Read Online Deep Deception 2 by Tina Brooks McKinney - Free Book Online
Authors: Tina Brooks McKinney
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It wasn’t just the hair, it was in my eyes. They were blank and no longer filled with light. Tears flowed out of my eyes, and I was certain that life as I knew it was over. I’d killed two innocent people and stolen their inheritance. I bought myself a front-seat ticket on a one-way, custom-painted rollercoaster ride straight to hell.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
VERÓNICA RAMSEY
“I’m not going to be able to take you to the hospital until my Moses gets home from work. I don’t want to keep taking the baby to the hospital and exposing him to all those germs.” I had just put LM back to bed. If I didn’t need to go to the hospital, I would’ve gotten into the bed myself.
“Why can’t we get a babysitter?”
I looked at my father like he had lost his damn mind. What did he mean, we? I wasn’t sure about letting him go to the hospital. Victória had only been awake a few days and I didn’t want to upset her. He was reading the paper but put it down as he watched me.
“Babysitter? That’s not about to happen. Moses and I haven’t even broached the subject of babysitters yet. I’m terrified about leaving my baby with strangers. You never know what they could be doing while you aren’t there to protect them.”
“When will he be back? I really want to see Victória.”
For some reason his statement angered me. I felt like he was getting comfortable with a very uncomfortable situation. Most days I could catch myself before I went off on him, but those days were getting harder and harder. I swung back and forth between loving and hating him. If he was so eager to see us, why did it take the death of our mother to bring him home? I spoke before I could get a hold of my thoughts. “What’s the rush now? You missed most of our lives. You missed all of Ramón’s.” I shocked both of us with the brutal truth. I promised myself I would keep my negative feelings to myself but all the anger I felt rolled out of my mouth unchecked. Before I knew what was happening, I had assumed the ghetto chick, neck-rolling posture of someone about to kick ass in the streets. He didn’t know nothing about that shit and something deep inside of me wanted to be the one to show him.
“He will be home when he finishes taking care of his business because, unlike you, he provides for his family. He doesn’t just send money. He’s here for his son.” I didn’t have to finish the rest of my statement because he knew what I was going to say. I slumped down on a chair, ashamed of myself. It had to be hormonal because I would never intentionally be mean.
He said, “Your words hurt, but nothing you can say can hurt me more than my own inaction. I know I have my shortcomings, but there are a lot of things you don’t understand. I’ve always provided for this family.”
I shook my head because he still didn’t get it. Being a father wasn’t about the money. We needed him but that time had come and gone. I wasn’t feeling well and I was taking it out on my father. “Padre, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to start an argument with you. A lot of things have gone on over the past few months and my body is playing tricks with me. I want to make sure Victória is okay, and then we can deal with all this other stuff later.” I felt defeated.
“Verónica, I spoke to Moses the other day and he made a very valid point. He said I should be the one to explain myself to both you and Victória. He, uh—”
“When did you get to speak with Moses? He didn’t say anything about it to me.”
Padre turned red and looked very uncomfortable, but I was not about to let him off the hook.
“Well, I, uh, I ... uh—”
“What are you not telling me?” I was imagining all kinds of things, so I needed him to tell me what really went down so I could stop coming to my own conclusions. Moses was different yesterday, and I needed to know if my father had something to do with it.
“It’s nothing really. I didn’t realize your husband didn’t
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
VERÓNICA RAMSEY
“I’m not going to be able to take you to the hospital until my Moses gets home from work. I don’t want to keep taking the baby to the hospital and exposing him to all those germs.” I had just put LM back to bed. If I didn’t need to go to the hospital, I would’ve gotten into the bed myself.
“Why can’t we get a babysitter?”
I looked at my father like he had lost his damn mind. What did he mean, we? I wasn’t sure about letting him go to the hospital. Victória had only been awake a few days and I didn’t want to upset her. He was reading the paper but put it down as he watched me.
“Babysitter? That’s not about to happen. Moses and I haven’t even broached the subject of babysitters yet. I’m terrified about leaving my baby with strangers. You never know what they could be doing while you aren’t there to protect them.”
“When will he be back? I really want to see Victória.”
For some reason his statement angered me. I felt like he was getting comfortable with a very uncomfortable situation. Most days I could catch myself before I went off on him, but those days were getting harder and harder. I swung back and forth between loving and hating him. If he was so eager to see us, why did it take the death of our mother to bring him home? I spoke before I could get a hold of my thoughts. “What’s the rush now? You missed most of our lives. You missed all of Ramón’s.” I shocked both of us with the brutal truth. I promised myself I would keep my negative feelings to myself but all the anger I felt rolled out of my mouth unchecked. Before I knew what was happening, I had assumed the ghetto chick, neck-rolling posture of someone about to kick ass in the streets. He didn’t know nothing about that shit and something deep inside of me wanted to be the one to show him.
“He will be home when he finishes taking care of his business because, unlike you, he provides for his family. He doesn’t just send money. He’s here for his son.” I didn’t have to finish the rest of my statement because he knew what I was going to say. I slumped down on a chair, ashamed of myself. It had to be hormonal because I would never intentionally be mean.
He said, “Your words hurt, but nothing you can say can hurt me more than my own inaction. I know I have my shortcomings, but there are a lot of things you don’t understand. I’ve always provided for this family.”
I shook my head because he still didn’t get it. Being a father wasn’t about the money. We needed him but that time had come and gone. I wasn’t feeling well and I was taking it out on my father. “Padre, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to start an argument with you. A lot of things have gone on over the past few months and my body is playing tricks with me. I want to make sure Victória is okay, and then we can deal with all this other stuff later.” I felt defeated.
“Verónica, I spoke to Moses the other day and he made a very valid point. He said I should be the one to explain myself to both you and Victória. He, uh—”
“When did you get to speak with Moses? He didn’t say anything about it to me.”
Padre turned red and looked very uncomfortable, but I was not about to let him off the hook.
“Well, I, uh, I ... uh—”
“What are you not telling me?” I was imagining all kinds of things, so I needed him to tell me what really went down so I could stop coming to my own conclusions. Moses was different yesterday, and I needed to know if my father had something to do with it.
“It’s nothing really. I didn’t realize your husband didn’t
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