Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 117820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 589(@200wpm)___ 471(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 589(@200wpm)___ 471(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
“That’s not true,” I whisper, horrified.
“He’s high on Lord knows what, Mrs. Hardy,” Barny explains, still dragging my brother away.
Mee-maw seems too shocked to talk.
“I’m guessin’ you ain’t gonna bail the boy out?” Barny questions.
“Absolutely not until he has learned a lesson.”
“Rehab. I think at this point he needs it.”
I leave them to their conversation and get to work cleaning up the small amount of vomit I let loose on the wooden floor. It’s making me want to vomit again.
“IT BETTER NOT BE TRUE!” Mee-maw shrieks after returning and when she knows they are out of earshot. “I cannot cope with this. I cannot cope. I cannot!”
“I’m not pregnant, Mee-maw. He’s just tryna hurt you.”
She stares at me, gauging my honesty. I’m the worst liar in the world.
“Don’t do this to me child, not again. I can’t cope with this again. I don’t want to be raisin’ no more babies and I can’t let it go into care because what kind of Christian woman would that make me?”
“I’m not pregnant!”
She nods but doesn’t look convinced. “Your Grandpa will be turnin’ in his grave at all this hassle.”
“Mee-maw,” I insist, placing my hand on her arm. “He’s just saying things to get you to stress.”
“Yes, I hope so.” She looks ready to break and I don’t blame her.
“Shall I make you some tea?”
Shaking her head she places her hand on the console table by the door for support. “I need to lie down for a while.”
“Okay, Mee-maw. I’m going to call Poppy. I need to know that she’s okay.”
She nods again. “Thank you for cleanin’ up your own mess.” She looks so dazed as she moves away from me, every step is slow and calculated.
“Of course.” I try for a smile but it’s shaky. “What’s going to happen to Matthew now?”
“I’m going to get him the help he needs.” She wets her lips and looks away. “And Lord knows he needs it. Why me, Jesus? Why?” Her eyes follow me into the kitchen and she watches me clean out the rag and bucket I used before making herself a drink. “Please don’t be pregnant. I don’t want to raise no more babies.”
“Mee-maw, I’m not pregnant and even if I was, I wouldn’t be no deadbeat momma like mine. I’m responsible.”
“Responsibility starts with safe sex, or not having sex at all!”
She has a point. “I’m not pregnant Mee-maw.”
“You better hope not.”
I’m already hoping not. I’m hoping not so hard that it’s all I can think about.
“Shout for me if you need me,” I utter and get the hell away from her.
I try calling Poppy and her mom but I get no answer as is expected. To say I’m worried is a massive understatement. When neither of them answers on the third try, I call the only other person I want to speak to in this moment.
“Kane,” I say immediately when he answers the phone.
“What’s wrong?” He sounds so sleepy and adorable.
“My brother has been arrested, apparently he put Poppy and her date in the hospital.” I sniff unattractively. “I’m freaking out.”
“Shit, that doesn’t sound good.”
“Nope. He’s in serious trouble.”
“Need me to bail him out?”
“No, let him stay in there and rot for a night.”
He sighs heavily. “Hate to say it but that’s probably the right call. Is Poppy okay?”
“I don’t know. Cops wouldn’t tell us anything.”
“Want me to go check?”
“Would you?”
“Yeah. Not sure they’ll let me know anything but I’ll do what I can.”
Relief sinks through the heaviness of my chest. “Love you, Kane.”
“Love you too.” He doesn’t say it often but he does say it when it matters, like now when he knows I need to hear it. I hear the twang of his belt as he gets dressed. “I’ll call you soon as I hear anything.”
Thankfully Poppy is fine, Bradley fared a lot worse. He has a broken femur from where my psychotic brother stamped on his leg after sucker punching him onto his ass. Poppy took a kick to the ribs when she tried to protect Bradley but it was when she got hurt that my brother stopped. I’m just relieved he cared enough about her to stop. These days he doesn’t seem to care about anybody but himself. He’s acting like he’s the only one in pain. The violence sounds all too familiar. It reminds me of the first time I met Kane. God I hated him then.
My brother, in his hysterical and high state of mind came home, not realizing just how dire the situation was. He was so high he couldn’t even remember doing half of it apparently.
Poppy and Bradley are both pressing charges which means my brother, now home, is looking for a lawyer and is probably going to jail for assault and battery. I haven’t stopped crying about it and neither has he. For the most part he’s apologetic but he’s high again and it’s only two in the afternoon. I think he might be addicted. He’s so gaunt and twitchy.