Page 105 of Drifting

“Brenda, give them the damn key!” Uncle Brett pleads. “What is wrong with you? How could you do this?”

She gets up, pushing me to the side as she does, and stands in front of Uncle Brett. “What’s wrong with me? How could I do this? Your daughter is wild as hell and wouldn’t listen to a damn thing I said! She thinks she’s better than me, always telling me I’m wrong. You didn’t even want to punish her when she came home.” She pokes his chest with each sentence. “You’ve always been too lenient with her.”

As Uncle Brett stands, Brenda stumbles back. “I feel stupid for not seeing you for who you truly are.” He shakes his head. “I was too busy trying to make a living for you and your rotten kids, always demanding they needed this or that. And you’re no better, Brenda, always complaining you never had the newest and greatest. You knew what you were getting into before you married me.”

I feel sorry for him; we just destroyed his life.

He stares at Brenda with hatred. “You have five minutes to pack your shit and get out of my house. You can take your two sniveling kids with you. Now, go!”

Brenda stands with her mouth hanging open. Not in her wildest dreams did she believe he’d kick her out.

I want to shout, ‘Way to go, Uncle Brett!’ but I just stand there with a small smile on my face.

Uncle Brett turns to Dom. “Do whatever you have to do to get downstairs, please.”

Dom nods, strides into the kitchen, and a moment later, I hear wood breaking. He returns to the living room with bloody knuckles and dust on his boot. “I’ll pay you for the door.”

I take his hand in mine. “Why did you hit the door? Wouldn’t finding an ax or sledgehammer have worked better?”

“In normal circumstances, yes. But if I didn’t punch the hell out of something soon, I was going to start pounding on one of them.” He smirks at Jack.

My heart does a double beat. These guys are working their way into my heart. Mav comes back into the living room first, pushing Lara off the couch. Nick follows, carrying a thin, dirt-covered Cin.

At the sight of his daughter, Uncle Brett gasps, his face turning red as he glares at Brenda. She flees into the master bedroom, and there are the sounds of things being thrown around. Lara and Jack scurry to their rooms.

Nick lays Cin on the couch, and I kneel beside her, pushing the dirty hair off her face. She doesn’t look good. Shivers wrack her body, but the bit of her I touch feels hot.

I grab the blanket off the back of the couch and cover her with it. A wheezing sound rises from her chest. “Cin, can you hear me?”

“Kind of hard not to, since you’re right beside me.” She slowly opens her blue eyes.

They look dull, not the ocean blue I’m used to. She coughs, sounding like she’s hacking up a lung.

Nick passes me a bottle of water, and I tilt her head, helping her drink some.

Settling her head back down on a pillow, I touch her forehead. “She’s boiling! She needs to go to the hospital.”

“No hospital,” she coughs out. “I don’t want to get Dad in trouble. Not his fault.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mav reach into his back pocket and pull out his phone. Dialing a number, he talks to someone in a low voice.

Uncle Brett moves closer. “I won’t get in trouble, hon. I’m so sorry. I had no idea you were down there. She told me you went to visit Shelby. How long were you down there?”

She coughs again. “Over a week, I think. She smacked me, and I fell down the steps,” she says in between coughing fits. “Jack brought me food and water once a day.”

Mav tucks his phone away. “I called our doctor, who we have on retainer. He said it’s best if she goes to the hospital. She needs tests and shit, but he can be here in five minutes. I told him what her symptoms are, and he thinks it might be pneumonia.”

“Thank you, young man. I’ll take her to the hospital as soon as I get rid of three pieces of trash.” Uncle Brett storms into the master bedroom and all hell breaks loose.

Things break, and there’s lots of swearing. When he comes out of the room, he has his hand firmly clasped around Brenda’s upper arm, dragging her to the door. She’s swearing up a storm.

“Would you mind getting the other two from upstairs?” he yells toward Dom and Mav over the top of Brenda’s head.

“No, sir, we don’t mind at all.” Mav smiles sadistically. “We’d be glad to get rid of the trash.”

Mav and Dom stomp up the steps.

A moment later, Lara shrieks, “Get your hands off me!”

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