Page 10 of Forever Always

“I promise.”

Ri jumped up, and wrapped his arms around my neck. “Thank you, Beckett! Fuck. Thank you! I thought for sure I was gonna have to go behind your back. Thank you for makin’ it so I don’t gotta lie to you. I don’t ever want to lie to you.”

Well, that was like a fuckin’ dagger to my heart. We needed to move. I didn’t really care how anymore, but this fuckin’ place was poison. Riley deserved so much more than this. So, so much more. I didn’t know what I was gonna do, but I would get him out of here, no matter the consequences.

CHAPTER 3

BECKETT

I shot Riley a text after my shift was over that I was gonna be home late. I knew he had questions, but luckily, he didn’t ask them. He was busy gettin' ready for work anyway.

I wasn’t gonna do anything stupid, but I couldn’t let what that asshole did go completely. If there was a slight chance he had any of the money left, I needed to take it. Plus, he couldn’t fuck with Riley like that. I had words for him. And maybe some fists.

Dad lived in a shitty rent-by-the-month room in a boarding house toward the outskirts of the city. It was supposed to be drug free, but no one monitored them so it was basically a drug den. As long as they paid their rent, the landlord didn’t care. And because Ri and I were fuckin’ suckers, Dad’s rent was always paid on time. I kept reasoning to myself it was better to pay it than him tryin’ to live at our place even if deep down, I knew I was just an enablin’ piece of shit who still remembered the man before he lost himself to grief, drugs, and booze. Yeah, he was always a bit of an asshole, but he’d loved us once. I was pretty sure anyway.

I got off at the bus stop about half a mile away from the boarding house. There was one closer, but I needed to walk to get out of my head before I saw the fucker.

It wasn’t cold, but I felt a chill deep down in my bones, one that even my hoodie and my hands in my pockets wasn’t gonna help.

Finally, I reached the building. It looked as rundown on the outside as it was on the inside. Most people who walked down the street probably thought it was an abandoned building. I stood in front of it, as I tried to calm my nerves. It wasn’t that I was nervous about confronting the shithead, but I was afraid today would be the day that I’d lose it and kill him. The temptation got stronger with every time he failed us. But I didn’t want to catch charges and leave Riley alone. I had to remind myself of that, sometimes.

Fuck it, let’s get this shit over with. I walked up the cracked path, and ignored the overgrown weeds and dead grass. The porch steps were a fuckin’ hazard, and I skipped the third step out of habit.

The door wasn’t locked, there was no fuckin’ point, so I pushed it open and braced myself for the smell. It was the first thing I always noticed when I came over here. Nobody ever cleaned this place. As soon as I walked in, I nearly tripped over a woman who was passed out in the entryway.

“Fucking Christ.” There was a guy sittin’ on the floor a few feet away. He was swaying and his eyes were glassed over like he was in another world, but he was breathing.

“Is she alive?” I asked him.

The guy shrugged. “I think so.”

I guessed it was good enough. I stepped over her and headed right for the stairs. I couldn’t be in this place longer than I had to be.

The stairs inside weren’t in any better shape than the ones outside. The wood was rotted and there were actual holes big enough for your foot to get caught in. This place wasn’t even worth the fuckin’ rent we paid for it. And we didn’t pay a lot.

There were more people in the hallway. I ignored them and went to the room that was supposed to be Dad’s. I didn’t bother knocking and pushed it open with way more force than was necessary.

I was kinda shocked to see him there. It was always hit or miss whether he’d actually be home when I showed up. What wasn’t surprising was him passed out in his own fuckin’ vomit. I was so sick of this shit.

I waded through the trash and stuff I didn’t even wanna think about until I got to where he was lying, and kicked him in the side hard. I didn’t know if I was relieved or disappointed when he grunted in pain. The guy was like a fuckin’ cockroach. He just wouldn’t die.

“Get up, Michael.”

“G’ way.”

“Yeah, not gonna happen. Let’s go. Up and at ‘em. You and me are gonna have a little chat.”

“Fuck you.”

“Real original. Let’s go.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him up. He grunted in shock but otherwise didn’t fight me as I literally dragged him across the floor and out into the hallway.

Michael Cooks used to be a good-looking guy. Hell, I looked a lot like him. We used to have the same dirty blonde hair and dark-blue eyes. We had the same nose, but mine never healed right after the second time it was broken. It should have been obvious we were related, but years of hard living had done a fuckin’ number on him.

He was so skinny that my fingers practically touched when they wrapped around his bicep. His bones were so brittle, I could probably snap his arm with one hand. So tempting.

“Get the fuck off me,” he slurred. I wasn’t sure if he was still high or just tryin’ to come back down. I didn’t care.

I didn’t let go as he half stumbled, half got dragged down the hallway and to the shared bathroom.

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