Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
“Somethin’ like that,” I muttered. I wanted to reach out and pull her into my lap. To take off that old lady nightgown and make sure for myself that she was okay under all that fabric.
There was something about the way she was holding herself, the tilt of her head or the way she sat in the chair that was bothering me. I couldn’t pinpoint what exactly seemed off, but it was there. I wasn’t surprised considering what she’d been through.
“Thank you for earlier,” she said, wrapping her hands around the glass of water so that her fingers overlapped. “I’m not sure Gran could’ve calmed him down this time.”
“He do that a lot?” I asked, not knowing how I could have missed that kind of thing while we’d been hanging out all summer.
“Not to me,” she said dully.
When she finally looked up and her eyes met mine, I realized that it wasn’t her body language that was wrong. It was her eyes. The innocence that had drawn me in the first time we’d met was gone.
Anger washed over me in a wave, making my skin prickle and my muscles tense. I fucking hated the look in her eyes.
“He won’t do it again,” I said, reaching for her arm.
It took all I had not to scowl when she jerked away before I could touch her.
“You can’t promise that,” she said dismissively.
“We’ll figure it out,” Nadine said as she dropped back into her chair.
“There’s nothing you can do, Gran,” Vera said apologetically. “And if you fight him on this, you know what he’ll do.”
“I’d like to see him try to put me in a home,” Nadine said sharply. “I’ll spread his secrets far and wide.”
“Fuckin’ prick,” I muttered, taking a drink. The whiskey burned its way down my throat, and the familiar fire cooled my anger a bit.
“I need to just leave,” Vera said, leaning forward a little as she made her case. “I only have a few months before I’m eighteen and he can’t do anything anymore—less if they go to South America.”
“You can’t just leave,” Nadine argued. “You don’t have any money or anywhere to stay. Don’t talk nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense,” Vera ground out. “I can get a job waiting tables or something. Anything would be better than going back to that house.”
“You don’t have any of your things,” Nadine replied. “Not even a toothbrush.”
“I have a little saved in my bank account. I can buy a new one.”
“That account will be closed before you can blink.”
“Then I better drain it first thing on Monday,” Vera snapped. “I can’t stay here, Gran. You know I can’t.”
Just as the last word came out of her mouth, we heard a key in the front door.
“That sonofabitch,” Nadine said, rising to her feet.
I was halfway to the door before it swung open.
“Get out of my mother’s house,” Vera’s dad ordered as I strode toward him.
“You just don’t fuckin’ learn, do you?” I asked, stopping just short of the doorway.
“You’re trespassing, son,” he said. “Now I don’t want to have to call the police, but I will if I have to.”
I could see how he’d risen in the ranks of the church the way Vera’d described one night while we’d been lying in bed. The way her father spoke, so benevolently like he was trying to do you a favor, could make you question if you were doing something wrong. It was a skill nearly as persuasive as the fear my own father used.
“I was invited,” I replied, not backing down. “You weren’t. Now get the fuck outta here.”
“Vera,” he called. “Let’s go home.”
“She ain’t goin’ anywhere with you,” I said, taking a step forward. “You fuckin’ psycho.”
“She’s a child,” he replied condescendingly. “She belongs at home with her parents.”
If he would have stayed where he was I probably could have held myself in check, but the minute he stepped forward as if to come in the house, I lost it. All I could see was the way Vera had curled in a ball to protect herself. The good pastor didn’t see me coming as I stepped into the punch. I don’t think I’d ever hit anyone so hard in my life. I broke two of my knuckles on his jaw. Worth it, though, when he dropped like a stone on the porch.
“Shit,” Nadine said as she stepped out from behind me. “You need to go, dear. They let you go the first time, but I have a feeling the police won’t be so lenient again.”
“I can’t just leave you two here alone,” I argued, fighting the urge to spit on her son. “He’ll come-to before long.”
“I’ll handle this,” Nadine said, reaching out to give my arm a squeeze. “I’m so grateful for your help today, but I couldn’t forgive myself if you got into trouble over our mess.”