AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll sort it out, Maria. Thank you. See you later, Mom.”
My mother nods as she’s led away, mumbling incoherently. She’ll be okay. Maria will make sure of it.
I sink into my chair when they leave, then slam my fist on the serving tray with the breakfast my mother probably hadn’t touched from this morning. My father was a pathetic asshole and my respect for him wanes more each fucking day. It’s time I face him and tell him just what a piece of shit he is.
* * *
“Father!” I yell, barging into his office, the double wooden doors swinging against the walls angrily. At the head of a conference table, surrounded by his minions, my father looks the part of the king of an empire that extends across the globe.
“Ryder, you better have a good reason for this intrusion,” his expression is cold. Someone tells him that the meeting can be adjourned until later, but one glare from him has the man shrinking in his seat.
“We need to talk.” Crossing the massive space, I approach, standing a few feet away from him.
“You have the floor. Thirty seconds. I have a business to run, boy.” He leans back, arms crossed.
Looking around at the men and women at the table, I shake my head. “This is something that’s best said in private.”
“Whatever it is, you can say it here.”
He can’t be serious. But if he thinks a few strangers will deter me, he’s sorely mistaken.
“It’s Mom. She isn’t well.” It’s a fucking understatement.
“Oh? Well, unless you haven’t noticed, I’m not a doctor, young man.” He laughs and some others do, too. A woman casts me a sympathetic look.
“Are you fucking kidding me? She’s a mess and you’re not at home enough to see that.”
He stands and crosses the small space between us. “Watch your mouth, boy. And I believe your thirty seconds are up. Now run along home, and we’ll discuss this when I get home.”
I scoff. “And when is that? You haven’t been home in a fucking week, and I’m left to pick up the pieces while you’re out screwing your whores.”
“Get out before you regret it!” His face contorts in rage.
“I’m not leaving until you admit what a piece of shit you are!”
The blow to my face takes me by surprise and I stagger back. My father wastes no time advancing on me again, gripping me by the front of my t-shirt and slamming me into a wall. My heart thuds in my chest. This bastard actually hit me.
Shrugging him off, I push against his chest, then stumble outside. His receptionist looks at me pityingly. I hate it and man; do I hate my father.
* * *
Frat parties are the fucking worst, a waste of time, which is why I avoid them at all costs, but I’ve had a fucking shit day, and it seems like the distraction I need. Dylan comes up behind me, slapping me on the shoulder. “My man, you’re here! Whoa, what the fuck happened to your eye?”
“Just lead me to the keg. The only thing on my agenda tonight is getting wasted.”
He frowns. “You wantto get wasted? I must be in a parallel universe right now. But seriously man, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Now stop being a pussy and get me a drink.”
We push through the crowd of scantily clad girls who rub up against me. Now, this is what I need tonight. Booze and all the boobs I can manage.
A brunette with curves for days in a red dress that leaves little to the imagination catches my eye when I step outside. She’s fucking hot, and I have all kinds of plans for her tonight.
“Booze first,” Dylan laughs beside me when he notices me eyeing the girl. My friend leads me to a table where red cups are lined up. There are a couple of kegs of beer on the ground. He hands me a cup, and I tip it back and swallow the contents. I grab another. “Slow it down there, Sonic.”
“I told you, I’m here to get wasted and hopefully get a bit of action. Don’t worry, man, I’m a big boy,” I say, emptying the contents of my second cup. For years, alcohol has been a hard pass for me. I didn’t want to be like my mother, lose myself at the bottom of a bottle, battling my way through life. But being the good one hasn’t got me anywhere. Maybe my alcoholic mother has it right; perhaps the devil in the bottle is the only way to be saved.
ChapterSeven
