CHAPTER 071: However Long TTakes

uh…

jumbled in my head. “I, uh… that’s why I called.”

“What did she say?”

I start to answer, then stop, then start again. Damn it, Julie, just say it. “She… she said she’s done answering questions. That she already talked to the police and her shrink. She said Juan is gone, and none of this will bring him back. And, um… she said you need help.” Silence.

Then a dry laugh. “Of course she did. Sara spent five years in prison, and she’s still the same. Still full of herself. Still thinks she’s the victim.” “Luke-”

“You don’t know her like I do. Sara believes violence solves everything. You ask her a simple question, and she lashes out, trying to scare you into silence. She didn’t even apologize, Julie. Not once. Hell, she didn’t even cry. You know what everyone said? That mothers love their children differently, and maybe Sara justi had a hard way of showing it. But that’s bullshit. If she loved Juan, she wouldn’t have taken her bags and left him. If she loved him, she wouldn’t have picked him up from school that day drunk. And now she has the audacity to tell me I need help?”