AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She hesitated, placing her hand over his on the top of the car door. His pulse leapt at the light touch. “I'd really appreciate you talking to him. I just don't understand what has gotten into him over these past few months.”
For a moment he stared at their hands, wishing he could pull her close, but then she turned away. Josh climbed into the passenger seat and was staring sullenly out the window. Austin took a deep breath, forcing himself to maintain control.
“I'll see you at... my place.” He'd almost said home. As if Lindsey and Josh belonged there with him. Giving himself a mental shake, he closed the car door and waited until she pulled out before sliding into his truck to follow.
The ride to his house was short. He pulled into the driveway, parking beside Lindsey 's vehicle. He strode inside, finding Lindsey and Josh seated in the living room. Josh stared at the floor again, looking miserable, and Lindsey didn't appear to be feeling much better. He hated the deep grooves of worry around her eyes.
She rose to her feet when she saw him. “I'll let you guys talk while I throw in some laundry.” She caught herself and looked at him askance. “If you don't mind?”
“Of course not,” he hastened to reassure her. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel like a guest. He would rather she be comfortable. “I told you to make yourself at home.”
She nodded and disappeared down the hall toward the laundry room. He didn't think she'd appreciate knowing how much he liked having her there to share the housekeeping chores. To be honest, he wouldn't have minded doing most of the work himself, as long as she stayed with him. Tearing his mind from those ridiculous thoughts, he turned to look at Josh. He gestured to the vacant spot on the sofa. “Do you mind if I sit down?”
The kid shrugged without making eye contact. Austin purposefully sat next to him, trying to think of a way to get the boy to open up. “I think I know what you're going through.”
“Yeah, right,” Josh muttered. “You don’t.”
“I do,” he repeated. “I know you miss your dad very much. I guess school doesn't seem very important right now, does it?”
Josh shook his head. “No. It's not.”
“Are the kids teasing you? Or are you just sad over missing your dad?”
Josh was quiet for so long he was afraid the boy wouldn't answer. When he finally spoke, Austin had to lean forward in order to hear him. “The first time I left school, struggling over missing my dad, Bobby’s dad caught me. Bobby's been making fun of me ever since.”
The cop’s son? Remembering the kid and his dad in the restaurant last night, Josh’s strange behavior made sense. He and Bobby obviously had a history.
“Bobby has no right to make fun of you, but continuing to skip school isn't going to help.” He paused, then asked, “Did Bobby’s dad find you again, today?”
Josh nodded, his face grim.
That figured. Austin leaned forward. “Look, Josh, I know school seems stupid right now, but you have to pull yourself together. The last thing you need right now is to fail your classes. You don’t want to repeat fourth grade, that will only cause more teasing. Do you think your dad would want you to skip school?”
“No.” Josh hunched his shoulders again, as if he wanted to curl into a ball. “But sometimes I'm so sad I can't stand it. I leave school because I don't want any of the other kids to see me cry.”
Oh, man. He could completely understand. He wrapped his arm around Josh's thin shoulders. “Josh, I cried when your dad died. It's nothing to be ashamed of.”
Josh swiped his face against his arm and sniffled loudly. “I just miss him.”
“I know you do.” He held on to Josh tightly, wishing more than anything he'd been the one to die that day instead of Sam. “I miss him, too.”
For a long moment they hung onto each other, sharing their grief. He glanced over to see Lindsey working in the kitchen, keeping busy. These past few months must have been just as hard on her.
“Why don't you tell your mom about this?” He asked, when Josh finally pushed away.
“I don’t want her to feel sad, too. She always looks like she's gonna cry when I talk about my dad.”
Josh was protecting his mom. Austin couldn't say anything—he probably would have done the same thing.
“I wish I didn't have to see Bobby at school tomorrow,” Josh muttered.
“I know it’s not easy, but you have to learn to ignore Bobby,” Austin said firmly. “He's just a kid. There must be some way to avoid him.”
Josh shrugged. “I've tried to stay away, but he always finds me. Then he’s mean to me.”
“Is that when you were caught using bad language on the playground?” Austin surmised.
“Yeah.”
