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“Mom, where are you going? Who is that man?”
“That’s Rex. My new man. We’re leaving.”
“What? You can’t just leave! Mom?”
Her mother swung around with a sneer. “Why the fuck not? Rex has money. His old woman croaked and she had one of those insurance policies. Rex wanted to go travelling and he wants me to go with him.”
“But you can’t just leave! What about me and the boys?”
She threw her head back and laughed, nearly falling back on the bed. “You and the boys? Why the fuck should I care about any of you? You’re just holding me back.”
“They’re your grandsons,” she whispered. She’d known her mother didn’t care much about her, but she thought she’d felt something towards Jamie and Caleb.
“I got better things to do than take care of two squalling kids. Oh, I behaved myself and looked after them while you worked. Figured it was that or you’d kick me out and I didn’t have any place else to go. Now I do.”
And she didn’t care about anyone else.
“Mary! Hurry the fuck up!” Rex yelled from the driveway.
One of the boys cried as he woke up. Just great.
Her mother patted her cheek as she slipped past her. “Better go see to your kid, Aspen. I brought you back the car so you could get to work. See, I’m not a total bitch, right? Coming, Rex, my love.”
Eew. She followed her mother out and watched as she climbed in Rex’s car and they drove off in a cloud of dust.
Despair filled her as she closed the door. Oh, God, what was she going to do? She couldn’t believe her mother had done this to her. Abandoned her. With her arm over her aching stomach, Aspen sat on the couch. Tears filled her eyes, dripping down her cheeks. Another cry came from her bedroom and she quickly swiped at her cheeks. She didn’t have time to fall apart. She plastered a smile on her face and walked in to find both boys awake.
“Did that silly old man wake you two up?” she crooned, quickly changing them and carrying them out to the living room.
She set them down on a blanket on the floor, smiling at Jamie as he rolled over onto his back. He giggled, delighted with himself. His brother followed him, both of them laughing together. They were the reason she got up in the morning, what kept her going when times were tough. And they were all she had left of Aaron. Not that she was still mourning him. She knew that they wouldn’t have lasted. He’d been with her to piss his mother off. She’d been with him because he was fun and exciting.
After his death, she’d been sad and frightened. Especially after learning she was pregnant with the boys. She knew she couldn’t expect much help from her own mother. And definitely not from Aaron’s. What she hadn’t expected was for that bitch to give her some cash and tell her to abort them.
Knowing she couldn’t stay because she’d never feel like she and her children were safe, she’d fled in the middle of the night in her beat-up car. Her mother had come with her, having exhausted the supply of single males in the area and decided to move on to new territory.
Seemed she’d found greener pastures now. Only this time she’d left Aspen on her own. Fuck.
Worry filled her. “What am I going to do?”
Jamie brought his toes up to his mouth, gumming them. She smiled down at him. “Don’t have any suggestions, huh, short stuff? You’re just happy chewing on your toes, aren’t you?”
Love welled inside her. How was it possible to feel this much love towards someone else?
“Who wants some lunch?”
A few hours later, she was sitting back in the living room having fed the boys when she heard a car pull up. Had her mother returned? A knock sounded on the door. Not her mother, then. She wouldn’t knock.
“Wonder who that could be?” she said out loud. As usual, they didn’t reply. “You two have got to up your conversation skills if you ever want to get girlfriends.” She thought about that for a moment. “Screw that. Stay silent. You don’t ever need a girlfriend. You can live with your momma forever.” She snorted. “And now I sound like a deranged, overprotective mother.”
Another knock at the door. This one heavier. More impatient.
“All right, keep your pants on,” she called out.
If it was Mr. Peterson asking for rent, she was screwed. She was going to run through her meager savings quickly if she couldn’t work.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Wiping the panic from her face, she opened the door with a huge smile. “Mr. Pet—oh, it’s you.” Her smile dropped from her face.
