AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We agreed to go to the site of Dad’s conference after I showered. Mom gave Damon the address while I went upstairs and got ready. After Mom hugged both of us, we left to the sight of her watching us go from the front door.
The envelope looked glaringly white from where I’d tossed it in the center console. I couldn’t shake how amazing and weird the morning had been. Damon’s permanent frown suggested he felt the same way, but he cranked up the music so neither of us would be able to hear each other talk.
The drive to the convention center where Dad was supposed to be giving a lecture and networking took a couple hours. We entered a large open space where people dressed in business clothes—unlike our shorts, T-shirts, and gym shoes—mingled around scattered tables. I was familiar with the venue, as Dad had brought us along to do some setup work another time he was presenting. If this conference was like that one, it would include lunch, presentations, and mixers with cocktails. It was just after lunch, so I figured it must be between sessions because so many people were in the main room.
Damon was a few steps behind me so didn’t see what I did when I rounded the corner. There was Dad, off to the side of the room, his arm wrapped a little too possessively around a blond woman. He spotted me instantly, whispered something in her ear, and as she went to look over her shoulder, he stopped her with a hand on her chin. But I saw enough of the side of her face that I could recognize her again. Was she a new secretary that he was banging?
She nodded and shifted so her face wasn’t visible as Damon caught up to me. Then she walked off in the opposite direction, her back to us. I felt rather than saw Damon stiffen at my side. My brother had seen enough to know that our father was a lying son of a bitch. He didn’t deserve Mom.
“What the fuck was that?” Damon’s voice was a hair above a whisper, but fury crackled in the undertones.
I couldn’t agree more. “Our dad being the piece of shit we know and hate.” Finally, Damon and I were on the same page about our lying father.
We stopped in front of him, uncaring that a number of people milled about. I handed him the envelope. “This is from Mom.”
Damon widened his stance, and I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to stop the urge to hit him from becoming a reality.
“We’re not leaving until you open it.” Anger coated Damon’s words.
“What is this about?” Dad’s gaze ping-ponged between us.
“It's about Mom. She was awake, dressed, and making breakfast this morning even though you continue to hurt her.”
“To cheat,” Damon clarified.
Dad started to put the letter into his pocket.
“No.” The word lashed out from me. I wasn’t going to let him control the situation. “Open it now.”
His brows furrowed, but he slid his finger under the flap and broke the envelope’s seal. His eyes traveled over the handwritten words then went wide before he cursed and pushed past us, running toward the exit.
“What was that about?” Damon wondered out loud.
“I don’t know, but I’ve got the feeling it wasn’t a love letter like Mom said.” We exchanged worried looks then raced after Dad. We saw his car as he sped out of the packed parking lot.
We located our car, got in, and sped out of there as fast as Dad had. Damon and I spent the drive home in tense silence, as it seemingly took far longer to get home than it had to arrive at the conference. By the time we got to our house, Dad’s car was parked askew in the front driveway, both the driver’s-side door and the door to the house standing wide-open.Shit.Damon and I didn’t speak. We jumped from the car and ran inside.
“Mom?” I called.
She didn’t answer. She didn’t respond when Damon called for her either. We took the steps two at a time. My heart was beating against my chest so hard that the resounding thumps were all I could hear amidst the eerie quiet of the house.
I grabbed the railing and slingshotted myself toward Mom and Dad’s wing, Damon on my heels. I could see their open bedroom door. As we were almost to it, Dad appeared, his face ashen. “Boys, get out!”
No fucking way. I side armed him, alarmed at his stricken expression and how easy it was to move him out of the way. Damon slipped into the room before me and then roared. Pushing past Dad, I launched myself into the room then fell to my knees from the invisible wall of shock that took them out from under me.
My hands fisted my hair, and I sucked in oxygen, but it wasn’t enough. Nothing was. Nothing could erase the scene in front of me.
Fully clothed, her hair and jewelry in perfect order, Mom lay on her bed with empty eyes staring sightlessly. An array of empty pill bottles littered the made bed. I didn’t want to believe what I was seeing and barely felt the tears as they blurred my vision. Damon clutched her hand, begging her to wake up.
“Call 911.” I swiveled my head to look at Dad, yelling for him to do something.
“I already have.” He hadn’t moved from the doorway, his voice filled with what sounded like remorse. “It won’t make a difference. She’s already gone.”
With a roar, I found my feet and rushed him. Grabbing a handful of his perfectly pressed suit jacket, I leaned in, the threat of violence radiating from me. I would not hit him. A physical fight wouldn’t be enough. Our faces were inches apart, and I leaned closer, making sure he read the promise in my eyes. “You’ll pay for killing her. Maybe not today, but one day, I’ll make sure you get what you deserve.”
The End
* * *
