Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“Happy birthday,” he whispered softly.
“It is now.”
His eyes darted to me, and a smile broke out across his face. It nearly stopped my breath. I was a king, a god, when he smiled at me that way.
I winked, and it grew.
We pretended to really give a shit about the test and studying, but really, it was just an excuse. It wasn’t long before his father came into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge.
“How’d the games go?” he asked, because of course he would care about that.
“We got one out of two. We still have the best record in the league so far.”
“Yeah, I was just telling this one today that at least ya got that going for you—you know, with your dad and all.”
Don’t take the bait, don’t take the bait. He was trying to goad me, but I wouldn’t let him. “Yep, at least I got that. Still, I don’t have big aspirations of doing much with my life—some entry-level job somewhere, you know, because I’m going to be just like my dad. I’ll hold down a job better, though. I’m not smart like Joey. He’ll probably do better than all of us.”
“That’s not true,” Joey replied, but his father spoke before he could say anything else.
“Yeah, at least he’s got a brain in him. Maybe not for common sense or everyday-life stuff, but he has that going for him. Might not ever be a real man, but he can—”
I shoved to my feet so hard, so fast, my thighs hit the table, making it shake. The chair pushed out from behind me and fell onto the linoleum floor with a clatter. My chest was tight, and it was hard to breathe. My vision was blurry as I stared at his father…and the motherfucker smiled.
He set his beer down on the counter, walked over, and eyed me. He was so close, I could feel his breath when he asked, “There a problem, son?”
Joey stood, his hand on my arm. “No, Dad. There’s no problem. Right, Gage? Everything’s okay.”
Chief Robinson kept staring, and I did too. He was about two inches taller than me, kept himself trim and in good shape. I knew I needed to calm down, to diffuse the situation, but there was nothing I wanted more than to hit him, to put him on his ass and tell him what I thought of him.
He cocked a brow, and as hard as it was, I pushed out the words, “No, sir. There’s no problem,” my voice tight. But we both knew there was.
“Didn’t think so. Would hate for you to get into trouble for threatening an officer of the law. I’ll be outside, smoking a cigarette.”
He didn’t tell me to leave because he wanted me there, wanted to show me he had all the power over Joey.
He stepped over the chair, not bothering to pick it up. When he got outside, Jojo let out a breath, his eyes panicked and wide.
“What the hell was that? Holy shit, why did you do that?” He swiped at a stray tear.
“Fuck. I’m sorry. I just lost it. Couldn’t control it.”
I ran my hands through my hair, tugged on it, knowing I’d fucked up.
The next time I saw Joey, there were bruises on his chest. I kissed them all, hating myself because they were my fault.
I begged him to let me tell, but he wouldn’t, and he knew I would never betray his trust.
“Only a couple more months, Gage. We need to graduate, and then we can tell him to fuck off and leave together,” he said, and like always, I believed him.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Joey
I turned eighteen three weeks before graduation.
Ever since that day in the kitchen, my dad had kept a close eye on me. Anytime Gage was over, we had to be at the kitchen table. He kept a tight leash on me, limiting how often he’d let me hang out with Mouse or Romeo.
We stole moments when we could, looks filled with private jokes or things we couldn’t risk saying aloud. Holding hands in the back seat of Romeo’s Jeep, or that time when Romeo loaned it to us and we drove it up the mountain for some time together.
Dad knew. There was no doubt in my mind. I was on edge every day, waiting for him to snap, waiting for it all to come crashing down on us. Waiting for him to find a way to take Gage away from me. But he never said anything, didn’t hit me again, and kept his moods to himself. When it came to any kind of abuse, even verbal, he was on his best behavior.
Graduation. I needed to graduate, or I’d lose college.
He did harass Gage’s dad a lot more, though, and somehow he’d enlisted the other officers in town to do the same. Whatever he told them, I knew it couldn’t be about me and Gage, but he would have made up something, and it wasn’t like they needed an excuse. Gage’s dad was a constant thorn in the side of the Hendersonville police department.