Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
“So,” Nina says, with a quick glance in the rearview. No doubt she can sense the anger I’m radiating from the backseat. “What kind of job did they set you up with, Gene?”
“Don’t know yet,” he grumbles. “Gotta meet with my parole officer on Tuesday and figure the rest out from there.”
And that’s it. That’s all the man says for another hour.
I simmer in the backseat like a forgotten soup pot. He doesn’t care about me. I’m just a piece of trash he left on the floor. Not even a person.
The sad truth is that if Lucas hadn’t responded to that card, I wouldn’t have ever gotten anything from my father. It was Lucas who saw my photograph and thought, this kid deserves some kindness. Whereas my dad didn’t think anything at all.
“You could ask me a question or two,” I snap out of nowhere.
“Whaddya want me to ask?” my father says, with obvious annoyance.
“Oh, I dunno. How about, Tatum, how was it going from being a child to an adult without the presence of either parent? Or Tatum, what kind of work are you doing these days? Do you like it? Good for you. Or, what about, are you seeing anyone, Tatum? Are you happy? What kind of music do you like, what kind of food—”
“All foods, from the looks of it,” he mumbles, and he’s lucky there’s a padded seat between us because I’m pissed enough to punch him.
“Don’t be rude, Gene,” Nina says firmly.
“Calm down, it was just a joke. Besides, she’s the one jumping down my throat with all the questions. I haven’t been out of prison for two hours and she’s already giving me shit.”
“Well,” I say, “maybe you deserve to catch some shit. It’s not like you were a great dad before you got arrested. You’ve been shitty my entire life. And by the way, the only joke in this car is the man sitting in front of me.”
“Watch it now, girl. My old man used to tan my hide for less.”
“Oh, so now you want to pretend like I owe you respect? Please. You sure as hell never cared about what you owed me as your daughter.”
“I didn’t choose to have you, that was on your bitch mother—”
“Gene,” Nina hisses. “Stop that!”
“Well,” I say, “I choose not to waste another second on you, Dad, because you suck.”
“I suck?”
“Yes. You’re a selfish, petty, oblivious little man who only cares about himself, and if I never see you again, it’ll be too soon.”
“Yeah, well, feeling’s mutual, kid.”
The bug lurches as Nina screeches to a halt on the shoulder of the freeway. She reaches across Gene and opens the passenger-side door.
“Get out,” she says.
“The hell, Nina—”
“You heard me, Gene.”
“How’m I s’posed to get where I’m going?”
“The halfway house is only three miles south of here, I’m sure you’ll manage.” She shifts the car into park, turns her hazards on, and crosses her arms in front of her, waiting.
“Come on, Nina. It’s not like I have a GPS. How am I gonna find it?”
“That sounds like your problem, Gene.”
“Jesus Christ…” He unbuckles his seatbelt. His boots crunch the gravel as he climbs out of the car. “I don’t need this shit. I don’t need either of you.”
“Feeling’s mutual,” I shoot back before he can slam the door.
Nina pulls onto the highway a few seconds later. I don’t look back.
My aunt drives for a few minutes until we’re well and truly rid of him, and then pulls into a gas station.
“Go ahead and climb back up front,” she says, and I do. As soon as I’m settled, the adrenaline I’ve been running on catches up to me.
I burst into tears.
“There, there, sweetheart.” Nina pulls me into an awkward side hug, her face pressed into the hair at the crown of my head. “Fuck ‘im. He’s a useless sonofabitch. I’m so proud of you for standing up for yourself.”
I cry and cry and realize that there’ve only ever been two people who loved me in my life. Not my absent mother, or my felon father. Just Nina, my aunt who never asked to be a mother but who did her best to fill the role, and Lucas. Lucas loved me more in the short time I’ve known him than either of my parents ever did.
This whole thing started with an act of kindness that grew into an act of love. He saw a little girl in need, and he reached out. He took an interest and encouraged her to study hard and follow her dreams. He gave me the thing I needed most in the world: someone who cared enough to listen.
I wipe my nose on the back of my hand. That’s when I see it: the emerald ring Lucas gave me.
“Nina,” I say, “I’ve made a terrible mistake. I need to get home right away.”