Page 11 of Forged Forever

I run into Jake’s room, closing and locking the door. No way in hell am I leaving Jake here with her vitriol. Turning, I see Will standing at the foot of Jake’s bed, his posture rigid and alert, a silent guardian. Jake looks up at me, his face pale and drawn, the devastation in his eyes almost palpable. “Will, is the patio door locked?” I ask.

“Sure is,” he replies, not moving from his position facing the door.

I sit on the edge of the bed and grab Jake’s hand. “What happened, Jake?”

“She just got here and started yelling at Dad. I haven’t even seen her yet. She’s mad he didn’t call her before the trial, or after. I don’t know who that is, but it’s not Mom.” A glistening film forms in his mournful eyes, the unshed tears threatening to overflow, creating a shimmering sadness.

Squeezing his hand, I reply. “Maybe she hasn’t dealt with the accident, but regardless, she has no right to come into your home screaming like that.”

“I heard what she said to you, too, Sum.”

“Nothing I haven’t heard before,” I assure him.

“This needs to deescalate, and soon,” Will tells us. “My priority is Jake’s wellbeing, but this is a family issue. I’m not sure of the best course of action.”

Thinking through our options, I doubt Ray would want us to call the police. Erin certainly won’t listen to me, and I don’t want to ask Will to intervene. Deciding, I call my dad. “Hi darling, is everything okay?” He answers.

“Not really. Erin arrived shortly before me and has been yelling at Ray since she arrived. She hasn’t even seen Jake yet and wanted me gone, like, immediately. I locked Will, Jake, and myself in his room. What do we do?”

I can hear Dad sigh down the line. “I’m sorry, darling. I know you were worried about her visit. Stay in Jake’s room, please, and I’ll be right over.”

“Thanks, Dad,” I respond before hanging up. “Zander's on his way.”

Will slides Jake over so I can lie beside him, and we wait quietly listening to Erin and Ray argue. She certainly has a lot of steam in her, a vicious whirlwind of rage crashing through a glass shop. She sounds no more grounded than the few memories I have of her after the accident. At least the door muffles most of the words.

About 15 minutes later, the arguing stops, and the front door opens after a brief delay. Zander must be here. Voices have lowered, but there’s still talking. Will hands me the tv remote and takes a seat in his chair, so I turn on a sports show.

Before long, there’s a knock at the door. Will offers to answer, but I know it’s just Dad and Ray. They come inside, leaving the door open. Ray looks horrible; his eyes are sunken, his skin is pale and clammy, and I can see a slight tremor in his hands. “Erin has left,” Zander informs us.

“Thanks, Dad,” I smile at him.

“Dad?” Jake calls to Ray.

Ray drops into the seat by the closet like a lead weight, running his fingers through his hair and takes a steadying breath, as Zander leans on the wall near the door. “I’m so sorry, son. If I had known that would happen, I wouldn’t have let her in. Your mom still has many, many issues,” he says wearily.

“She didn’t even come into my room,” Jake comments, some of the devastation morphing into anger.

“I know, son. It seems she had some pent-up anger to get out first.”

“I heard most of it, Dad. She never even mentioned me, and then she went after Sum. I don’t want to see her anymore.”

“You don’t have to,” Ray replies, shaking his head. “I'll probably need to speak with her again, but it won’t be in our home.”

“You don’t need to do that either,” Jake replies.

“I need to, for myself. I’ll figure it out. What do you need?” He asks.

I can see Dad nod in approval from my periphery at Ray’s question. “Nothing. I might call Cameron. She was unhinged.”

“Okay son. You do that. I’ll be in the living room,” he nods, dragging his body upright and shuffling lead feet out to the hall, followed by Zander.

“I’ll be right back, handsome. I want to talk to Zander, okay?”

“Ok Sum. I’ll call Cameron.”

Kissing his cheek, I get out of bed and walk into the living room. Ray's on the couch with Zander in the chair beside him, so I take a seat beside Ray. “She had no right to say those things to you, Summer. I’m sorry,” Ray begins, sitting straighter in his seat, trying to recover from the attack.

“You don’t need to apologize for her behavior, Ray. That’s on her.”