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“And you didn’t tell any of us?” Tyler asked.
“I didn’t really have a chance. You guys sort of blindsided me with a massive check. Anyway, I’m already packing up stuff into my car. Clothes and shit like that. Once I can get it all out of my room, I’m dumping it in the loft. I don’t care if I have to sleep in a sleeping bag. I’m not staying at my mother’s house another second longer than necessary.”
“You’re not sleeping in that place until it’s been properly looked at and renovated,” Tanner said.
“You need to be safe,” Tyler said.
“And I will be. I’m a big girl. But it’s not safe with my mother anymore. She’s become a little too much. I’m concerned for her, but I’m also concerned about her if that makes sense.”
“Plenty,” Tyler said, darkly.
“Hey, Mom did the best she could,” Tanner said with an edge to his voice.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Your mother reminds me of ours,” Tyler said.
“She wasn’t that fucking bad,” Tanner said.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“She fucked around a lot once Nick got into his teenage years,” Tyler said. “Slacked off whenever she could.”
“No, she fucking didn’t. Now you tell the damn truth, or I’m gonna bust your nose right here,” Tanner said.
“Okay, guys. Take a deep breath. I promise you, no one can be as bad as my mother. But what happened?” I asked. “To your mother, I mean.”
“She did the best she could after our dad took off,” Tanner said.
“He’s a piece of shit,” Tyler said.
“We all have the same father, but when Mom got pregnant with Nick things spiraled. They fought a lot. He wanted to abort the baby, and our mother didn’t. He missed getting out on the road with her, and he was tired of working and having to provide for four boys who couldn’t stop eating,” Tanner said.
“What a fucking shithead,” I said.
“He left before Mom gave birth to Nick and she spiraled. Depression, drugs, drinking. Jacob was only seven at the time, but that’s why he’s so father-like, as you pointed out yesterday,” Tyler
said.
“He fucking raised Nick, didn’t he?” I asked.
“He raised all of us the best he could. Mom was incapacitated practically for the first couple of years of Nick’s life. She pulled out of it a bit to usher a couple of us into our teenage years, but then she took a weekend for herself. Went on a ride with some of her friends and came back worse than ever,” Tanner said.
“What happened?” I asked.
“We found out later that she’d seen Dad at the rally getting cozy with some bitch who was pregnant,” Tyler said. “It did her in, I guess.”
“Are you serious?” I asked.
“She was never the same after that. Jacob sought out a family in the Road Warriors, and we just kind of followed in his tracks,” Tanner said.
“Nick didn’t really wanna join, but he felt pressured because we all had. He’s fine now. He’s the most active member in the damn group. But it was rough there for a while,” Tyler said.
My heart ached for them. Our food was set in front of us along with our drinks, but I scooted over so I could be closer to them. I took both of their hands in mine and brought them to my lips, kissing their skin.
They each pressed a kiss to the top of my head before they wrapped their arms around me.
“Where is she now?” I asked.
