No Second Chances, page 41
part #4 of Goldsworth Series
As she went into her bedroom, Brandy blocked the number that Troy had called from. She expected he would find another way to contact her, but she did not feel afraid. She knew that he could never find their son, that Frazer was safe, and that was all that mattered.
She closed her bedroom door, lying down on the bed, and her phone beeped with a message from Adrianna. She smiled to herself.
Brandy looked up at the ceiling, finally content knowing that for once she had done the right thing. She had saved her son from Troy.
Whatever else she did in life, she decided, that would always be the best thing she had ever done.
* * *
Troy threw the phone against the wall and screamed.
Chaos was breaking out around him, but he barely noticed. He thought of Brandy’s words and felt hot anger and regret washing over him.
He had heard the determination in Brandy’s voice. He knew she had not been lying, that his son really was gone. The son he had never known about, had never met or thought of before.
Troy felt the loss all the same. He felt tears stinging his eyes, whether from the loss of his son or the realisation that he had lost Brandy forever now too, that the love between them was gone, would never again return.
He was pushed away from the phones, as the officers descended on the block in force, ushering everyone back to their cells. Troy followed, defeated now.
Alone in his cell, Troy sat heavily on his bunk.
He thought of his son, taken into care, Brandy doing nothing to save him, to try and prevent it. He wanted to swoop down and rescue him, be a father, get a chance to make something of his life. He thought of Brandy, her love gone, free now to move on and make a life for herself of which he would play no part at all.
If he had been out on the street, perhaps he would have stood a chance. If he acted fast, Troy thought there was some hope he could find his son, rescue him. As it was, he stood no chance. Troy glanced over at the cell door as it slammed shut, lock sliding into place.
He thought of the time he would spend in here. Thirty years. Maybe ten or fifteen if he behaved himself. That was still too long, Troy thought. His son would have disappeared by then, well and truly lost to him.
Putting his face into his hands, Troy let out a cry. For the first time, he realised the enormity of what his life had become. Thirty years was a long time to wait to try and find his son, he realised, as he closed his eyes.
The worst part of it all, Troy realised, was that he had brought it all upon himself. He had killed Shaniqua and now he was paying the price for that. Perhaps his son was better off without him after all, he wondered.
Whatever the case, Troy knew it would be a long time before he ever found out.
Davie J Toothill, No Second Chances
