Page 10 of Silent Damage

My eyes trail to the group of people outside waiting and land on Doug and his wife, Lizzie Borden. I mean Linda.

Fuck me.

She looks so eager—bouncing on the balls of her feet and wringing her hands.

Doug looks… like Doug. Annoyed.

Annoyed that I exist.

The nerves I’ve felt on the way here sink to the pit of my stomach, weighing me down like an anchor.

I forgot what it was like to be around Sergeant Shithead. Doug Mathers is the only man who ever scared me. The military programmed him to be an inflexible dick with sky-high expectations, and he was not prepared for a kid like me.

I could never do anything right.

As I walk off the bus, I lock eyes with Doug.

His face is like stone—it's been almost two years since he last saw me, and I don’t even get a smile.

I wish it didn’t hurt.

Whatever.

Not here to play house. I’m here to get a job and get out.

Linda, on the other hand, looks like an excited puppy, waving at me and yelling, “Jason! Over here.”

Ugh.

With my duffel in hand, I stomp to where they’re standing, and my breath hitches.

Linda pulls me in for a big bear hug, and something shoots through my stomach when she does—like the whooshing feeling you get on a rollercoaster.

Linda holds my face, her eyes glistening, and says, “I’m so glad you’re here.”

My heart races a mile a minute.

It reminds me of how it used to feel.

Me. Gabe. His mom making us snacks.

I swallow the lump in my throat and clench my jaw.

She’s trying to throw me off my game with this little Stepmom-of-the-Year bullshit, and I won’t let her. “Thanks,” I reply in a flat tone.

Doug hasn’t approached. He stands there, looking at me.

The two of us are in a standoff, waiting for the other to make a move.

I ignore the aching feeling in my gut and lock eyes with him. If this is round one, then I’m winning. Period.

Linda pushes him forward to greet me, and the sudden movement literally makes me flinch.

Pathetic.

He stands there, awkwardly, then pats my back like I’m a dog and says, “It’s good to see you, Jason.”

The way he says it…