Page 120 of Finish Line

He releases me not long after, stepping back. “Have a good night.”

I head to the hall where my room is. At the opening, I glance back and see Nick with a hand on Dad’s shoulder, talking. Since Nick is helping his dad, I head to my room.

I shower, letting the hot water relax my muscles, and escape the confrontation with my mother. I push it aside, not wanting to think about it any further.

After the shower, I put on my favorite oversized T-shirt, which I snagged from Dom, and a pair of sleep shorts.

I grab my phone and text the guys goodnight, telling them I’ll study before bed.

I receive responses from them, including another thank you from Luke. I’m glad everything worked out for him and his family.

I snuggle into bed, then review my notes until I crash.

The next morning, I wake up early.

I grab my things and head to the testing center. I didn’t want to take the test on the computer. For some reason, I thought I’d do better by taking it in person.

I enter the Family Network and Adult Literacy program building and give the receptionist my name.

She takes me back to the same room I tested in yesterday.

Five of the ten desks have people in them. She hands me the test and the Scantron sheet and tells me the instructor will tell us when we can start.

I thank her before taking my seat.

The GED testing is divided into two days. Yesterday, I completed language arts, which took one hundred and fifty minutes. Then, they gave us a small break, and we jumped to science, which took another ninety minutes.

Today, I’ll take math and social studies, which will take one hundred eighty-five minutes.

I rush to fill in the bubbles before the timer goes off, then review my answers to make sure I didn’t miss any. For once, I finish before the time runs out.

Satisfied with my answers, I hand the instructor my answer sheet and test booklet.

He explains I’ll receive an email with my results in twenty-four hours.

I thank him and leave the room, heading outside.

One step closer to freedom, I close my eyes and tip my head back, letting the afternoon sun warm my face. The beautiful day makes for a perfect opportunity to ride Serenity.

I drive the long way home, and it’s before three when I pull into our driveway.

The guys should be out of school soon, and they’ll come over to celebrate me finishing my GED tests. It didn’t matter how often I pointed out that the results won’t have been posted yet. They were adamant.

I unlock the door and step in.

As soon as I turn around after locking the door, my eyes catch something lying on the floor. It’s something familiar, but my brain struggles to recognize it.

I take a step forward, then another.

“Mom!” I race over and kneel next to where she lies on the floor.

As I roll her over, a bottle of pills falls out of her hand.

I’m such an idiot. Of course, she’s been using, given her behavior. This is my fault. I’ve been so out of it that I didn’t catch the signs.

“I thought you weren’t going to do this again.” I can’t leave her passed out here.

Peter could come home any minute, and I don’t want him to find her like this, even if I intend to tell him that she’s using again.

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