Free Breaking Ties by Tracie Puckett

is that?”
    I didn’t answer. I didn’t tell him what I could’ve, reminding him that his mother was still alive and well. It wouldn’t have mattered. When it was only him, his own leg that was busted up and holding him back, he could see the silver lining. At least I’m alive . But when it was his mother, the fact that she was hurt completely destroyed him. He wasn’t going to say anything to make himself feel better about that.
    “She ended up at Evergreen. I couldn’t take care of her … none of us could. Having lost her ability to walk, the home seemed like the best possible place for her,” he said. “Where she lives is part of the Evergreen Estates, which she inherited from her parents when they passed. We took advantage of Mom’s position as a wealthy Bennett and checked her into the nursing home so that she could live out her life with proper care. And we knew they’d take great care of her there. I mean, she owns the place.”
    “And what about you? Did you stay with Lashell?”
    “They were my godparents, and that was a responsibility they took very seriously. They took me into their home, they raised me, and they gave me everything I’d ever need.” A small laugh escaped him, in spite of the conversation. “William believed in consistency— he would’ve loved you— and wouldn’t dare let me change schools, so he drove me to Desden every morning and dropped me off before work. He helped me with classes; she taught me to cook. In the most crucial years of my life, they became my parents. They were all I had.”
    Gabe relaxed then, leaned back in his seat, and breathed a little easier.
    “If only that were the end, huh?” he asked, shaking his head. I could see he wished as much; he wanted to leave it at that, but he didn’t. “I don’t even remember the last words my mother spoke to me,” he said. “I’m sure it was about the traffic or my mood or something. But I know that the last words were spoken in that car, and after the accident, not a word after. To anyone else, you can’t shut her up.” He gripped my hand tighter. “Our relationship was already rough after losing Dad, and then she began to recover. She was getting her life back, and I destroyed that for her. I took away the last shred of hope she had left. She’s never forgiven me for that.”
    “Gabe,” I said. “You were a kid. No one could blame you—”
    “She did. She does . And please don’t think I don’t know what kind of mistake I made. After it happened, I begged her to give me a chance. She wouldn’t. So I started skipping school. When Will dropped me off, I’d walk to Evergreen. I’d spend hours in her room, talking, reading, trying . I still go. Every day. And nothing.”
    “You can’t blame yourself for how things happened,” I said. “Accidents happen.”
    “It shouldn’t have happened.”
    “You were a kid,” I said again. “So you made a mistake.”
    “A mistake that’s cost me nearly six years with my mother,” he said. “Mandy, I even enlisted in the military straight out of high school, thinking that would somehow help me prove myself to her. I wanted her to look at me, to see that I could follow in Dad’s footsteps. I wanted her to be proud of me. I thought something, somewhere, someday might be good enough to win her affection again. Look where that’s gotten me.”
    He let out a long breath and looked down to the food the waitress had delivered sometime during his long-winded speech. Neither of us had noticed the plates in front of us until that moment. He gently pulled his hand away from mine and nodded at the food. We each started in on our plates, one slow bite at a time.
    After a few seconds of silence, he looked up again and asked, “What about your Mom?”
    “ My mom?”
    I didn’t want to talk about her. But, yeah. I owed him that. After everything he’d said, everything he told me, it wasn’t exactly fair to hold out on him.
    “Bailey’s mentioned her a few