Page 16 of Vengeance

How hungry does this boy go to bed most days? “A quesadilla, a taco, and what else?”

“That’s a lot of food, Tara,” he says matter-of-factly.

Smirking, she looks down at him. “Yeah, and?”

“What if we don’t eat it all?”

“Then we’ll throw it away,” she says and gasps. “I know... I’m a rebel.”

A glimmer of hope sparkles in his eye. “I can really get more than that?”

“You can get the whole menu for all I care, but I think that might be more than a little wasteful. Unless Ty was here. We’d definitely be able to eat the entire menu if he was with us.”

“That is a lot,” he agrees and nods. “Okay, how about a quesadilla, two tacos, and the crunchy potatoes?”

“Oh, that sounds good. Let’s get a large potato so I can share. If that’s okay with you.”

He nods. “Of course!”

“Can I help you?” a teenage girl asks from behind the till.

Tara smiles at her. “We’ll take a chicken quesadilla, two soft shell tacos, two crunchy tacos, and a large potato with two medium drinks.”

“Would you like any salsa, nacho cheese, or guac for the potatoes?”

Her eyes look down at Matty. “Nacho cheese?”

Nodding, he smiles. “Yes, please.”

“And a side of nacho cheese. Heck, throw in a side of guac, too. I’m feeling wild today.”

Matty giggles, and Tara hands her card to the girl. He grabs the two glasses and moves to the soda machine to fill his. Moments like this give her a glimpse into the boy she used to know. The boy he should be allowed to be.

After their number is called, she carries the tray while he carries the drinks to an empty table, and she watches him scarf down his food.

“Be careful, or you’ll give yourself a bellyache, bud.”

“Sorry,” he says, his mouth full. “I’m hungry.”

“I can see that.” Her eyes watch him as she carefully takes a bite of her own food. “Matty, I need to know what Lenetta does at home.”

The quesadilla freezes just below his mouth. “Why?”

“Because I do.”

Sighing, he sets his food on the plate and looks at the table. “She does different things depending on how angry I make her.”

“Like what?”

“There’s the wooden spoon she hits me with, and sometimes she locks me in my room for a day. She won’t let me out to go to the bathroom or eat. Those are the worst. I’ll take the spanking any day.”

Her jaw drops. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but it wasn’t this. “Oh, Matty.”

“I only have seven more years,” he says with a small smile and starts eating again.

He’s counting down until he turns eighteen. This woman needs to be taught a lesson. A very painful lesson.

“Tara?” Matty asks as he dips a potato into the cheese. “Can I ask you something?”

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