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Kind, supportive words of wisdom? Tessa huffed out a laugh into the quiet night.
Her parents encouraging their children to make something of themselves, or plan their future so they could succeed in life? Right.
Her mother was outright selfish and didn’t even bother to hide it. Her father miserable and barely around since he wanted to avoid Tammy as much as possible. After Tucker was born, he would only come home occasionally to pay the bills, make sure the utilities were still on and the fridge was full.
Oh, and that they were all breathing. Though, Tessa really wondered if he would care if he walked in and found them all dead. At least then he would’ve been free of his responsibilities. He would’ve been able to go live his life the way he wanted, unlike the way he’d been living it.
Most of the time when he was around, Tessa barely came out of her room. If he didn’t miss spending time with his own children, what was the point of them wanting to spend time with him?
If he’d only had a vasectomy before Tammy got a hold of him, his life would’ve been so much better and easier…
Tessa first assumed once she was out of the house and away from Tammy, her father would’ve reached out to establish some sort of relationship with her. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
Once she became an adult, she was no longer his responsibility. Period. He was following the old idiom… out of sight, out of mind.
Hell, he probably threw a party once Tucker turned eighteen. When he was finally free.
While Tessa couldn’t blame their father for being unhappy with Tammy and her scheming, she certainly could for how distant he was with his two children who didn’t have the luxury of choosing their parents.
They had been stuck, just like him.
They had been miserable, just like him.
They wanted to escape, just like him.
The very second she graduated, she was gone. She didn’t even wait to cross the high school’s stage to get her diploma. The very second Tucker graduated, he was gone, too, following in Trip’s footsteps by joining the Marines.
In fact, Trip, Stella and Tessa were the only family that showed up for Tuck’s boot camp graduation.
Would Tuck show up here in Manning Grove one day? Tessa had no idea. But she was damn sure if he did, Trip would welcome him without any hesitation. Especially since their older brother told their youngest sibling the door would always be open for him.
Tess opened her eyes and realized she had stopped in the middle of the dark courtyard. Not only that, she found herself squatting on the ground with both palms pressed to her eye sockets.
How did all that happen without her even being aware of it? Was she losing her damn mind? Had she finally snapped? Something she had feared for years before finally packing up her shit and leaving the house she grew up in.
She had feared if she stayed, she would end up on the street shooting up heroin or snorting blow, or end up in a gutter or alley drinking cheap booze out of a paper bag. Maybe even selling her body to feed an addiction.
Trip had reached out plenty of times, telling her to come to him when she was ready. Assuring her that she would be welcomed in the world he built.
Unlike in Wisconsin, she would be “seen” if she came to Manning Grove and no longer be invisible.
And look how she paid him back.
Fuck…
She gave him attitude when he acted like a loving family member should. Gave Stella lip when Trip’s ol’ lady did the same. When all they were doing was showing they cared about her.
Jesus.
Why was she like this? Acting ungrateful when, in truth, she was anything but.
The very last damn thing she wanted was to end up like Tammy. A selfish biker bitch not caring about anyone but herself.
And that was exactly what Tessa was turning into, minus the “biker” part. All she had to do was become an ol’ lady and she’d be there. She’d be Tammy.
Tessa took a slow, deep inhale trying to fight the churn of her stomach.
She needed to do better. Be better. Appreciate where she was and how she was accepted without question.
She was wanted here, unlike back home.
She had a purpose here, unlike back home.
She had Trip’s “village” here, the whole Fury family, unlike back home.
Scrubbing her palms over her face, she blew out a shaky breath.
Tammy had successfully broken her children to the point they didn’t know how to react when someone actually loved or cared for them. Foreign concepts to both Tessa and Tucker.
Her father might have been emotionally absent, but it was her mother who had done the most damage.
Had Trip overcome his childhood? He seemed to. Or, at least, he hid it really well if he hadn’t. His temper didn’t stem from Tammy, even though she also had one. No, his and Sig’s hair-trigger temper came from their father, Buck. Tessa should consider herself lucky she didn’t get the Tammy and Buck double-whammy.
