Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Leaving the bag behind, I walked to Finn’s room. It was early, and he was still sleeping on Jesse’s floor every night, so it was quiet as I grabbed his bag out of the closet and packed a variety of clothes he might need. I wasn’t sure where we would be in the end, but first we were going north, and with summer sliding into fall, I knew he’d need some pants and sweatshirts. When I was done, I carried the bag into my room and set it next to mine on the bed.
I quietly went to the kids’ bathroom next and packed their toothbrushes. In the bonus room, I grabbed our throw off the couch. Downstairs, I got a couple of paper grocery bags and grabbed three more picture frames that had migrated down there somehow and carried them all upstairs.
When I was done, I took a deep breath and went into Jesse’s room.
They were sleeping on the bed on their good side, their no longer swollen face highlighted by the soft light coming through the blinds. They looked so much better, and I would never say a word, but there was something different about their face now. It was as if the doctors had taken it apart and put it back by memory, but they’d missed something. I couldn’t figure out what it was.
Finn was on the floor, also curled up on his side. His sleeping bag was pulled up so far that only the top half of his face was showing. The days of sleeping with his arms flung wide were gone. He was closed off now. Kind and considerate as always, but careful. Watchful.
“Hey, guys,” I said, closing the door behind me. “Time to wake up.”
“Mom?” Finn asked, pulling down the sleeping bag to look at me.
“What time is it?” Jesse asked blearily.
“Early,” I replied, moving to where they’d propped their bag against their dresser. Their backpack sat next to it, full of school supplies, and I made a mental note to grab it and Finn’s too before we left. “Come on. Time to get up.”
“What’s going on?” Jess asked, sitting up in bed.
“Moving day,” I replied with a smile, my guts clenching.
“Where are we moving?” Finn asked in confusion.
“Not sure yet,” I replied, setting Jesse’s bag on the end of the bed. “Figured we could move around for a while until we find a place we like.”
“Is Dylan coming?” Finn asked.
“No,” Jesse replied before I could, understanding dawning. “No, bud. It’s just us.”
“What? No. Dylan will be sad without us.”
“It’ll be good,” I replied, walking to the closet so I could grab a couple of Jesse’s sweatshirts. “You could call Dyl. Whenever you want, okay?”
“Mom,” Jesse called in a tone I couldn’t quite identify.
“It’ll be good,” I said quickly as I stuffed their sweatshirts into their bag. “You need to bring some long pants, okay? It’s almost fall, and it’s going to start getting colder, especially at night.”
“Go to the bathroom, Finn,” Jesse ordered, their eyes still on me.
“I don’t have to.”
“You’ve been squirming in your sleeping bag since you woke up,” Jesse countered. “Just go and come back.”
“Fine,” Finn replied. He got up and disappeared out of the room, leaving the door open behind him.
“Why are you doing this?” Jesse asked me quietly.
“You know why,” I replied tightly. “We can’t stay here, kid. He knows where we are. We’re not far enough away.”
“Curtis said that he’s on it,” Jesse argued. “He said the club is taking care of it.”
“They said that when we moved here. Then look what happened.”
“It’s not Curtis’s fault,” they said defensively.
“Of course not,” I agreed, reaching into their top drawer for socks and underwear.
“Well, what did Curtis say?”
“About what?”
“About us moving.”
“He hasn’t said anything,” I hedged. “He’ll be mad for a while, but he’ll get over it.”
“You haven’t told him?”
“Look, Jess, there are things that you don’t understand—”
“What? Like the fact that it was all bullshit, and you guys had never met before?” they said, climbing gingerly out of bed. “Yeah, no shit. Dylan and I figured it out, like, the first week.”
I jerked in surprise.
“But it’s not bullshit anymore,” Jesse continued. “It hasn’t been for a long time.”
“It was always supposed to be temporary,” I replied gently.
“Right.”
“Who’s the parent?”
“You are.”
“Do you trust me?” I asked.
Jesse stared at me for a long moment. “This is wrong.”
I stood there, feeling like I’d been punched in the gut, as they left the room.
I reminded myself that it was okay. Jesse was nearly an adult, and they weren’t going to agree with everything I did. That was the nature of the beast. I’d disagreed with my pop all the time as a teenager. Jess just didn’t see the whole picture. They didn’t realize that the longer we were there, the longer Curtis and Dylan were in danger. We’d brought it to them, and it was my responsibility to take it away again.