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“Fine! I’ll think about it. Happy?”
I grin at her. “Yes. Want a waffle?”
CHAPTER4
Breakfast is crappy, but my mom’s smiling a little at least, and what’s better is that she doesn’t pick at her food. She actually eats it.
As for me, I opted to have a bagel. I toasted it. It didn't pop up. The bagel burned badly, and I don't know how the smoke detector didn't go off. In the end, I have a waffle, but mine is somehow so much soggier than my mom's. I'm a texture person when it comes to food, so I have to gag it down.
The bottom line, though, my mom's depressed. When we get to the room, she showers and then lies back down. All she wants to do is sleep.
She wants to escape her life, and it's no small wonder. Her life is a living nightmare.
I’m serious about the Europe idea, though. I can’t imagine my father being able to easily track her there, so long as she uses a fake name. I mean, the flight might not be able to be under a fake name, but she does have some funds that she managed to siphon away from my father. Clearly. How else would we be in this hotel room?
“There’s England, Ireland… What about Scotland?” I murmur to myself, basically mouthing the words since I don’t know if my mom’s asleep by now.
I write up a list of countries for her to consider when I spy an ad pop up on my screen for a cruise to the Greek Isles. Obviously that's because of my search history, and that's not a long-term solution for my mom, but what if I could use a cruise as a stepping stone? My mom might be more amendable to that idea, but what should I have us do? Where should I have us go? Where might my mom want to go?
We have to be economical about the whole thing because I don’t want her to use up too much of her funds. Let’s see… many, it’s crazy how many deals there are on cruises, especially if you go last minute! Wow, I had no idea.
We only ever went on one cruise together as a family. I was five, I think. I don't remember much about it other than how much my father complained about how he hated it. He didn't like this or that, the way that he had to eat his meals at a certain time of day, and so on. Honestly, who cares when you have to eat? Doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me. Some beach and sun… a chance for my mom to let down her hair and get away from it all… If she can picture herself removed from my father, maybe she'll be able to agree to Europe after all.
I glance over at her. She’s clearly sleeping. She’s drooling a little. My heart aches for her. Some might think she’s foolish for having not realized that the Thunder Crows were more than just a motorcycle club, but I don’t. It’s funny how closed all of our eyes had been, but now that they’re open, I can see just how manipulative he’s been over all of us throughout the years. Our father has never had our best interests at heart. He’s only ever been about building his clout and influence. He was the right-hand man to the guy who was the leader of a mafia. A leader who went up against another motorcycle club out in California. Erika was involved in all of that.
Not me. Once I get my mom away to safety, that’s it. I’m done. I’m out. I’ll head off to college, and if I never see my father again, it’ll be a happy life.
My mom needs to think the same thing. She needs to set herself free.
She’s helped to prepare me for college and the next phase of my life. She’s ready to shove me out of the nest.
The thing is, I’m going to shove her out of the nest first, and I’ll make sure she can spread her wings and fly before I do the same.
We’ll get through this, Mom and me. Kyle’s already free. We’ll follow in his footsteps, even if we all end up in different places once everything is said and done.
CHAPTER5
Iwait until we head out to a fast food joint for lunch to broach the subject.
“You know, Mom… I was thinking… It might be nice to get away, just the two of us.”
My mom glares at me. I hand her a napkin and unwrap my chicken sandwich, but she makes no move to grab her food.
"What's wrong?" I ask, confused. I didn't even have time to mention what I have in mind, and she's already pissed at me.
“You are going to college, and that’s final,” she snaps. “That isn’t even up for discussion. We aren’t considering that.”
“Mom, no! That’s not what I meant at all. I was just thinking that maybe we could do something just the two of usbeforecollege starts.”
“And this has nothing to do with that other outlandish idea of yours?” she asks suspiciously.
I grin at her. “How does some fun in the sun sound?”
“Oh, honey, I don’t think I’m up for the beach right now.”
“Not any of the beaches here in Texas, but what about in Belize? Or Cozumel? Somewhere like that?”
“You want to go on vacation…”
