Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“She said Jake was ruining your family just like Grandpa ruined hers,” she sobbed.
Oh my God.
A wave of nausea nearly caused me to lose my footing. The rage that followed kept me upright, and I ended the call without another word. I gnashed my teeth so hard I thought I’d crush my molars, and I ran as fast as I could till I reached that ugly fucking house.
I jumped over the low hedge that framed the front yard, and then I made it up their porch steps and pounded on the door. No, fuck that. I tore it open and barged in like a fucking madman.
“Don’t you see?” I heard a woman shriek. I came to a screeching halt in the hallway and didn’t see anyone. Kitchen to the right—empty. The hallway continued to possibly a living room. “This is what I was trying to protect you from, Jacob!” Yeah, obviously, it was his mother. I lingered in the hallway, nervous, angry beyond words, and cast an absent look at the school photos on the walls. “You think I didn’t notice when you were little? I told myself—I told my mother—you were just a child. It didn’t mean anythin’ when you played with your cousin’s dolls and put the two Ken dolls together. I defended you—I told her you were just a six-year-old boy who preferred boy dolls, but she was right, wasn’t she? Sometimes you really can tell from such an early age.”
Holy shit, I’d heard enough.
I strode into the living room and immediately spotted Jake sitting on a couch, elbows on his knees, fingers buried in his hair, head dropped.
No. Don’t fucking listen to her, baby.
Helen Denver stood at the center of the room, directing all her homophobic bullshit at her son.
A fraction of a second later, I noticed a man standing to the side where I’d just come in, and he spotted me at the same time.
His shock was instant. “Who are—it’s you.” Then the anger.
I sucked in a breath as all eyes landed on me, but I only cared about Jake. He was angry, he was upset, he was hiding hurt behind stone.
I recovered first. “Youse celebrating your son’s new relationship? I reckon I should be here for that.”
Mrs. Denver narrowed her eyes at me. “You should be with your wife, Monroe.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you too, but I don’t have one,” I told her. “I have a future husband right there, though. You got a problem with that, you can fucking choke on it.”
She reeled back as if she’d been slapped.
Bitch certainly deserved one.
“Now, you can’t come into my house and speak to my wife like—”
“Sit the fuck down,” I told Jake’s pop. With that said, I walked over to Jake and squatted down in front of him. He stared right at me, but I wasn’t sure he was seeing me. He was holding back so much anger and grief in those eyes. “Did you get your answers?” I asked quietly.
He swallowed hard. “More or less.”
“Jacob!” Helen snapped. “Don’t think for a second we’re finished here—”
“Seriously, lady.” I glared back at her. “You’ve got two kids who don’t want anything to do with you anymore. They’re both actively keepin’ your grandkids away from you too. Give that a fucking thought before you open your mouth again.” My phone rang in my pocket, but I ignored it for now and faced Jake again. “We’re getting out of here, okay? Is there anything from your childhood you wanna bring? I can run upstairs or…”
He shook his head and eased back. “Let’s just go.”
Thank fuck.
We stood up, and—
“You can’t leave like this!” Helen exclaimed, her voice tinted with hysteria. I saw it in her eyes too. “Jacob, there are ways—”
“Are you fucking kidding me?!” I yelled. Holy fuck, the rage exploded. Just the idea of her ways made me wanna choke her out. “You’ve done enough. We’re outta hea’.” I grabbed Jake’s hand and headed for the hallway. My anger welled up in rapid waves, causing my chest to tighten—and it was possible I was squeezing his hand too hard. I couldn’t help it.
“Jacob,” Helen pleaded.
I got pulled back when Jake turned to her. He towered over her. No glare or anything, just…nothing.
“All these years,” he said quietly. “My whole childhood—you tried to turn me into something else. Somethin’ you approved of. You want a better son? Pray for one. I’m fuckin’ done.” He didn’t even spare his dad a glance as he started walking again.
We left the house together, and it wasn’t until then that I felt how fast my heart was beating. If I needed time to think and process, I couldn’t imagine what Jake was going through.
“I parked next to the playground.”
He nodded once.
Okay, now I had to be extra patient. He would talk to me when he was ready.