Free Razor's Edge (Afflictions) by Racquel Reck Page A

this kid about the dangers of people he doesn’t know, maybe with our next session. I hug him anyway. I don’t want to hurt the kid’s feelings. "You be good for your mom and go put the chair away. And if she tells me you were good, I’ll think about letting you tatt my ankle."
    "Yay!" He bounces up and down. Shay’s going to have a fun time putting him to bed. "Night, Morgan."
    I rub his mop of black hair. "Night, kiddo."
    Shay watches him cross the room as she hands me my slip to sign. "I appreciate you being nice to Ben. But you don’t really have to let him tatt your ankle."
    "Doesn’t bother me. Think of me as practice for him." I laugh.
    She’s not laughing. Shit. Did I cross the line? The scowl on her face says I did.
    “ Tatts should tell your story. The way I look at it, his tatt will remind me of a great kid and the night I got to spend with his amazing mother."
    Her jaw drops. There’s that face again, the one I like to see.
    Taking one of her business cards from the stand, I smile at her, wink, and head for the front door. Surprisingly enough, my nerves are gone. I didn’t need ganja to get me through this. I did just fine on my own.

 
     
                  Seven
     
    Shay
     
    The snow is falling fast outside my windshield. They’re calling for a blizzard and asking people to stock up on supplies. I hate the winter and the snow, but Ben loves it. School will probably be canceled tomorrow as it was today, and I can already hear his scream of excitement in my head. It does nothing to chase away the dread I am feeling as I navigate the winter-washed road.
    I should be happy that they postponed the hearing. It means he’ll be in prison until his next one. Great, there goes another two weeks of having to worry about him being released to the public. Free to come back into my life again and destroy it. They lost some of the paperwork and his lawyer couldn’t be there. I’m sure Gary is stewing with anger in his cell. That should give me some relief. It doesn’t.
    My phone rings.
    Glancing down, it’s Tryst. "Yeah."
    "Hey, Shay. Are you keeping the shop closed for a couple of days?"
    "Yeah, I am." I give him a sarcastic laugh. Like anybody is going to want to get a tatt in this kind of weather.
    "Good. We decided to stay longer."
    Yesterday Tryst went snowboarding with Morgan and Wiley. He said Wiley’s dad had a cabin and they were only going for a night. It’s a chance for them to bond before they go on tour. I think it was Tryst’s way of feeling his new friends out, making sure they aren’t the kind of band members who party with drugs. He, like me, keeps drug addicts at a distance. Yeah, it sounds judgmental, but we really aren’t. We just don’t want Ben around that.
    "You must be having a good time then."
    "Yeah, they’re actually pretty cool."
    "Okay, have fun."
    "Keep an eye on Bebe will, ya? She’s stubborn and will drive in anything."
    I keep my mouth shut about being on the road. He’d flip if he knew I was driving in this shit. Since we live in the ghetto, I never let Ben play outside. He was so depressed about not being able to go out in the snow, I solved that problem by taking him to a sled hill I used to go to as a kid. It’s about fifteen minutes from the ski lodge Tryst is at. We had a blast all day and now I want nothing more than to get home before the blizzard hits.
    "Gotcha. Bebe, no driving." Why does he care about Bebe’s safety? "What’s going on between you and her?"
    "Oh, I got to go. The guys are yelling at me. See ya Thursday." He hangs up.
    "Mom." Ben smiles at me through the rearview mirror. "Can you put on Avenged Sevenfold?"
    Smiling because my son likes the music I love, I put on Afterlife then carefully turn onto the long country road that will take us to the freeway. M. Shadows’ scream fills the car and Ben sings along with the lyrics. He knows this song by heart. Would he be as enthusiastic if it were Morgan’s band I was listening to? Need