I lifted my chin.
***
I graduated from high school with my new family in the stands.
And the one smiling the biggest was Valerie.
And the one with tears in her eyes because she was proud of me was Creedence.
***
That wasn’t the first time I watched tears form in her eyes.
I watched them as I wrapped her in my arms and held on tight.
Chapter 7
Creedence
Age 15
Remember how, when I was nine years old, I told you that my birth mother wasn’t deserving of that love?
Well, it was even more true now as I watched her and her man, Gus, being hauled through the clubhouse and into the shed at the back of the property.
Uncle Knox winked at me.
My dad locked his eyes on mine and asked, “Have you decided yet?”
I knew what he was asking.
And yes, I had decided.
It had been decided way before now, but this—her kidnapping my mom—sealed it. And yes, Valerie had become my mom in more ways than one.
And for the love she gave me freely when she didn’t have to, I locked my eyes with my dad’s and said, “She doesn’t deserve my love.”
He nodded, then walked through the clubhouse to the shed.
Just then, a wave of sadness hit me for something I’d never had.
And I didn’t even know that tears were forming in my eyes and then sliding down my cheeks.
Not until I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around me and pull me into a body.
I inhaled.
Musk. Fabric softener. Pine.
Alexander.
I pressed my body into his and buried my face in his tee.
And then... I let the tears fall.
I didn’t ask what happened after my dad and my uncles walked back into the clubhouse.
I also didn’t ask where they were putting her body.
