Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“Sure ya did,” he said, shaking his head as he walked away.
I felt frozen, unable to even process what had just happened, but I forced myself to move my feet. Carefully, slowly, I walked toward my bedroom, sure that at any second, he was going to call me back.
When I got to my room, I quietly slipped inside and closed the door behind me, sliding to the floor so that my back was braced against it.
I didn’t have a lock. That was the only thought that kept going through my mind. I didn’t have a lock on my bedroom door. If he wanted to come in, there was no way to stop him. I couldn’t even leave because he was between me and the front door.
I shook my head. What the hell was I thinking? This was Pop. He wouldn’t hurt me. He’d rather saw off his own arm than hurt me or Bird.
Fuck. Where was Bird?
I pulled out my phone and texted him, and I let out a breath of relief when he immediately texted me back that he and Nana had run to the grocery store.
They weren’t home, but they’d be home soon. My thoughts swung like a pendulum. One second praying they’d be home soon and the next hoping that they wouldn’t in case Pop was still raging in the kitchen. I didn’t want to be alone with him, but I really didn’t want Bird and Nana to be around him either. My stomach was in one huge knot, the euphoria I’d felt leaving Rumi’s a distant memory.
I didn’t even realize I was crying until a tear dropped onto my hand, startling me. What the hell was wrong with Pop?
He knew what we’d come from when he took us in. He’d spent months tiptoeing around us until we were comfortable with him, making sure we knew that he wasn’t anything like the men our mother had brought home. He didn’t even raise his voice to us. I couldn’t remember a single time when he’d even come close to scaring me. It just wasn’t in his personality. He wasn’t quick to anger and he was really quick to forgive. Sure, I knew that he did things at the club that people on the outside would vilify him for, but at home, he was our protector. He treated Nana like spun glass. He treated me and Bird like we were the best things that he’d ever had.
I dropped my forehead to my knees. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong and I couldn’t figure out what it was.
I don’t know how much time had passed when a familiar knock vibrated the flimsy particle board door against my back.
“Nova,” Bird called. “Me and Nana got fast food breakfast from two different places. It’s a freakin’ feast! Come get some.”
I straightened up and grabbed a sweatshirt off the end of my bed to wipe my face off. Pop must have cooled down because Bird sounded excited, like nothing was wrong. I gave myself a minute to get my breathing under control and looked in the little mirror I used to do my makeup. It just looked like I was tired.
When I cautiously made my way back into the main part of the trailer, the only sounds coming from the kitchen were normal ones. Nan and Bird were talking about some lady they’d seen peeing on the side of the road and Pop was chuckling at Bird’s description.
“Hey, we decided to splurge,” Nana said when she caught sight of me. “You okay, honey?”
“I’m fine,” I murmured, waving my hand dismissively.
“You sure?” she asked worriedly, her eyes on my face.
I glanced at Pop, but he was eating his breakfast sandwich and watching Bird, completely unconcerned. All trace of his blow up was completely gone. No guilt in his eyes.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” I said, looking back at her. “What did you guys get?”
The breakfast burrito I ate tasted like sandpaper in my mouth, but I thought I faked normalcy pretty well. Bird was on one, practically hopping around the kitchen while he explained how he’d convinced Nana to buy breakfast instead of making it and I laughed at all the right parts of the story, but it felt like I was in a fog.
The longer it went on, the more it started to feel like I’d dreamed the way Pop had shoved me into the wall and screamed in my face. Everyone seemed perfectly normal. Pop pulled Nana onto his lap so he could kiss her and laughed while Bird made vomiting noises. Everyone pitched in putting away groceries, moving around each other easily like a well-oiled machine. My breath got stuck in my throat when Bird accidentally dropped a gallon of milk and it started pouring onto the floor, but Pop just muttered a curse and quickly pulled out a pitcher to store the un-spilled milk in like it was no big deal.