4: 4
4
"And who are you supposed to be? You could put up three hundred grand? We'd have to be out of our minds to believe you!"
"Somebody grab her, quick, don't let her run!"
Hands shot out on all sides, clawing at my mother's arms and her clothes.
In the crush, someone shoved her. I never saw who. She went straight into the display stand along the side of the banquet hall.
A porcelain vase came down hard off the top of it, straight onto her head.
Blood poured out at once.
The crowd froze where they stood, stunned by it, no one daring to move.
My eyes felt like they would split. I threw myself at her.
Tabitha, though, acted like she couldn't see my mother bleeding at all.
Still in her white gown, she stood there and broke down sobbing.
"Ruined, it's all ruined, everything's ruined!"
"Doreen, you and your mother ruined my wedding! You two bitches!"
Ava's husband, who hadn't said a word this whole time, couldn't hold it in either.
He strode over, seized me by the hair and slammed me to the floor, then rained slaps across my face, one after another.
He hit me and roared at Ava the whole time.
"Look what you've done. You know what today is, and you still dared to invite these two shameless things?"
"The wedding's ruined now, happy? Don't ever bring your side of the family in front of me again, or I'll divorce you!"
"If the in-laws get angry and drop Tabitha, let's see what you do then!"
The blows left my head ringing.
The sheer difference in size between a man and a woman, plus how fast he'd come at me, left me no chance to fight back at all.
Ava looked all high and mighty, but she didn't dare cross her husband an inch.
She acted like she couldn't see me being beaten, waving her hands in a panic, trying to explain.
"I only wanted her here for free labor, that's all. It's been that way for years."
"I never thought there'd be this big a mess today."
"Don't be angry, I'll handle it, I promise. I'll explain everything to the in-laws, don't you worry."
My cheeks burned, so swollen I couldn't even open my mouth.
But listening to them talk, all I felt was how absurd it was.
Strip it all away and what was it but the fear that their rich catch would slip off?
Seeing me beaten, my mother, with that gash torn open in her head, forgot her own wound and crawled to me on her hands and knees, trying to shield me.
"Her uncle, her uncle, stop, please stop."
"She's still just a child, you can't—"
Before she could finish, Ava's quick hand had grabbed her by the hair and dragged her aside.
"It's all you, you jinx! Look at what the two of you have done today!"
"And you still dare to shield her? A sticky-fingered thing like that, back in the day beating her to death would've been getting off light!"
"Not to mention she ruined my daughter's wedding. You're a woman too, don't you know how much today means to Tabitha? Your family's got a cruel heart!"
My mother's breath had gone thin as thread, not an ounce of strength left to resist.
I fought to get up, but pinned under Ava's husband I couldn't budge.
In the middle of the chaos, at the edge of my vision, I caught sight of Keith and his family.
Remembering, maybe, that I'd already called the police, the three of them looked plenty guilty.
After a glance between them, Keith's father walked up to Ava's husband.
"I say we just call today off. If you can't even sort out your own family's affairs, then a daughter like this, we Butlers wouldn't dare take her."
"Since that's how it is, we'll be going now."
Ava's husband scrambled to his feet to keep them there.
"In-law, listen to yourself, what kind of talk is that, we're all family here."
"Today really was our family's fault. Don't worry, we'll make it right by Keith, I give you my word."
"Tabitha and Keith truly care for each other. We can't let a moment's anger wreck the children's big day."
Tabitha stepped forward then, too, tears in her eyes.
"Keith, what are you saying? You'd break off our engagement just because of my cousin?"
"She's out to make my life miserable on purpose. If you really leave, doesn't that just hand her exactly what she wanted?"
I had no patience left for their filth. All I wanted was to get my mother, already unconscious, to a hospital.
Right then, several officers in uniform came pouring in through the doors of the banquet hall.
"Who called the police!"
