Free Nervous by Zane Page A

relationship with him, she would view that as a sign of betrayal.”
    “So your mother is more important to you than your father?”
    I sat there for a moment, pondering the question. “I can’t really say that’s it. My mother has been there for me more than my father.”
    “But has that been by choice or circumstances?”
    I shrugged. “A little of both. If he really wanted to see me, he could find me. He has my address.”
    I could feel an anxiety attack coming on and apparently so could Dr. Spencer. “Let’s not dwell on that right now,” she said. “However, in the future, you might want to consider contacting your father. He may be able to bring some closure to whatever it is that’s troubling you.”
    “I’ve thought about going to see him,” I said honestly. “But I really don’t know what I could possibly say to him at this point, being that I’ve ignored him for so long.”
    “Are his letters written in a way that makes him seem bitter or just anxious to be a part of your life?”
    “He wants to be a part of my life. My father has never been mean to me. Not ever.”
    We continued talking for another thirty minutes. I felt a little bit better when I left but far from sane. What if there really was another person living inside of me?

13
    jude
    That fuckin’ did it! Those bitches! Okay, if that’s the way they wanted to play it, so be it! If one of us was going somewhere, it sure as shit wasn’t going to be me!
    We were driving home from the psycho bitch’s office when I made Jon vanish. Fuck her!
    I decided to stop by the mall to do some shopping. Let her figure the shit out when her credit card bill came in. I had a secret place where I hid clothes I purchased behind her back. I rarely did it but I deserved a shopping spree after that bullshit she was talking in the doctor’s office.
    Things were getting out of hand. People were getting into my business that didn’t belong in it and if Jon even thought about reaching out to “Dearest Daddy,” I planned to put a stop to that shit immediately.
    I stopped by Greenbriar Mall; always a good place to find dick. Even though it was a Monday, there were still quite a few people out shopping or at least window shopping. I found two whorefits in one store and a pair of shoes to match each one in another store. Then I got a salted pretzel and some lemonade from a vendor. I sat on a bench and tried to calm down. It wasn’t happening.
    On my way home, I passed a mattress store. As usual, the parking lot was abandoned. I’d always wondered how mattress stores could stay in business because they were the only stores I knew of that always had empty parking lots. There were usually only one or two cars and those belonged to employees.
    I decided to stop, though, and fuck with whomever was working that day. Why not? There was nothing to do at home. I was going to pretend like I planned to purchase the most expensive mattress set in the store, make the person fill out a bunch of fake paperwork, and then roll out.
    I walked in and didn’t see a soul. “Hello? Anyone here?” I yelled out. There was no response. “Hey! You taking a dump or something?”
    I laughed at the prospect. Some senior citizen dude who hadn’t saved up enough money for retirement, sitting on the throne in the back embarrassed because I had caught him taking a shit.
    I decided to wait and started checking out the selections. They had some low-end sets. I tried a couple of them out and quickly realized the scam they were running. Game always recognizes game.
    The lower-priced mattress sets were so hard and uncomfortable that no one in their right mind would want to sleep on them. Thus, they would be forced, if desperate and not feeling like going someplace else, to pay more money for something better.
    Finally, I heard someone emerging from the back. I faced the storeroom door and waited for a hundred-ninety-year-old man to come out. Much to my astonishment, this sexy-ass motherfucker