“Home sweet home.” He heard Erica mutter.
The thought of Erica growing up in a town like this made him feel sad. He had thought his past was hard with the death of his mother and Molly moving in. This was hard.
“Right, if you go to the end of the road, turn left until the roundabout and then right. It is the last house on the right.” She sat up giving him directions. “It’s like I never left.”
He followed directions and came to a run-down house. Three of the four windows were boarded up. The door was off its hinges. Beer and wine bottles were strewn across the lawn.
“You might want to hide your silverware,” she said.
Chris smiled, turning off the car. There was no one in sight.
“Come on. I’d lock your car if you want to keep it.”
The moment he opened the door he heard the yelling.
“You’re nothing but a fucking whore. Give me my fucking drink, and where’s my money?” Seconds later a guy slammed out of the house. Erica stood, and Chris went to stand next to her.
She was shaking, but she stared at the man with such hatred.
“You’ve come back then. Your fancy city boy don’t want you?” The man leered at her. Chris felt the rage boil up inside him.
“Don’t worry about him, Chris. This guy is a waste of time.” A woman came out onto the porch. She held a baseball bat in one hand. She had the same blonde hair as Erica. Her eyes were piercing green. Chris knew the woman with the deadly expression was Erica’s sister. He noted the bruise around her eye and the red marks around her neck.
“Looks like your sister is back, Beth. Maybe she could cut you some slack.”
“Get the hell out of here, James, and stay the fuck away from my sister, you piece of shit.”
The guy, James, smirked and left.
They turned to Elizabeth on the porch. She stared at Erica. “I told you not to come here.”
“You’ve told me a great many things over the years, Elizabeth. The tooth fairy and Santa to name a couple. I don’t hold it against you.” Erica took a step towards the porch. “Who gave you the shiner?”
“Who do you think?”
“I’d say James did, but he’s too damn stupid to.”
Chris felt like he’d entered an alternative universe. She was up on the porch in seconds as the first tears fell from her sister. He watched as Elizabeth threw the bat away and embraced Erica.
Elizabeth wept, holding on. “I didn’t want you to see me like this. They closed the factory, and everything went to shit. No one cares about this place.”
“You should have said. I’d have sent money.”
“She’d only have found it, Erica.”
He let them talk while he kept an eye on his car. Twenty minutes later a woman wearing a nighty with more holes than a rabbit den came staggering out onto the front. She carried a bottle of cheap liquor, and she was looking at him.
“I see my girl has got herself a rich man.” Her words were slurred. The sisters broke apart, and all hell broke loose.
The mother aimed the bottle at Elizabeth, hitting her on the head. Erica pushed the woman away and scrabbled with her sister back to the car.
“We’re leaving now,” she said. “Have you seen enough?”
“More than enough.”
“No. I can’t go with you.” Her sister held her head and stood her ground.
“Do you really want to spend the rest of your life dodging wine bottles?” Erica yelled.
“I can’t go.”
“Yes. You can. I did, and I’m doing great. All that other crap can be worked out.”
Chris started the car up. He wanted out of the town and back to where he could think properly. He didn’t care about where Erica came from. All he cared about was being with her for the future.
Elizabeth climbed into the backseat of his car. She looked so fragile in the back. “Do you want to get anything before we leave? I’m not coming back here to get it,” he said.
“I’m good. I don’t need anything else with me.”
Chapter Twelve
Erica spent the rest of the weekend getting her sister settled in her apartment. She took her shopping and helped her to deal with the changes in her life. Chris left her to it. He collected her each night to take her home. After so long away, she finally caught up with what had happened to the mess she left behind.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Erica asked Elizabeth one Friday night. Chris was away for the weekend on business, and she’d decided to spend the time with her sister.
“I didn’t want you to know how bad it got. I love you, Erica. You didn’t need to see it. I couldn’t get out no matter how hard I tried.” Elizabeth brushed her hair out of the way.