Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 70444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
-Johnny as he listens to the tones dropping for a 9-1-1 call.
June
It was mid-week, Johnny’s first day off since ‘the day’ when our lives had changed.
I had a to-go cup of tea in my hand from the Taco Shop, and Johnny had a glass of tea in his that was about twice the size of mine.
“I’m sorry, Johnny. But with his compromised immune system, it’s best if he’s not around too many people.” The somber expression on Rosie’s face and her sugary words were canceled out by the look in her eyes.
Her son might very well have a compromised immune system, but she wasn’t kicking me out of the room because of it. No, she was kicking me out because she didn’t want me there, and she had a perfectly good excuse to use to force me to leave.
Bitch.
But I’d stay out here because she was right. I wasn’t going to put that little boy in danger. Not with how small and sickly he looked.
She may not want to protect him, but I did.
He deserved it.
Johnny’s eyes turned to survey me. “Would you mind?”
I would’ve laughed, but I could clearly see that he was torn. He didn’t want to leave me alone, but he also didn’t want to miss any more time with his son.
I’d give him anything in the world if he’d only ask.
“I’ll go spend some time with my grandpa,” I suggested. “You want to just call me and let me know when to come pick you up?”
Relief washed over his features. “That sounds absolutely perfect.”
I knew it did. Because it was very nice and perfectly understanding of me.
I winked at him, trying to hide how much I hated that Rosie was getting to stay with him, and waved. “See you in a little bit.”
I did end up going to see my grandfather, but he’d had a bad day, and he wasn’t up to visitors.
After leaving the nursing home, the icing on my shit-tastic day came when my mother came barreling out of the convenience store I’d stopped at for gas and to waste some time.
The moment she saw me, she froze.
Her eyes narrowed, and I knew that I wasn’t going to get away with leaving here without talking to her.
I hung the nozzle back up on its holder and twisted the cap back on while I watched her march over to me out of my peripheral vision.
“I just got him out of jail, and you fucking sent him back!”
I knew what she was talking about.
When my grandfather had pressed charges against him for using his money, he’d gone back to prison for violating the terms of his parole.
Meaning my mother now had to pay the bills by herself once again.
I closed the fuel door over the gas cap and then turned to survey my mother.
“I didn’t tell him to steal from Grandpa,” I told her.
She sneered at me.
“You owe us.”
I laughed at her without humor.
“I owe you?” I asked. “You’re so full of shit. I don’t owe you a goddamn thing.”
“I gave you a roof. I gave you life. I gave you a start. That’s more than I can say for some parents,” she sneered. “I may not have been the best mother in the world, but I did what I had to do to put food on the table.”
“So, to put food on your table, you allowed men to touch me when I never should’ve been touched?” I asked, wanting clarification.
She grinned, and it showed her rotting teeth that were likely due to her drug addiction.
It made my skin crawl.
“I got Tennessee to take you home. I saw what your daddy was allowing to happen and got Tennessee to come take you. You’re welcome, by the way.”
Then she turned and left after dropping that bomb, something that I never knew.
She’d been the one to call my grandfather?
The sound of rocks crunching on pavement had me turning to see what was making the sound.
I looked up to find Coke standing there, staring at me with an odd expression on his face.
“A father’s job is to protect his baby girl, not hurt her more. Whatever you take home from today, just know that the man that your mother just described? He’s no father. He’s a pimp, nothing more. You don’t ever owe your parents anything. That’s their job, to take care of you. It’s not your job to take care of them. And it’s people like them that give the good parents like us bad names.”
With that, he tugged me in close, pressed a kiss to my forehead, and then ruffled my hair as he walked away. He got into his truck that I hadn’t even noticed was there and drove away.
I felt my heart practically stall out in my chest.
It was nice to have someone defend me.
But my mother was at least right about something.