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Dad stepped into the kitchen. “I’ve got the movie all ready to— Oh. Joey, there you are. Did you work today?”
“I was volunteering for New Horizons again.”
“You’ve been doing that most weekends, huh?”
I nodded. “They’ve had a flurry of projects. They help homeowners all over the state. But next week, there’s nothing going on. Might not be for a couple of weeks.”
Dad leaned against the doorjamb and tucked his hands in the pockets of his slacks. “I’m glad to see you care about something. I only wish you’d put as much effort into figuring out your future, too.”
“Adam.” Mom shook her head. “Joey’s doing something really meaningful. It’s good for him to make amends by working with Dakota’s nonprofit.”
Dad nodded. “No, I know. I agree. It’s really good to see, Joey. We’re proud of the work you’re putting into it.”
“But?” I asked, knowing there was one.
“Well, at some point, working for a pet store—or whatever other entry-level job you find with that Redemption program—is not going to be enough to fulfill you. I know you’ve been in turmoil, son. Your life got complicated and messy. But you need to start thinking ahead, and I worry this volunteer gig…it’s just keeping you mired in the past.”
“Maybe I need to face my past, atone for it, before I can think about the future.”
“Oh, honey, don’t you think you’ve paid enough?” Mom said. “You went to prison, and at such a young age. I still have nightmares just thinking of what might have happened to you in there.”
It wasn’t like the movies. No gang rapes in the showers. I’d gotten my ass kicked a few times. I’d toughened up. I’d learned I couldn’t be soft in prison, couldn’t show my weakness or fear or loneliness. I’d learned how to push everything down and hide it.
That’s what I did now. I set my plate in the sink and drew Mom in for a hug. Kissed her temple.
“Nothing that bad, I promise.”
She sighed.
“I got off easy, compared to the other driver. Dakota is paralyzed. Let’s not pretend I’m a victim here.”
“But you are,” Dad said, surprising me. He wasn’t one for coddling me like Mom. “You’re a victim of your own bad choices, maybe. A victim of circumstances, certainly. You took the car, and you drove too fast, but it was also raining. Poor conditions. We’ll never know if you’d have crashed without the rain. But I do know if I hadn’t reported the car stolen to teach you a lesson that you’d never have gone to prison at all, because it was an accident, Joey. An accident.”
“An accident I caused.” I started toward the door, needing an escape. “I appreciate you guys wanting to make me feel better. But I can’t erase the consequences of my actions. All I can do is try to make it up to Dakota and maybe put some good out into the world as penance.” I shrugged. “I’m going to keep volunteering for New Horizons as long as they’ll have me.”
“All right,” Dad said. “There are worse ways you could spend your time.”
I nodded. “But I’ll try to think about what comes next. I know I need to get my own place.”
“No, Joey, that’s not—” Mom started.
“I do. I’m twenty-four years old. I can’t stay here indefinitely. I shouldn’t.”
Dad raised an eyebrow. “You going to hold down a job long enough to pay rent somewhere?”
“Well, that’s what I’m hoping to find out.” I opened the door. “Good night, guys.”
“We’re going to have a movie night,” Mom said, voice full of tentative hope. “If you wanted to hang out a while. We can make popcorn.”
I shook my head. “Maybe another time. I’m beat.”
I went back to the pool house, almost regretting turning down Mom’s offer when my claustrophobic little room echoed with emptiness. I toyed with the idea of calling Hollywood or forcing my company on Ghost again. But I really was tired.
I stripped down and threw on some sleep shorts, then flopped into the bed and checked the group chat with the guys.
Hollywood:
Ruby did the cutest thing!
