When my mom got worked up, there wasn’t much that could calm her down. I guessed today’s outburst had to do with another piece of jewelry gone missing, or maybe even some of the meager cash we had laying around thehouse.
I wasn’t the one taking it and she knew it. That didn’t stop her from freaking outatme.
My mom had become unpredictable with her moods after watching Marco fall into the group of guys he was with these days. Some days she was damn near comatose on the couch. Other days she was explosive and angry. But money and Marco weren’t the only things that had my momonedge.
It had all started when my dad left a couple of months ago. He said his talent went unnoticed in this small town, that no one could appreciate his music. So, he loaded up his clothes and his guitar anddisappeared.
We were all stunned. He’d been the model freaking parent until then. Coming to my wrestling matches, bringing my mom flowers on his way home from work, asking Marco and me about our days. There was no slow descent into neglect. One day he was here, the next day hewasgone.
About a month after dad left, Marco started acting strange. As his brother, I should have seen it coming. He didn’t take our dad’s leaving very well. The two of them were always close. With dad gone, Marco started losing his temper more often. He would pick fights with me for no apparent reason. Then, one day helefttoo.
With both my dad and older brother gone, things were difficult. My mom wasn’t working and we were living off a small savings. While my mom hadn’t said anything to me, I knew money was getting tight. I watched as the brand names in our cabinets were replaced with generics. Less meat graced the table. We didn’t go out to eat and never bought anything beyond thenecessities.
It was fine with me. I didn’t need those things. Not then, and definitelynotnow.
Now, I had the responsibility of being the sole provider for my mom and me. Honestly, I didn’t care if the food came from a food bank at this point. Unfortunately, there wasn’t too much charity to be found in RiverValley.
Thankfully, I had a job at the local diner and a long shift tonight. That was part of why I had stormed out of my house the way I did. The other part was just to try to escape reality for ashorttime.
Friday nights were some of my most profitable nights. Not because I worked as a server. I didn’t have the bright and bubbly personality for it. But thankfully Mike, the guy who ran the joint, made all his waitresses pay a tip share to the back of the house. When we had a busy night and busted butt to get food out quickly, we got some extra cash. Considering it was one of the only places to get a decent burger in town, we were usually pretty busy on theweekends.
I got into my car and prayed the fumes would get me to work today. It was technically early enough that I could walk. It just happened to be a long, unshaded walk through the middle of nowhere. It was still summer, I drove any chance I was able. My tan skin didn’t burn easily, but it would beuncomfortablyhot.
When I got to the end of my street, I looked over at the Lynch house. Most likely because it was the corner house. Regardless, it was something I did every time I reached the stop sign. The yard was surrounded by a chain-link fence and giant trees lined the yard. A familiar sight I saw practicallyeveryday.
I rarely saw anyone outside. Mr. Lynch had lived there alone for several years now and he wasn’t the outdoorsy type. He was some work from home computer geek or something. You definitely wouldn’t catch him doing yard work. A lawn care company took careofthat.
So today, when I saw him lying in the grass, I knew something was up. I didn’t think he was old enough to have fallen and broken a hip. But what was he doing on the ground? Why had he been out there in the first place? I couldn’t see his face clearly behind the large bushes in the front yard, but his legs weren’t moving. There was no way to tell if he was unconscious from where I parked, my car idling in front of the stop sign. What if he spent his time indoors because he was allergic to bees orsomething?
Ah, hell. I didn’t have the timeforthis.
Looking between the gaslight on my dash and the figure in yard, I started to let off the brake. I could leave him, get to work without issue and no one would be any wiser. But my conscience wasn’t having any of it. I went for the keys to turn the engine off and investigate just as hegotup.
Turns out my concern had been in vain. It wasn’t Mr. Lynch in the yard after all, but a girl. Someone close to my age as far as I could tell. Long blond hair fell down across the girl’s shoulders, and the legs that had just been flat on the ground pulled up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them. They were curvy beneath the jeans she wore. How had I mistaken them for aman’s?
Last time I checked, Mr. Lynch lived alone. He had never remarried and besides, this girl was way too young for him to be dating. But if it wasn’t a girlfriend, wife, or step-daughter, then who could it be? Hisdaughter?
Nofreakingway.
I hadn’t seen Katie in years and we hadn’t kept in touch. But the more I continued to stare, kinda like a creeper if I was being honest with myself, the more I recognized the features of her face. My mind wandered to the possible reasons she would be here. After so long, why did I even care? Looking back down at the gaslight again, I decided it didn’t matter. I needed to get this car toThe Farmhousebefore I ended upstranded.
I really didn’t wanttowalk.
My shift went well and, just like I had thought, it was busy. After I finished up for the night, I sat at one of the empty tables, drinking a soda and waiting for Gwen to cash out with Mike. It had been a long night and I was glad it was over.The Farmhousewasn’t a big place, only a handful of tables. One or two waitresses and the same number of cooks per shift was all it took to keep this place running. That didn’t mean we didn’t bust our butts on theweekends.
The diner wasn’t a fancy place either. The seat I sat in was cracking in several places and the corner of the tabletop was chipped pretty good. Menus adorned every table, the lamination pealing at the corners of almost everysingleone.
But the place was cozy and the food was good. That was enough to keep people coming back for more. That, and the fact it was practically a requirement for the people of River Valley toeathere.
“Hey,” Gwen smiled at me as she slid into the booth. She had her own soda in hand when she sat down. The drink told me she planned to sit for a minute and wanted to talk. I was tired and not exactly in the mood, but she was one of the only people who didn’t see me as the troubled teen who lost his way. I settled in, waiting for her tostart.
As I looked up, she bit her bottom lip. Her eyebrows drew in toward each other. She was a sweet girl and pretty too, when she wasn’t making the face she was currently. She was tiny and had short, dark hair that reminded me of a fairy. I could see the appeal, it just wasn’t there for me. Besides, I was just happy to have a friend. No reason to mess that up withromanticcrap.
“Those guys are jerks, you know.” She said without clarifying who the guys were. She didn’t need to, the wrestling team had been in the diner thatnight.
“Yeah, I know.” I replied, lifting my eyebrows as if to sayno newsthere.
“And I’m so sorry about the order they placed.” She continued. “They wouldn’t let me walk away and bring the ticket over until they saw that I wrote downallof their specialinstructions.”
