CHAPTER
Ruby closed her eyes. What had she done wrong? She couldn’t remember how or when it happened. Did Xavier even need a reason anymore?
“Stop!” Since she came here, she learned how to scream the word in her mind so she wouldn’t make him angrier. This is just the way he is, she told herself. He’s stressed out about money.
Always the money.
She should have worked harder. It was her fault, really. If she’d earned her quota, he would have all that he needed.
She deserved this.
His feet smacked into her head. Her back. Her sides. She cradled herself on the floor. A lullaby floated past her on a tenuous breeze. Something her grandma used to sing. How did it go?
Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so ...
Snippets flashed in her memory. Grandma singing hymns in the kitc
