Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“Mom does whatever she wants now,” I say, crunching another chocolate ball. “She’s been basking in retirement for the last few years. I signed a brand deal with a sports drink company for an absurd amount of money, so, I bought her a house, a car, and a money market account that she can use to bake pies, take vacations, or sleep in for all I care.”
She lifts her head. “That’s so nice, Brooks.”
“It’s respect. She hustled her ass off while I was growing up. She paid the bills, bought school clothes—all of it.” The woman never rested, making sure my childhood was filled with good moments. Card games, board games, and one year we made kites and flew them at the park all spring. She’s the epitome of selflessness. “One year, I tried to skip baseball because I knew we didn’t have the money for the entry fee and all that shit, and she signed me up anyway. She sacrificed her whole life for me.”
Almost completely.
“She sounds amazing,” Audrey says, resting her head on me again. “I bet you were a handful as a kid.”
I laugh. “There’s a boy, Trent, who comes into Alfie’s a lot. Reminds me so much of myself. He’s a little shithead with a motherfucker for a father. The similarities are uncanny.”
“Can I ask about your father?”
I stiffen reflexively. The thought of talking about him makes my stomach crawl. There’s no reason he should occupy any of her brain space, but she already knows enough to be curious, and if I don’t end that curiosity, he’ll live in her head without the black line through his name that belongs there.
“I was seventeen when he died,” I say, tossing the rest of my cereal back into the baggie and placing it on the bedside table. “We had a rugby game and got back late. I was supposed to go to Gray’s that night, but something made me change my mind. Something just told me to go home. So, I did.”
Audrey’s breaths come and go in smooth, steady waves. I match mine to hers, hoping it’ll keep my blood pressure from spiking.
“So, I get there,” I say, swallowing a lump in my throat. “And Dad’s truck is in the driveway. He’d come and go, depending on what drugs he could find, so he was unpredictable. But he was there that night, and it was just … off. I went in through the back door, and the kitchen television was on. This little black-and-white box thing that got like three channels. But if he was home and worked up, he’d sit right there where you couldn’t avoid him, itching for a fight.”
She dips her chin, snuggling closer, holding me tighter. She seems to know I need the comfort—something I’ve never considered to be true.
“I flipped it off, and that’s when I heard it.” I work to unclench my jaw. “A thud. The kind of thud that you feel more than you really hear. It just vibrates around in your head, sending chills down your spine.”
I stare into the darkness, memories of that night flashing through my mind. The hatred in his eyes when he looked at me. The streaks of blood coming out of mom’s nose and the corner of her mouth. The smell of pure evil.
A layer of sweat covers my skin as I take a breath. “I took the steps two at a time and then rounded the corner. The bathroom door was open and … there they are.” I lie back, my heart racing. “My mom’s dad had a pocket watch that he gave her before he died to give to me when I graduated from high school. It was the only thing she had worth a damn, but the sentimental value was worth more than the money. My father had been looking for it, and I knew he was gonna pawn it, and I knew that’d break Mom’s heart. So, I hid it in one of the bathroom vents. And he found it.”
“Oh, no,” Audrey whispers.
“He thought Mom had hidden it from him and had her by the throat up against the bathroom wall,” I say, my voice oddly detached from the battle happening inside me. “It was bad. Really, really bad. She was going limp, and the look in her eyes while this is happening to her—while he’s trying to kill her—is to tell me to run.” I swallow back a sob, pressing my lips together to will the tears not to fall. “I’ll never be able to unsee that.”
“Brooks, I’m so sorry.” Audrey’s voice breaks. “I can’t imagine. I’m sorry for bringing it up. Oh, my God.”
“I grabbed a lamp from the hallway and busted it over the back of his head. He dropped her and came after me.”
“You wanna piece of this, you little motherfucker? Come on then. Get it!”