Very Wicked Beginnings by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Author:Ilsa Madden-Mills
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Little Dove
Published: 2014-05-10T23:00:00+00:00

“Could she cast away darkness?”

–Cuba

AT THE END of November we lost our play-off game to a school in Austin. I dealt with it like I did everything else. I worked out more, swam more, fucked more. And I studied. Because I had my goal of rectifying myself by helping others, and I wasn’t going to let go of that.

Christmas arrived on a cold morning. I came downstairs with dad, both of us shocked to find Mother in the kitchen, dressed in a classy outfit and wearing make-up.

I stood transfixed. It had been a nearly a year since I’d seen her looking like she used to when she’d be heading out for some charity or a school board meeting.

She waved a can of cinnamon rolls in front of me. “Good morning. You wanna eat before we open gifts?” She smiled, the effort seeming to come from deep within her.

I swallowed, finding my voice. “Mom?”

She fidgeted. Looking unsure and fragile.

I moved toward her like a man possessed and swept her up in my arms, swinging her around. She laughed, and I buried my face in her neck, inhaling her clean scent. My throat got clogged as she clutched me back, her small hands holding on to me like her life depended on it.

God, she was better.

After a quick breakfast together, we went into the den and opened gifts. I’d gotten them both books from their favorite authors, and they’d gotten me a new television for my room. Later that evening, we ate turkey and all the fixings along with some of my mom’s traditional Brazilian favorites. She put her apron on and got to work, banging and clanging around the kitchen. It sounded like heaven.

After dinner, we sat around the fire in Dad’s study, listening to Christmas music and talking, catching her up on all the latest gossip about the Mavericks and our Highland Park friends. All in all, it was one of the best days I’d ever had. Maybe because my hope came roaring back. And there’s nothing like being as low as you can get and then getting that spark that tells you it’s not over yet, that you still have fight left in you.

Yeah.

And the only thing I could think in my head was that she was back, she was back, she was back.

But she wasn’t.

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