Page 88 of Lost & Found

“You need to calm down on the beers, Jax. You’ve only been here for forty-five minutes.” He stands from his chair and sticks his hands in his pockets.

I just roll my eyes at him.

“Mom is in debt. But it’s not her fault. And if you have to ask whose fault it is, then you’re dumber than I thought. But you can’t blame her for asking you for help. She knows I don’t have the money. And like I said, some people don’t have a choice.” He finishes the last of his lemonade as I bite down on the inside of my lips to his confession.

“Mom talked about you when you were gone. I heard her crying on the phone one day, she was in her room, and she didn’t know that I was listening. I don’t know who she was talking to, but she said that she was proud of you for getting out and doing something you love. She was proud of both of us for it. I don’t know why she treats you differently. But I think it’s something beyond either of us can understand. Sometimes people go through shit that we don’t understand.” Kylan drops his money on the counter and turns to walk away. But he doesn’t get far.

“And Jaxon?”

I turn to look at him.

“Don’t fuck this up with Hollis. When you left, I still had a few years here and…” he looks down at his feet before continuing. “She also has a story that isn’t mine to tell. But you need to not fuck this up. And I’d start with sobering up for family dinner.” And then he leaves me.

He leaves me to process all of that information in a head-full of beer and anger. Two things that don’t mix well. How the fuck am I supposed to deal with what he just said…but also didn’t say at the same time?

I ask the bartender for my check, and I hand her my credit card. She takes the card but comes back with nothing at first.

“Keys,” she demands as she holds her palm out to me.

I look at her like she’s stupid.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m going to keep your card until you give me your keys.” She eyes me incredulously, like she can't believe why I would even consider driving in the obviously buzzed state I’m in.

“You can’t do that,” I argue anyway, and she simply points to a sign on the wall that states that she clearly can.

She's just doing her job. But I still groan disappointedly when I realize I have to cough up the keys to my ride. I didn’t want to go to that stupid dinner anyways. But now I’m going to be late,andI have to walk.

Great.

I toss her the keys to my Harley and she finishes up paying me out, giving me back my card exactly like she said. I stuff it in my pocket along with my fucking dignity and pride and start my trek to what I can already predict is going to be a blast of a family reunion.

thirty-one

Hollis

“Hollis,canyouaddice to the pitchers and set them on the table? They’re going to be here any minute now.” My mom says with stress gripping her tone. I think she just wants this to be perfect since this will be the first time we’ve all been together in so long.

They tried to reunite us the day Jax came back into town, but he and I had other plans. His were to seek me out and mine were to avoid him. Now look at us.

“Relájate, mi amor. Va a estar bien.” My dad is trying to calm my mom down a bit and let her know that everything is going to be okay, and then I notice her shoulders drop.

Mom hasn’t so much as talked shit about my outfit today or given me the stink eye. Though, I feel like I did put in a bit more effort to satisfy her taste today. I decided to wear the only nice-ish pair of gray and black plaid dress pants I have, and I rolled them up a few times above my ankle. I paired them with a plain black, ribbed, long sleeve shirt, tucked into the waistband of my pants and I have on my black combat boots. I have my hair up halfway in a messy top knot and my makeup is minimal.

I think my mom likes my outfit too because she complimented me when I got here this morning to help. Either that or she’s loosening up her judgment just a tad and allowing me to be myself which I’ve long awaited for.

Her and Daddy seem like they’re in a really happy place as well. All morning they’ve been singing and dancing while cleaning and cooking. It brings a smile to my face. I love seeing their love and I hope that one day, I might have that kind of love too.

I arrived earlier this morning because I knew it was what my mom wanted, though she didn’t ask. I’ve been helping her prepare dinner and do some chores. We haven’t missed a beat all day. Delanie, her husband, and the boys are all supposed to be here soon; I can tell my mom is worried this won’t go the way she wants it but I have no worry in the world. I’m excited to see Jax more than anything, but I’m also in the best mood I’ve been in for a while.

“Mom.” I approach her as I grab the pitchers out of her hands. I set them down on the counter next to us and rest my hand on her shoulder. Her bright smile forces itself across her face as her light colored eyes stare at me with nervousness.

“It’s going to be fine. You know Delanie literally couldn't care less if this dinner caught fire. She’s your best friend and I think you’re only nervous because we used to do this all the time. And now it seems foreign, but I promise it’s going to be fine, just like Daddy said.” I squeeze her shoulder gently and her smile paints itself more genuinely.

“You’re right. I’m overthinking this. I just, I miss those days, ya know?” I drop my hand as she tilts her head at me.

“I know, Mom. Me too,” I admit thinking about how much fun family dinners with Jax’s family had been. We’d gather most Sundays and sometimes we’d do breakfast but a lot of times we did dinner. We’d turn on the Cowboys game and hang out, play games, make smores in the backyard.

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