Free One and Done (Two Outta Three #2) by S. Briones Lim Page B

help, you worthless excuse for a mother!”
    Mom’s pale lips trembled slightly, and even behind her bloodshot eyes I saw pain. Now, I may not have been perfect, and though I was hurt, I still found it in myself to feel a bit horrible. That guilt was short-lived.
    “You son of a bitch!” she screamed back, chucking a pair of sneakers toward my face.
    I dodged the rubber soles just in time and smacked my tongue in anger. I refrained from reminding her that technically, she would be the bitch in that situation, and kept my face cold. “Have fun taking care of yourself, you leech.”
    “Don’t you even dare set foot into this house again! Stay away from me.” An audible sob escaped her throat as she turned back to wrecking more of my stuff.
    Feeling emotionally exhausted, I finally lost all my will to fight back. Swallowing twice, I took a few steps away from the window and asked, “When’s Dad coming?”
    Instead of answering, she pushed herself from my closet and walked toward my bedroom door. Turning at the threshold, she lifted her chin. “Goodbye, Jesse.”
    I laughed, not knowing what else to do. “Goodbye indeed.”
     
    ***
     
    A cold breeze traveled up the thin cotton of my shirt. Trying hard to fall asleep, I shivered and curled up tighter, burying myself in the scratchy dead grass of our lawn. I stared at the piles of clothing littering the yard, and though I was tempted to throw some on, my pride stopped me. I didn’t want any of that stuff. If Mom was keen on throwing me out, I didn’t want anything she touched.
    I must have finally dozed off, because I didn’t hear him walk up beside me. In fact, I didn’t even wake up until I felt the toe of his shoe nudge me slightly against the shin. “Jesse? What the hell are you doing out here?”
    It was as if Hades himself had manifested in front of me. I froze, debating on whether to pretend to continue sleeping or whether to jump to my feet and run away.
    “Jesse?” he repeated curiously.
    Deciding that it was probably better to bite the bullet, I pried my eyes open and pushed myself into a seated position. “You got here fast.”
    “I rushed over once your mother called me. Needless to say, I am very disappointed in you.”
    My blurry vision cleared to find a man who looked a bit older than the last time I’d seen him. Lines now bordered his lips and around the corners of his eyes…Wait a minute. Those new lines and wrinkles weren’t from old age—they were from happiness. Laugh lines, smile lines…Dad was happy. I didn’t know whether to feel angry, betrayed, or even jealous.
    “Surprised you cared,” I muttered, tempted to lay back down to warm myself. “Guess there’s a first time for everything.”
    Dad took a deep breath and bent forward, grabbing onto my arm. “Let’s warm you up. You’re freezing cold.”
    He didn’t have to ask me twice. Instead of fighting back, I allowed myself to be led toward his car—a brand new SUV, which looked out of place along our beat-up street.
    “Far cry from the old beater, eh?” I snorted.
    “Jesse, don’t start,” Dad warned. “I’ve come into a lot of money considering my paycheck isn’t being used to fund a drug addiction.”
    “You could have stopped that, you know,” I reminded him. I jumped into the front seat, and though I tried my hardest not to look too grateful, I couldn’t help myself. I let out a sigh of relief as the blast of the heater warmed my face. The feeling once again returned to my skin as my body thawed itself slowly—painfully.
    “Same goes with you,” Dad snapped.
    “I’m the child, remember? You should have acted like an adult for once instead of running away.”
    Dad’s eyes shut tightly and his chest heaved up and down. His nostrils flared slightly, creating a wheezing noise as the air passed in and out.
    I let out my own puff of air. “Feeling guilty, eh?”
    Eyelids snapping open, he turned to me and scowled. “If you recall, I’ve been sending you