Derek helped me up and gently patted my back.
"Lexi, I'm sorry. I didn't keep my mom in line."
"Tomorrow I'll take you shopping for new jewelry. Help you feel better."
I shrank into his arms, trembling.
But out of the corner of my eye, I caught my mother-in-law's venomous glare.
That night, she locked herself in her room and cried for hours.
Derek chain-smoked in the dark, one cigarette after another.
I lay on the bed, listening to the mother and son argue through the door.
"What exactly do you want me to do!" My mother-in-law's voice cracked between sobs and shouts. "She's a jinx! She got your dad killed, and now she's here to drag you down too!"
"Mom, can you calm down!" Derek lowered his voice. "The insurance thing still isn't done—don't make extra trouble!"
"I think you've been bewitched by her!"
"I'm doing it for the money!" He ground his teeth. "Once I get the payout, I'll be the first to send her to the afterlife!"
I closed my eyes, heart full of mockery.
Early the next morning, Derek actually took me to the mall. He picked out a gold necklace—eight thousand dollars. When it came time to pay, I watched his face twitch with pain.
"Do you like it?" He forced a smile.