis, my father made it a point to have him and my mother my legal medical proxy. With his family history, it had become necessary in more cases than not. No matter how old I got, one of them would always have control over me when I couldn’t have control over myself.

My mother promised me she would never use it against me unless it was a last resort. Just to get her off my back, I made an appointment with my doctor to have them adjusted. While I had the new prescription, I still wasn’t taking them. The officer didn’t know that when I presented him with the bottle. To him, I looked and acted normal. My house was clean since I’d finally put my shit back. I was clean, and at the time of his visit, I wasn’t spiraling.

“What do you want, Christina!” I yelled.

“Open this goddamn door, right now!”

I stumbled through my living room to the front door. After unlocking it, I swung it open, not caring that I was standing in the front door in nothing but my bra and panties with an open liquor bottle in my hand.

“What?”

My mother looked at me in disgust as she brushed past me and into the house.

“Go put on some clothes.”

“This is my house.”

I slammed the door and walked over to the couch, flopping down. She took a seat across from me, sitting there looking all poised, prim, and proper.

“Can I help you, Mother?” I asked, turning up the bottle again.

She snatched it from me and slammed it down on the table.

“You have to get it together, Iona.”

“According to my medical records, which I’m sure you’ve checked, I am getting it together. I went to the doctor and had my meds adjusted.”

“But are you taking them?”

“Yes.”

She scoffed. Standing to her feet, she started looking around my living room. I grabbed the liquor bottle and took a swig.

“What are you looking for, Christina?”

“The bottle.”

I laughed to myself as she turned over every pillow and looked under every couch cushion. It wasn’t until she went into my kitchen did it stop being funny. I’d put the pills in my junk drawer with every other useless thing I owned. Sprinting to my feet, I stumbled into the kitchen to find her headed straight for the drawer.

“Mama, get out of my house.”

She ignored me as she yanked the drawer open and pulled out the bottle that sat at the very top.

“Leave—what are you doing?”

She twisted off the cap and dumped the pills on the counter, frantically counting out all of them.

“You’re tripping right now, Ma.”

She looked up at me and threw the empty bottle at me. “I’m tripping? That’s a whole month’s worth of fucking pills, Iona! You haven’t taken a single one. Why? Do you enjoy being like this? Acting like this? You know what happens when you go too long without your medication. Do you want to end up in the psych ward? I’m sure a few of your father’s people would be more than happy to keep you company.”

“You would love to send me away, wouldn’t you?”

“No, I wouldn’t! You’re my child, I love you, and I hate to see you go down the same dark path as some of your relatives. Mental health is nothing to be ashamed of, Iona—”

“Please spare me your psychobabble bullshit, Ma. I don’t want to hear it.”

“You will listen. You will stand there, and you will listen. Enough is enough. You’re about to lose your mind over a man, Iona.”

“I love him. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love him.” Tears filled my eyes as I spoke. “We were supposed to be a family. We were going to get married and live happily ever after until that bitch came back. He left me for her, and you don’t get to tell me how to feel when my fucking heart is broken!”

“No, Iona. He left you because you went too far.” She raised her hands in surrender. “I’m not telling you how to feel, baby. Your emotions are fueling your mental state right now. I see it, the wildness dancing in your eyes. You’re going to hurt somebody or yourself if you don’t get it under control.”

“I don’t want it under control,” I said, taking a sip of the liquor. “I want to feel it. All of it. I want him to know how I feel.”

“Iona, you need to stay away from that man before you do something you will regret.”

“He’s mine!” I screamed, hurling the bottle past her head. She ducked just in time for it to smash against the wall. “I would never hurt him.”

My mother rose to her full height with tears in her eyes. She looked at me with pity and disappointment as she shook her head.

“It’s not healthy to be this obsessed with someone.” She stepped toward me. “Start taking the pills, or I’m having you committed, and it won’t be for a month this time.”

She palmed the side of my face and kissed my cheek before walking back through the living room and out the front door. I stared at the pills on the counter for a moment before swiping them on the floor. Stepping through them, I went to my liquor cabinet and grabbed another bottle before going to lock my door and head back to my bedroom.

Picking up my phone, I watched Tyrion brushing Evenie’s hair while Summer Rose sang to her.

“You are my sunshine. My only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

Drunkenly, I sang along with her as I popped the top on the new bottle and took it to the head.

“My sweet, sweet girl,” I mumbled, touching the screen. “I would have been such a good mommy to you, Summer.”

For the longest time, I watched the three of them until Tyrion finished Evenie’s hair. She got up to put Summer to bed while he cleaned up, then got under the covers.

“Look at this bitch,” I spat. “Acting like she doesn’t want to sleep with him.”

When he tossed back the covers and welcomed her to him, my heart broke a little more. I remembered when he held me the way he was holding her.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, stroking her arm.

“Like I’m where I belong.”

I rolled my eyes. “Stupid bitch. He belongs with me.”

I chugged the bottle until it was halfway gone. At this point, I could barely feel anything. I relaxed into my pillows, my eyes slowly drifting close. The bottle fell loosely from my hand. I could feel the wetness of the liquid seeping into my mattress, but I didn’t have the strength to move to do anything.

The next thing I knew, I was out like a light.