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huge indistinguishable blur.
    BAM!
    “Open up, Renee!”
    She frowned at the sound of Jackson’s voice. Taking a huge breath and mistakenly inhaling a small dust ball into her open mouth, Renee struggled and worked her way up to stand on her bare feet. She pulled the dust ball from the back of her tongue, thinking it still didn’t taste worse than the combo of bad breath and stale liquor.
    BAM! BAM!
    “Go away,” Renee hollered over her shoulder, sounding more like a drag queen than herself.
    “I’m not leaving until we talk, Renee!”
    The nap had sobered her up, but she still didn’t want Jackson to see her with carpet dust and sleep creases on the side of her face. Her short and naturally curly hair was either matted down or sticking off her head like she was a descendant of Buckwheat.
    Dragging herself into the bathroom, she rinsed her face with cool water and brushed the hell out of her tongue, teeth, and gums.
    BAM!
    Renee stood and eyed her reflection in the large wooden oval mirror over the pedestal sink. She shook her head. She was far from crazy. Obviously the kids had called Jackson and he was pissed.
    “Hmph. Daddy Dearest ain’t so perfect anymore, huh?” she said smugly to her reflection as she fluffed her short curls out with her fingertips.
    BAM! BAM! BAM!
    “Stop banging on my damn door, Jackson,” she screamed at the top of her lungs, moving over to stand outside her bathroom.
    “Great example you’re making for the kids, Renee,” he hollered back through the solid wood of the door.
    That insult—and that’s how Renee took his comment—was like flashing a red blanket in front of a raging bull.
    “You motherfucker, you,” she roared, racing across the spacious and disheveled bedroom suite to unlock and snatch open one of the double doors.
    Her quick reaction must have surprised him because it showed on his square and handsome face.
    Renee pushed him square in his large chest. “Are you and the shit you’re putting this family through a great example, Jackson? Huh? Huh? Don’t you fuck with me, Jackson. How dare you judge me! How dare you judge me, Jackson. You ruined this family. No one but you.”
    He was a tall and solid man. With pure ease he picked Renee up into his arms and crossed the room with long strides to abruptly dump her onto the middle of the unmade king-sized bed.
    Renee rolled over just as Jackson turned to walk back across the room to slam the bedroom door closed.
    WHAM!
    “You have lost your right to touch me in any way. You’ve lost your right to enter this house as you please. You chose to start a new family,” she told him in quiet anger.
    Jackson crossed his arms over his chest, looking at her like a parent chastising a child. “I cannot believe you would handle breaking the news to our children about the baby that way.”
    Renee laughed bitterly, feeling her pain deep in her chest. “What the hell you want me to do, throw a fucking party? Huh? Should I smile and shoot fireworks out my ass for you and your whore?”
    “Your thoughtless words hurt the kids, Renee,” he said, his voice almost incredulous, as if she should understand his point of view.
    “No! What you did hurt the kids.” Renee’s long and strong legs carried her across the room to stand before him. “ You got the new baby on the way. You have your new home. You have the new life separate from this family. You.”
    “And you put me out, Renee. What was I supposed to do, live on the goddamn lawn?” he yelled back, bending down to put his face in hers.
    “You damn right I put your whoring ass out. What else was I supposed to do? Huh? What other choice did I have? What other choice did you give me . . . besides putting a bullet in your ass.”
    Jackson made a face as he straightened his frame. “So you have been drinking, Renee?” he asked in disbelief.
    Renee paused in surprise, but recovered quickly. “If you don’t know the difference between alcohol and Listerine, then that’s your