AllFreeNovel
Share Us
19
Zander
Fucking Ely, Minnesota. It never changes. Absolutely nothing about the drive between the airport and my hometown has changed. The snow-covered tree lined streets are all so familiar, the route one I took often growing up, usually in a team van.
There were a lot of things I loved about growing up here. Like the rare occasion the lakes froze over before we would get heavy snow and we were able to skate on it. Or Miss Taylor who owned the burger joint giving us extra fries if we stopped in after practice because she believed we burned too many calories.
Then there were things I didn’t love, like everyone knowing everyone else’s business. I’m sure the whole town knows that my dad hit Callie. Especially, after he was trying to talk to her in a busy place last night. Willa sent me a text to fill me in on what happened. And that my little sister now has a burgeoning crush on our boyfriend.
Can’t really blame her, he’s great. He and Willa have both been so supportive throughout this ordeal, offering so much and asking for nothing in return.
It does bother me that Callie hasn’t had anyone here in recent years to defend her. Of course, she’s hero worshiping the first person who has. My heart aches so much. I should have done something sooner. It should have been me protecting her.
I’ll never forgive myself for that. Or my mother.
Damian and Willa saw her safely back at her friend’s house last night. Today I will talk to my parents, and with any luck, we’ll be on a flight tomorrow back to Seattle, with Callie in tow.
However it happens, I’m not leaving without my sister. She’ll never spend another night at the house we called home. If she chooses, Callie will never have to see this place, or him, again. She has friends here, people who care about her. But do they care enough to step in when they know my father is physically accosting her?
Doubtful. This town has too many of my extended family members in it and there’s a long history of them covering up my dad’s shitty behavior.
“Zander.” I hear my name as soon as I step into the lobby of the hotel. My mother’s sitting near the roaring fireplace.
“How did you know how to find me?”
“Owen overheard your friend saying you’d be in town today.”
When Willa described the man that stepped in last night at the restaurant, I assumed it was my cousin Owen. Maybe one of the more reasonable of my family members, he’s not one for confrontations or spectacles. He likes the family secrets to be just that.
“You should go home.” I’m not ready to see her, or hear whatever her current round of excuses will be. She let it get to the point of my sister being physically harmed. More than once. The emotional toll it’s probably taken on her is unimaginable as well.
If I ever become a father, I’ll know how to put my child before my own selfish needs and wants. Because I’ve learned from the best of what not to fucking do.
“Zander, please. I haven’t seen her in days.” She stands, tries to reach out to me, but I step back.
“You should have been this concerned about her before you left her at home with him,” I accuse, pointing a finger at her.
“I have to work, Zander. We have bills to pay,” she pleads.
“You should have called me,” I bite out. “I would have helped you both to get out of here.”
“I can’t just leave him,” she says, and I scoff. Always the same story. My mother acts like my father is just as much a victim as she and Callie are. He’s not. He has a disease, sure, but it’s not an excuse for how he treats the people he’s supposed to love and protect.
“Go home. I’ll be there soon and we’re going to have a long discussion.” I glare at her, and she halts her attempt to stop me from walking away. “Go. You’ll see me within the hour.”
Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on her but fuck that noise. I love my mother, I do. That doesn’t mean I can let that get in my way of giving Callie a better life. That’s what she does, constantly putting my father before everyone else.
I recognize the woman at the front desk as someone I grew up with. Shelby. She once asked me to a school dance. I declined. She never spoke to me again. When I smile at her now, she barely reciprocates, so I’m guessing she’s still not a fan.
Getting to the suite, I knock lightly. It’s still early and I know Willa likes to wake up slowly. She’s not the morning person I am. As expected, it’s Damian who answers the door.
“Hey,” I say.
“You sound exhausted,” he tells me, taking my bag from me.
“Mentally more than physically,” I say. “Where’s Willa?”
“Shower. Do you want some coffee?”
