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Brax chuckled as he pulled Jenny closer. “If I’m mad at you, I’ll tell you. I don’t like it when people are two-faced. Can’t stand it. My mom was like that. She acted like everything was just fine, then ended up ripping the rug out from under our entire family. I promise, if there’s a problem going on between the two of us, I’ll let you know.”

Jenny looked at Brax and tried to take his emotional temperature. He didn’t seem upset anymore. Maybe, since he brought up his mom, he wanted to talk about her.

“What happened with your mom?” Jenny asked quietly.

“When I was eleven years old, CiCi was seven and her cancer came back for the third time. She was going into the hospital for another round of treatment.” Brax cleared his throat. He reached for his glass, then his hand changed directions and came back to settle on her waist. He looked up at her and gave a crooked grin.

“I was a mama’s boy. CiCi was daddy’s little girl. Mom called me her little man.” He took a deep breath and sighed. “When I look back on it as an adult, I can see how fucked-up that was. She told me things that she shouldn’t have. She and dad didn’t argue often, but when they did, she’d come to me and complain about him. She’d want me to take her side. That was such a party foul. You know?”

Jenny winced, trying to wrap her head around what he was saying. It was so different from the way she grew up. But yeah, she could see how a parent putting a kid in the role of an adult would be all kinds of wrong.

“What happened when you were eleven?”

“Mom and Dad were actually screaming and yelling at one another. That had never happened before. I heard everything. Mom planned to leave… Forever. Just up and leave while CiCi was in the hospital needing another round of chemotherapy. There CiCi was, with no hair, hurting like hell, and mom was going to take a runner. I couldn’t believe it.”

Jenny’s eyes were wide as she took in what Brax was telling her.

“What was worse is, she came into my room and tried to justify it to me. Tried to get me on her side.”

Still trying to make sense of what Brax was saying, Jenny asked, “why was she leaving?”

“She wanted to follow her dreams to live in the city and go to work at a magazine.” Disgust dripped from his lips, like cold water from the tips of icicles.

“And did she? Did she leave?”

“After that day, I never saw her again. She called a couple of times, but I always hung up on her.”

“At least my mom didn’t leave on purpose,” Jenny whispered.

“What?”

“Never mind,” Jenny mumbled, looking down at the front of his shirt.

“No, you said your mom didn’t leave on purpose. What happened to your mom?” Brax asked gently.

“She died from the flu. Dad didn’t take her to the hospital, and she died. She left me all alone with Dad.”

He pulled her tighter and put a knuckle under her chin, pushing up so he could see her face. “What are you saying, baby? What happened? How old were you?”

“I was a freshman. Fourteen. It was just me and him in the house.”

Jenny glanced away from his intense gaze.

“He hurt you?” He asked the question gently, but she could hear the rage, pain and fear behind his words. She looked back at him, wanting to soothe him.

“Not real bad. Just punches and kicks and slaps and things. Same as always. It was worse since Mom wasn’t there, ’cause he only had one target. I went to a couple of group counseling sessions in college. It could have been a lot, lot worse. I was lucky. Plus, I was fast, so I could get away from him easier than Mom ever could.”

“Did you ever call anyone?”

“It never worked for Mom, why would it work for me?” Jenny shrugged.

Brax moved his hand and started to massage the nape of her neck, it felt heavenly.

“How’d you get away?” Brax eventually asked, continuing the massage.

“He dropped dead in the garage one night. Doctor said it was a heart attack.”

“How old were you?” He whispered the question.