AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I don’t add the rest even though the words already sit on my tongue.
I’d sell every one of my worldly possessions and still not ask you all for money. My job is about preventing fights, not starting them. Hitting your kids doesn’t mean you know how to hit.
“She doesn’t have the checks.” Bill meanders to the fridge, pulling out a beer. “I do. And if you want cash, you’ll have to work for it. Just like Leo.” He claps his hand on my brother’s shoulder.
Leo keeps chewing on his pizza like he can’t hear any of what’s going on around him.
“I’m not here for money.” I barely keep my voice steady. There’s one task I need to complete, and then I can get the hell out of here. “I’m here to talk to Mom. Let’s go outside.” I nod to the back door, hoping Vivian will pick up on my urgency. But my dad wraps a possessive arm around my mother’s waist, keeping her in place.
“We don’t keep secrets from each other.” He sends a mocking smile my way before tugging from his beer. “But when you never visit, you forget things like that.”
I barely suppress a snort. Why would I visit people who told me I was dead to them?
“Leo’s here almost every day.” Bill gestures toward my brother with his beer bottle. “Comes by after work just to say hi to his momma. And he’s getting more responsibility at the shop. Doesn’t need to beg anyone for a paycheck.”
My brother keeps his stoic routine going as my mother lets out a happy sigh. “I’m so proud, Leo. Knowing you’re part of the family business.”
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.
Am I chanting at her or myself?
Both. Definitely both.
“Leo is such a loyal boy, you know?” My mom beams between her son and her husband, as if they’re the only three people in the room. I’m only here to be the audience for the show. “Hardworking and loves his mother so much. It’s nice to have a child who does. Who cares.”
The hypocrisy is too much, and that’s the only thing I can blame my complete lack of tact on. Certainly not my constant need for petty revenge.
“Tsai Shu-fen died.”
All three faces turn toward me, finally fully acknowledging my presence.
Leo has his brows dipped in confusion.
My mom looks like I threw a glass of water in her face.
My dad’s cheeks and neck flush red. “What did you say?”
“I found out about Tsai Shu-fen. My grandmother. I met her. She passed away three weeks ago because of cancer.” Focusing fully on my mother, I let all my disappointment and anger show in my face. Drip from my voice. “I thought, as her child, you might care.”
As my parents both grapple with this info, I march up to my brother, determined to get more out of this visit than just the hollow victory of shocking Bill and Vivian Lamont.
“Hug me or I’ll put you in a headlock.” I stand next to Leo, arms spread wide, glaring to keep them from seeing how vulnerable I am in this moment. How much I need this single sign of affection from my brother.
One glimmer of hope that this man is still someone I know.
Leo snorts, but then rises from his chair and envelops me in a tight embrace. The hug feels like hope, and with us standing close, I’m able to whisper one more thing to him without our parents hearing. When I step back, my twin has wiped all emotion from his face, giving me no sign of whether he’ll follow my whispered directions.
I can only hope.
CHARLIE
“You left this to the last minute, huh?”
My mother glares at me over a display of blenders. “Hush now. You going to help me or shame me?”
“Both?” I offer her the cheeky smile that always melts her glare away.
“You’re lucky you’re my only child or I’d ship you straight back to Germany. Lord knows there was less sass in my life before you came around.” As she grumbles out the words, her lips start to curl at the edges.
