Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
That tight smile remained on my mother’s face until we were out the door, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Once in the car we rode in silence for a while, my eyes on the road, and all I could think about was getting the woman next to me back to her place to do what I’d been dying to all night. When she placed her hand on my knee, I briefly glanced in her direction before returning my attention to the highway. “You know, I wouldn’t have minded sticking around a little longer. We didn’t have leave.”
“I didn’t want to subject you to my mother any longer. Besides, I wanted to get you alone.” I took her hand and brought it to my lips to give it a quick kiss.
“Your mom isn’t so bad. A lot of mothers are protective of their sons.”
“One of the things I love about you is that you always seem to find the positive side to everything and everyone, but my mother takes it to another level.”
“She’s fine. Besides, I was having an interesting conversation with Kenny.”
It was then I remembered how intimate their conversation had seemed. “Oh, and what exactly were the two of you talking about?”
“Oh, nothing, maybe I…Maybe I shouldn’t say anything.”
“Or maybe you should. We’re not keeping secrets from each other, are we?”
“It’s not that. It’s just that I have some concerns.”
“Oh?”
“Kenny’s condition lately. It seems to be getting worse, and the new meds he’s on aren’t helping. He told your mother about it, but she says it for the best. She refuses to take him to another doctor. I mean if the meds he’s taking are making him feel bad, I don’t think it would hurt to try something else. Maybe you could talk to you mother about it.”
“What exactly are you implying?”
“I’m not implying anything. I’m just making a suggestion that Kenny might need to try new meds. He says the ones he’s taking is making him feel awful. He tried to tell your mother, but she says to stick it out.”
I don’t know why what she was saying bothered me so much. She was a nurse after all and would know what she was talking about, but my walls rose and I became defensive. “My mother has been taking care of Kenny since he was born. Are you saying she doesn’t know what’s best for him?”
“Of course I’m not, but perhaps she’s too close to the situation and could use a second opinion. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help.”
“I don’t know what you’re implying about my brother’s care but he’s fine, and my mother has made many sacrifices for him.”
“And I’m just saying that based on what Kenny told me, it wouldn’t do any harm if at the very least he can seek out another doctor who will address some of his concerns. Honestly, I’m not sure why he’s not already advocating for himself. His condition doesn’t prevent him in any way of letting a medical professional know his symptoms. Maybe it’s time for your mother to let him make his own medical decisions.”
Frankie didn’t say anything that hadn’t already been in the back of my mind for a while now, after all he was 25. But hearing the words out loud from someone who’d only known my brother for a few months I said, “my mother is doing the best she can, and if Kenny really had an issue with it he would have said something about it.”
“But he said something to me and—”
“I said Kenny is fine. Now stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.” The words came out much harsher than I intended, and the second they were spoken, I wish I could take them back. “Look, I didn’t mean it to come out like that, but you have to understand—”
“No,” she shook her head, “You don’t have to explain a thing. I won’t bring it up again.”
The mood for the night was officially killed. And while I felt like a complete jackass for snapping at her, I was still more than a little annoyed that she thought she could speak on my family at all.
But I got over it, although it wasn’t the last time she’d bring it up. In fact, the last time she’d been so insistent, it led to our break up. And within a month, she was married to my brother.
Thinking about how she’d manipulated me and my brother reignited my fury. I had to get her out of my system. I opened my phone and pulled up my banking app to confirm that the payment I’d sent her to go had gone through.
It had.
And that meant one thing. She was now mine for the next two months, and by the time I finished with her, she was going to wish she were as dead as my brother.