Page 11 of Forever Always

I wasn’t even gonna talk about the condition of it. It was fuckin’ disgusting. I was suddenly really grateful that Riley insisted we take care of our apartment, even if it was a shithole. At least it was livable.

Someone was on the toilet and screamed at us as we barged in. I ignored them and stalked right to the shower, where I cranked the cold water all the way up. I looked back down at my sperm donor who was panting on the floor and glared at me.

“Get in the shower, Michael. You fuckin’ reek.”

He spit by my feet. “Fuck you.”

“Is that all you know how to say?” I took his arm again and hauled him into the ice-cold water, clothes and all.

“Ahh! You fucking bitch!”

I rolled my eyes. “Shut up. Get fuckin’ clean.”

Dad used the faucet handles to pull himself up to stand. He was swayin’ but seemed steady enough on his feet. I backed up and leaned against the sink, arms folded across my chest, and waited.

For 5 fucking minutes, he just stood there in his soaked clothes and didn’t move. He didn’t try to get the water warmer, didn’t try to wash himself, nothin’. Finally, I took pity on him and shut it off. There was a towel crumbled up on the floor. I had no idea what it had been used for and it probably was crawlin’ with disease. I tossed it at his face.

“Dry yourself. Fuckin’ pathetic.”

It took a while to get Dad out of the bathroom and find him something dry to wear. Finally, though, we managed, and he went to lie down on his bed, his eyes immediately closing. Yeah, I didn’t fuckin’ think so.

I loomed over him and slapped him in his face. I grinned when his eyes flew open in rage.

“What the fuck was that for?” Oh, I don’t know, payback for all the times you hit Riley and me? I closed my eyes, so I didn’t fall down that path of thinking. I’d never be able to fuckin’ control myself if I did.

“Where is it, Michael?” I asked instead.

He blinked at me like I was the insane one here. “Where is what?”

Fuck, I wanted to hit him again. “Don’t fuckin’ lie to me. Where is the money you stole from us? Cause I know you did.”

He looked genuinely confused. For a second, I had doubt. Maybe it wasn’t him? But no, he was just so out of it, he probably couldn’t separate one time from any of the others.

“What money? I took a lotta money from a lotta people. It’s hard to keep track.” I scrubbed my face with my hands. Why the fuck did I even bother? This was just fuckin’ great. Who had he stolen from besides us? I didn’t need some fuckin’ drug dealer or bookie showin’ up at our apartment, lookin’ to collect the money he took.

“You drained Riley’s college bank account. I want that fuckin’ money.”

His eyes lit up in recognition. Ah, he did remember. Then he snorted and shrugged. “Always thought he was better than us,” he mumbled.

I squeezed my hands into fists and closed my eyes. Don’t kill him. Don’t kill him. He’s not worth the murder charge.

“Where. Is. The. Money?”

“I don’t fuckin’ know. Just go the fuck away.” Dad closed his eyes and turned away from me, apparently done with this conversation.

Well, I was done with him. My fist hit the wall before I realized what I was doing. There was an immediate dent in the thin ass drywall. I did it again, satisfied as my fist went right through it.

Dad didn’t bother sitting up, but he did scowl at me. “What the fuck was that for?”

“Lucky it wasn’t your goddamn face, Michael. I’m done with you.”

He just shrugged. “Good.”

“Don’t you dare come to Ri and me beggin’ for money when you can’t pay the rent on this dump. We’re not helpin’ you anymore.”

Dad shrugged. “I don’t need help from you, you fucking freak. Always had a hard-on for the kid.”

What the fuck was that supposed to mean? He meant Riley. He always did when he said shit like that.

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