AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She stared at me, then glanced at the others, then turned to Esther and grabbed the money from her.
“Fucking bitch,” she said, as she put the car in reverse and squealed out of the driveway, taking the turn hard and accelerating down the side street like it was the Grand Prix.
“Jesus Christ,” Esther said. She turned to me with the most apologetic expression I’d ever seen on her face. “Are you okay?”
I didn’t say anything, but I guessed she could tell that I wasn’t exactly okay, because in a minute she had stepped close and gathered me into a hug. I collapsed against her, not crying, not saying anything, just glad to borrow someone else’s strength for a moment.
“Hey, it’s okay. But we’d better get your things.”
I nodded against her jacket, preparing myself for the look on Alastair’s and Lev’s faces when I turned around.
They were standing in the same spots they’d been in before. Alastair looked furious. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever seen an expression like that on his face before.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” I stuttered, my voice trembling, as Esther handed me the forty bucks she’d confiscated and walked to Lev so she could take the drinks from him.
“We’ll be inside,” she said, as they walked to the door. “Take a minute, okay?”
I didn’t want to take a minute. I wanted to run inside, grab my stuff and get the fuck out of here. But instead, I just stood there while the anger on Alastair’s face turned into something close to pity, and I couldn’t take it.
“Let’s just get out of here,” I said.
“Toby.”
I cleared my throat. “So that’s my mom.” I tried to laugh but it came out like a choked sob, because that was what it was.
Alastair put his hands on my shoulders. “Toby, it’s going to be okay,” he said. “I promise.”
It was exactly what I needed to hear, and I nodded. “I know. But thanks for saying it.”
He moved forward but I couldn’t handle that right now. I was barely holding myself together and we didn’t have time for me to collapse in tears, which is what was going to happen if I let Alastair hug me. I held up my hand to stop him.
“Can I get a raincheck on that?”
He lowered his arms and smiled, so I knew he had me, even if I didn’t want physical contact. And it was in that moment I knew he was a keeper.
“Sure, you can. Let’s go get your stuff.”
* * * *
We were quiet on the drive back. Alastair dropped Esther and Lev off, and Esther made me promise to call her later. Lev gave me a commiserating look, and I knew their family situation was at least as fucked up as mine.
When we got to Alastair’s place, we pretended nothing weird had happened, but were subdued and quiet as we hauled my things inside and figured out where to put stuff. Like I’d said, I didn’t have much.
“I’m just gonna get settled in my room,” I said, desperately needing some time alone but not wanting to be rude to the man who’d given me this refuge in the first place.
“Okay. I’ll leave you to it. When you’re ready, we can order takeout for lunch, okay?”
“I only have forty bucks,” I said.
“It’s fine. It’s on me.”
“Okay…sure.”
And he was gone. Probably just downstairs, so that was good. I didn’t want him toleave,and besides it was his house.I just needed some space to process everything. The fact that he’d accepted that without argument was a good omen for our living together.
I dragged my box of books and miscellanies up onto the bed and sat down beside it, grabbing my dog-eared copy ofZen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenanceand starting to read it for the umpteenth time. I just needed to get out of my head and into someone else’s for a bit. Then I would be able to think clearly.
* * * *
