Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Reeves didn’t know I knew it was here…
On one of Reeves’ many drunken rants, when she’d accused him of cheating for the umpteenth time, he got sassy and said, ‘And just where did I hide the woman I’m so called cheatin’ on you with, then, Bonnie? In the fucking closet? In the refrigerator next to the orange juice and pickle jar? Under the floor? Is that where I hid my extra bitch, Bonnie? You know I hide all of my secrets there! Under the gotdamn floor!”
That had gotten her thinking about the strange times she’d see him messing with the floor late at night when he thought she was fast asleep, or the time she walked in on him messing around with it after he’d been caught crying earlier in the day. Something he seldom did. When she asked why he was on all fours rooting around on the floor like some dog, he said he’d spilled something on it and was just cleaning it up.
Yeah, right. Reeves barely cleaned his own clothes, let alone the floor.
Then one day, she put on her gloves and grabbed a crowbar. After the second try, she found the hidden treasure. The kids were watching cartoons and eating Chef Boyardee in the living room, and Reeves was somewhere drunk and high chasing skirts, far away from their house. She watched the home movie, and her stomach churned. She stared at her poor Reeves on the VCR in their bedroom, and what she saw made her vomit…
All that blood… the screams… the way old man Wilde yelled, ranted and raved when he didn’t get his way, and laughed when he did… She wanted to read the letter, too, but didn’t have the heart to do it. She left it sealed. Kept something private for her husband that she would not see. Then, placing the videotape back in the bag, just as it was, she nailed that slab of wood down. After that day, she stopped hating Reeves so much…
She understood him better. Her heart hurt for him, and she fell in love with him a bit deeper. She tried to hold onto him when the kids were threatened to be taken away because she understood then, more than ever, that he was broken through no fault of his own. His mama had died. Just like hers. His daddy was evil. Just like hers, but old man Wilde was far worse. Everyone he loves either hurt him or disappeared in one way or another.
She tried to keep her family together, but it wasn’t worth it. She ended up losing her children on account of trying to save Reeve’s heart from yet another heartbreak. She kept his secrets buried. Under the rotted wood. Under the dreadful, shredded bark of a calamitous splintered tree. Those secrets were like lightning. Striking anything that threatened to reveal their hideousness. Grown men have to want to be saved, and never at the detriment of their children. That was the wrong choice… She found that out the hard way.
Her sons were never the same. Roman came back hardened. He returned to her with dead eyes. Changed and damaged, like his daddy… And that was her and Roman’s greatest fear come true.
Bonnie sat on the bed, and it squeaked under her weight. She picked up a lacy cream bra and folded it just so.
Now it all makes sense. That’s why Roman wanted me out of the house so bad… he was too persistent. He had great news about his engagement and kept insisting to come over and fix my sink, acting as if he’d forgotten all about his reason for calling, and my sink took precedence.
At first I thought it was just because he was worried, but Roman ain’t the worrying sort. While I was out with Genesis, I wondered for a split second if my boy was in that house doing something sneaky. Roman has ALWAYS been sneaky.
I came home, and the sink was fixed though… He’d even gone to the hardware store and bought the parts it needed. My refrigerator was stocked with a bunch of healthy groceries that I always complain are too expensive. He knew I’d say no if he offered. My pantry was stocked with wholewheat crackers, nourishing soups and cereals. A box of my favorite cookies. Banana moon pies. She smiled sadly at that. Roman takes care of people. That’s what he does.
Everything looked just fine in the house, and he was acting normal… but now as I stepped on that board, it felt a little different… It IS different. I bet if I lift up the plank, that bag, the tape, and the letter will be gone…
She snatched a tissue from the tissue box and dabbed at the corner of her eyes.
Reeves can’t talk, but he found a way to get a message to his son anyhow. I don’t know what Roman is going to think after all of this, but I pray it does him some good.