Life Support {ManxBoy} | Mature Content

Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen:

It was as if life just didn't want to give him a chance to breath. Cyro had hardly gotten home from the grocery store with enough time to put them away before the doorbell began ringing accompanied by aggressive knocking on the door. Checking the clock as he rushed from the kitchen to open it he couldn't think who could possibly be at only twelve in the afternoon.

"I'm coming, Christ, stop that!" He yelled out as another series of vicious knocking sounded off on the door. It was the first time he'd found himself overly grateful they lived in one of the top apartments and had no neighbors. He approached the door angrily unlocking it before swinging it open and wishing he hadn't as Renee stared back at him, her face set in the ugliest scowl he was sure she could muster.

"Why the hell did it take you so long to answer?" She accused, for a moment shocking Cyro with her tone as if she'd been invited or even expected to be there.

"Why the fuck are you even here?" He replied suddenly ten times more aggravated than he had been before he'd opened the door. Honestly, he was completely done with the day and it had barely just started. He was in no type of mood to deal with her or anyone else cordially and he knew that. Taking a deep breath he tried to calm himself before continuing. "Look, I don't want you here, if you want to speak to Vance he's at work and-"

"Oh no, I want to speak to you." She cut him off, shoving past him into the living room. She walked into the middle of the large seating area before turning back to him as if she was waiting for him to offer her a drink and by the way, she was acting he wouldn't put it past her to ask for one. "I know you know why I'm here."

"No, I don't but I can assure you whatever it is you need to fucking leave."

"Vance told me you refuse to let me see Maxine." She continued narrowing her dark green eyes at him pretending she hadn't even heard him. He arched a brow at her statement wondering if she was insane or just stupid but said nothing til she continued. "Well? Are you going to explain to me why the hell you're not going to let me see her?"

He stood still for a moment longer contemplating if he should call building security or maybe just walk out of the apartment but decided against it. Instead, he let out a deep sigh, shutting the door before walking over to the living room area where she still stood angrily fuming and waiting for his response, before motioning for her to take a seat as he did the same. She sat hesitantly on the couch turning to face him as he settled into an armchair off to the side.

"I hope you understand that you're not entitled to a goddamn thing in this house. Not my time, not my husband's and definitely not my daughters." He started, holding up a finger when Renee opened her mouth to argue with him. "No, I'm going to speak, you are going to listen. Maxine is my daughter, you gave her up I have the paperwork that proves that. I adopted her, not Vance, me. Which means I make every final decision when it comes to her."

"I know I gave her up but I-"

"There are no buts." Cyro cut in refusing to let her speak until he had said everything he had on his chest. "You had time and you wasted it, that's not my problem. I have no idea what you did to that child but the way you spoke about her when we first meet and the way she looked when you said those things, why would you think I'd ever let you anywhere near her? I've had to pick up your mess and do your job as her parent, and now that I've done your job you just want to come in here and what? Try again? Why the hell do you think you're even remotely entitled to even see her?"

Silence overtook the room as Renee's eyes lowered, her posture slumping in on itself as she obviously saw her hypocrisy. They sat there for a moment, neither one speaking or really even aware of the time passing them in this moment. Renee's mouth opened and closed a few times forming silent words as she fought to put her thoughts together.

"I want you to know I never put my hands on her." Renee sighed burying her face in her hands her breath shaking as she continued. "You can't possibly understand how much that one mistake changed my life. You can't understand the fear I was living in for those years. The threats, the calls, the stalkers."

Cyro could feel his eyes narrowing as she spoke but didn't bother asking her to continue, he knew she would. She sighed pushing her hand through her hair freeing it from its low hanging ponytail, pulling the scrunchie around her wrist. She scratched her head nervously as if contemplating what she was about to say again, but he didn't get the impression that she was about to lie, just the impression that whatever she was about to talk about she definitely didn't want to.

"Josh, well, Josh didn't know what he was getting into, as a teacher and well a mother I did. I'd heard all the rumors about this Vance kid, he was a delinquent and his family came from dirty money so I warned him. Like any mother would, I told him but, but he didn't listen to me. When they were just friends I thought okay, I can let this go, Josh is growing up he'll learn to make his own decisions anyway. But, but when they became, uh, became more than that I couldn't, I just couldn't let that happen."

"And you thought sleeping with a student the same age as your sixteen year old son was the way to do it?" He scoffed a cynical smile creeping onto his face. "Well, there are teachers and there are educators."

"It wasn't the best plan and yes in hindsight it was probably the worst one but I knew about the things on his record and I figured, well, I figured I could get him charged with rape." She admitted her eyes dropping as Cyro stared at her with disbelief. "When I went to police a few weeks later, they wanted me to do a rape kit and that's when I found out. I thought I had the fucking bastard, I thought my plan was full proof but I, shit, I never even thought he'd be able to flip it on me."

"Get out." Cyro seethed, his mind spinning from the garbage this woman was spewing at him. She looked at him confused before her face paled. Her jaw ticked with anger as she continued to look at him, she watched as he got up, opening the front door before repeating himself more firmly. "Get out."

"Fine, but you ask him, you ask him about his record the awful shit he did. Ask about his families dirty money. Ask how he got through college with two parents in the grave. Ask how they really got there." She rambled angrily standing and storming up to him til she was less than an inch away from his face. "You ask him what he did and you'll understand I did what I had to."

"You will never see Maxine as long as I can help it" He assured her grabbing her by the arm quickly before shoving her out the door and closing it on her. His head instantly starting to throb with a headache at the sound of the door slamming and her angry retreating footsteps. Turning out every light in the house as he moved to the bedroom silently stripping down and sliding under the covers. The clock next to the bed read one fifteen Maxine wouldn't be back for some time.