CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
You know the saying, things can always get worse? Well, I’m living proof it’s true. I thought it was bad when my dad would show up, screw my mom, and leave. I thought it was bad when she lost the baby. But none of that was as bad as when he left. Two years since he walked out that door. Two years of my mom crying. Two years of refusing to go visit him and his wife, who’s decided she wants to play stepmom. If he doesn’t want my mom, then he can’t have me.
He sent us money, but not much more than he used to, so I took a part-time job at a local hotel, doing all the work no one else wanted to do. The owner paid me under the table, so it was a win-win.
My dad tried to stop by a few times, but he and my mom just fought. Once his wife found out about us, he ended his relationship with my mom, saying he had to stay away. He couldn’t leave her because of their prenup. Bullshit, bullshit, and more bullshit.
I hoped my mom would get over it. I thought her dating again was a good sign, but it only made me realize how horrible her taste in men really was. Let’s put it this way, my dad was a prize.
The latest guy moved his shit right in. Hitting my mom seemed to be his favorite past time. I looked over at my mom, standing in front of the mirror with a brush in her hand. Even with all she’d been through, she was still beautiful.
I saw her wince and knew he must’ve hit her again last night while I was at work. She threw a pain pill in her mouth. Getting up, I walked over and took the brush from her. She gave me a sad smile, and I helped pull her hair up into the ponytail they required at the restaurant where she worked.
“I’m going to kick his ass.”
She said my name softly. “You’re just a boy.”
“I’m fourteen.”
She smiled at me like only a mom can. “It’s not bad this time.”
The front door opened, and Annie waltzed in, giving us both a smile, but it was fake. Her normally light blonde hair was dyed pink, matching her red, swollen eyes. “What are you two doing tonight?” my mom asked.
“Just hanging out,” I said, looking at Annie with obvious concern. My mom didn’t think twice about leaving Annie and me alone. Aside from that kiss on the levee two years ago, we’d only ever been friends. My mom knew that.
My mom kissed my cheek then Annie’s before heading out the door. As soon as the door closed behind her, Annie started crying. Pulling her down on the couch, I asked, “What happened?”
“He dumped me,” she said. “I can’t believe it.”
I could. Annie’s taste in men was as bad as my mother’s. “I tried to tell you he’s a douchebag.”
“I had sex with him,” she whispered, looking down and picking the blue nail polish off her fingernails.
The only word that came out of my mouth was, “Oh.”
“It was last weekend,” she said. “In his car. God, I’m that girl. The one who bangs guys in their car.”
“Last weekend?” I asked. “And he broke up with you today?”
She nodded, burying her face in my neck. “I’m so stupid. It wasn’t special. It wasn’t even good. He was stoned and . . .”
“Were you?” I asked, knowing Annie partied hard.
“No,” she said.
“Add him to the list of guys I’m going to fuck up,” I snapped.
“I just don’t know why guys lie,” she said. “You should at least respect a girl enough to be honest. Not make her think one thing then dump her.
“You’re right.”
“Don’t turn into one of those guys,” Annie said. “Promise me. Promise me you’ll always be you.”
“I promise.”
She kissed my cheek, hopping up. “Your mom got any beer in the refrigerator?” Annie asked. “I need to get hammered.”
“Probably for that dickhead boyfriend of hers.”
She opened the refrigerator, pulling out the entire six pack. “Join me?”
I shook my head. I never did any of the stuff Annie did. I figured one of us needed to be thinking straight, or no telling what would happen. Plus, someone had to clean up her puke. She plopped back down next to me then reached into her pocket.
“I do have this.” She held up a joint. “Stole it from that asshole after he dumped me.”
Drinking was one thing, but not drugs. My mom would flip her shit if she found out. “You can’t do that in here.”
“Square,” she said, shoving it back in her pocket. She looked over at me. “You think I’m a slut now, don’t you?”
“You lost your virginity to an asshole. I don’t think that makes you a slut.”
“How do you know I was a virgin?” she asked.
I gave her a look. We knew everything about each other. “Same way you know I am,” I said. “Please tell me he was careful, at least.”
She nodded. “God, what if I got pregnant? I mean, I know I’m not, but . . .”
“I’d take care of you,” I said.
She smiled then elbowed me. “With your part-time job at the hotel?”
I laughed. “I just meant I’d be there for you.”
She leaned her head on my shoulder. “So you don’t think I’m a slut?”
“I could never think that, no matter how many cars you ruin.” That time I got a hard elbow to my ribcage. “But I do think you need to pick a better guy next time.”
She cuddled in closer. “Me, too.”
I heard the key hit the lock and knew it wasn’t my mother. It’s funny how you can tell things like that. My mom unlocking the front door sounded different than when the douchebag did it. My mom’s footsteps sounded different from Annie’s. I could always tell them apart, and I never wanted to hear his footsteps or key again.
Sick of being the one to have to fix my mother’s hair, sick of watching guys use my mom and Annie, I flew to my feet, determined to protect them. As soon as he opened the door, I yelled, “You hit my mom for the last fucking time!”
Wish I could say that I kicked his ass without him getting a single lick in, but things didn’t go down that way. I got the early jump on him, but if it wasn’t for Annie distracting him by throwing everything in our kitchen cabinets at his head, I doubt the ending would’ve been in my favor. I may not have won clean, but he never came back into our house and that was all that mattered.
I sat on the edge of the tub, my mom and Annie both crying and tending to the gash over my eye, my bleeding nose, and what I’m sure were a couple bruised ribs. “I’m sorry, baby,” my mom said. “I never thought he’d hit you.”
“I started it,” I said. She pulled me into her arms, the guilt clearly weighing on her. When she started dating him, I wasn’t big enough. Hell, I still wasn’t big enough. But if I waited any longer, I was afraid she’d end up in the hospital.
I looked over my shoulder at Annie and mouthed, “Your guy’s next.”