AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brazen
“The case will work itself out, my boy.” Mom sets soup down on the counter near my elbow.
The smell of the broth makes my stomach roll, and I push it away from me to escape the stench.
“You need to eat, Brazen.”
I don’t respond because I know she’ll push, and I can’t sit here and argue with her about it.
“We need to talk, baby, mom to son.” She pushes, even without me saying anything.
“I love you, Mom, but I can’t handle anything else right now. Whatever you have to say can wait.” I’m going back to bed where no one can talk to me or try to force-feed me.
“Brazen Hale, you’d better sit and listen to your mother. I know things are tough and that you’re going through a lot, but you will not speak to me in a manner of which I didn’t raise you to behave. Now, sit, eat, and listen to what I have to say.”
She’s giving me the total mom face right now, the one I’ve gotten my whole life when I misbehaved.
I sit, pull the bowl in front of me, and take a slurp from my spoon. The liquid lunch tastes like battery acid sliding down my throat, but I know when not to push the woman who raised me, and this is one of those times. Across from me, my mom leans over the counter, and her eyes soften as I struggle to get down the chicken noodle soup.
“My baby boy, I love you with every fiber of my being. You have more pressing down on your mind and heart than any person should, and I understand that, but we need to adjust our focus.”
“What do you mean?” I push the bits of chicken around with my spoon.
“Grieve, and feel every bit of agony that is hitting you. I’m not saying not to. Hopefully, that’ll get easier once the cops find Matt. What I’m saying is that you need to remember that girl who is napping in your bed, too.”
Noah fell asleep about an hour ago after she got back from doing whatever it was she’d been doing to keep my head afloat with work. I honestly don’t know what she’s been doing with my business because I haven’t asked.
“Noah’s been with me constantly. What are you talking about?” I wouldn’t have made it through the first hour after we found the blood if it weren’t for Noah’s support or her ability to predict all my needs.
“That girl is more than with you constantly. I’ve never seen anything like the way she looks at you and takes care of you. She has put all your needs ahead of hers. She’s burning the candle at both ends to make sure nothing reaches you that could cause you more pain or stress. I know you don’t think I know, but I’m aware of how much of a mess you were the first couple of days, and I’m more than certain you didn’t treat her like you normally would. I’m not stupid, Brazen. I know there was a whole lot of alcohol being consumed after you got the news. The way she’s still there for you after whatever happened in those first couple of days shows a lot. I’ve always let you make your own choices when it comes to the people in your life, and I’ve never spoken up about your love life much either. But this? This, I won’t stay silent about. I need to step in.”
Guilt hits me for that day Noah spent with me in the tub.
I don’t remember most of it, and I did apologize to her already, but was that enough? I was in rare form. How rare is anyone’s guess. I didn’t push for details.
“Am I screwing things up?” Quickly, a new kind of panic surfaces within me.
“No, from what I’ve seen, you could push that girl so much further before she breaks, but I just want you to be aware of your relationship with her. Be the man I taught you to be, and put your grief aside at least for a few minutes a day and check in with her. Show her your heart, and make sure she knows how much you appreciate her.”
“You don’t think she knows?” How could she not? She’s everything to me.
Because you tried to push her away like a drunken fool.
“It doesn’t matter if she knows. It’s your job to always, always—no matter what is going on—make sure you remember to show her. That’s the man I taught you to be, and you need to be that person, no matter what is going on in your life, especially with a girl like Noah.”
I think my mom just put me on blast.
“So, what should I do, Mom?”
The eye roll I receive tells me that was the wrong question to ask.
“Give her some attention, Brazen. Check in on how she’s doing. I’m not going to hold your hand. You know what to do. Grow a pair, baby boy.” She drops the knowledge, grunts, turns, and leaves the kitchen.
On top of the wisdom she just handed down, she also gives me another gift. I smile for the first time since Noah found the blood near the side of my house.
My mom is a fucking character.
No time like the present to listen to my mama, so I push the almost full bowl of soup away and head into my bedroom to see my girl. She’s curled up on my bed with the covers pulled up over her head. I move in slow, but the bed creaks as I lie down beside her, and she stirs. The covers fly off, and Noah practically jumps when she notices me.
