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John trying to kill her. Willa had every reason to believe Miles would follow through on his threat if she tried to sneak off with Jade. Her instincts were telling her to go home and that’s exactly what she planned to do. She’d had enough of letting other people’s opinion influence her decisions.
    “You making a mistake,” Cicely protested.
    “Yeah, well, I told you earlier what I think about unsolicited advice,” Willa said as she stood to grab her purse.
    “Alright then,” Cicely hunched her shoulders. She leaned back on the couch with her arms folded across her chest. “Good luck,” she mumbled, sarcastically.
    “Umm huh, thanks. Jade, let’s go,” Willa called.
    After the little showdown they’d had earlier, Jade knew not to cause a fuss and she came right down when her mother called. Each of Cicely’s kids gave Willa a hug and a kiss as they thanked her again and said goodbye. Katrina promised to do better in school and bring her grades up. In her haste to get away from Cicely, Willa had forgotten all about the promise she’d made to the girl. Hopefully things would work out soon where she and Jade had their own place and Katrina could come over to visit. All of a sudden Willa felt as though she should smooth things over a bit with Cicely before leaving. She honestly didn’t want any hard feelings between them or for it to interfere with Jade and Katrina’s friendship.
    “Listen, Cicely, thank you for all your help today. I really did enjoy meeting you and having the chance to get to know each other. Maybe we can get together for lunch one day soon.”
    “I would love to,” she said, as her attitude instantly changed. “Just call me, okay?”
    “Okay, I will,” Willa replied then she and Jade left.
    They barely spoke during the ride home, both nervous about what would happen once they arrived. The fact that the police had to be called shortly after Willa and Jade got there proved they had good reason to be.
     

3
Chapter Three
    Miles watched from the dining room window as his wife and child walked through the backyard holding hands. “You a lucky woman Willa Caldwell,” he mumbled before placing his gun on top of the refrigerator. He opened the door for them and gave Jade a hug before she ran to her room. Miles reached out for Willa but she stepped away and let him know she wasn’t interested in talking. He began pleading with her not to leave him followed by the usual promises never hurt her again. Then he gave a speech about every marriage having problems and how they had to work hard to keep their family together. Miles reminded her of the promise they’d both made not to let Jade come from broken homes like they had.
    “Well, I made that promise before I knew you were gonna be bashing my damn brains in!” Willa snapped, as she poured herself a glass of water.
    “I’m so sorry, baby. Believe me, I truly am. But everybody got problems they gotta work through. And I know ours wouldn’t even be that bad if you would stop egging me on and . . .”
    Willa was incensed! “Oh, so it’s my fault that you beat me because I say stuff you don’t like and . . .”
    “No! No, baby, I shouldna said that. And I didn’t mean it like that,” Miles interjected. “I just meant that we both do things to hurt each other and we both need to stop.”
    “Look, Miles, I think what we both need to do is be honest and face the fact that we just don’t belong together,” she said then took a seat at the kitchen table.
    “How can you say that, Willa?” Miles asked, as he sat across from her. “How can you even think that after everything we been through? Look at the life we built together.”
    “But it’s not the life I want, Miles. And it’s obviously not the one you want either otherwise you wouldn’t feel the need to fight me or try to force me to be somebody I’m not. Why can’t you just admit we made a mistake and do what it takes to correct it? We’re no longer those teenagers trying