AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did your mom make that?” She pulls away, snapping me out of it.
I’m not sure I want to go there with her.
Or anyone.
I don’t reply right away, debating on letting her see even more of my darkness. To be fair, she’s already seen more in a single night than most of my friends ever will.
“I noticed Xavier has one, too,” she adds.
“Yeah. She gave us matching chains on my eighth birthday.” I pause, a bitter scoff surging in my throat. “Right before she got on a boat to her death.”
My dark humor seems to startle her because she doesn’t laugh. Instead, she stares at me with soul-withering pity, the look in her eyes making me want to take a page out of my old man’s handbook and hurl everywhere.
“On your birthday?” she croaks.
I cringe.
I’m not surprised. That’s the common reaction when I tell people my mom got on the boat as a birthday present to me. It’s not like I can blame them, either. Imagine your mom dying on your birthday because she agreed to get on a boat foryou.
Hell, I’d feel bad for me.
“Is that the day she got you Lexie?” Dia asks.
I arch an eyebrow.
“Theo told me she was a gift from your mom,” she says.
That blabbermouth.
“It was the day before, actually.”
A smile stretches over her lips. “You must’ve been so happy.”
I nod. “Over the moon. I’d been begging my parents for a dog since I was old enough to know what a dog was.”
“How did they tell you?”
I’m the one smiling now.
“My mom said a surprise was waiting for me in the backyard. I was so fucking excited. They’d left Lexie on the patio, but while they were gone, she started chasing a squirrel and wandered off. I ran out of the house and found a dead squirrel. Happy birthday to me.”
She chuckles. “How did you react?”
I laugh. “I definitely wondered if my mom was gifting me a dead animal for a second.”
Memories flow through me.
“But then I saw her.”
I’ll never forget seeing Lexie run toward me that day. I immediately knew this adorable pup slash squirrel killer was going to become my best friend.
“That’s why you’re so protective of her. Because your mom gave her to you,” she gathers.
“Hard not to be. I promised my mom I’d look after her, no matter what. I swore I’d protect her. Always.”
There’s a moment of silence.
“Your dad’s name is Hank.” It doesn’t sound like a question but a statement.
