Page 90 of Toxic Wishes

She needed to stop saying that. It was starting to piss me off. But before I can say anything, she walks off, sliding into the passenger seat.

She looked out the window the whole drive, so bringing up Blake was a bad idea right now, even though I still had lots of questions. An image of her tattoo flashed in my mind from last night, and I still wondered how she got it or if they went to get it together.

At the same time, I wanted to push her away and keep her close. So, I had to give myself a pep talk the whole drive.

Drop off her shit and go home. She’s not my concern. I prayed she lived in a decent home, because if she lived in some trailer park, I would not even stop and entertain that idea.

I'm surprised when we pull up to her parent's house. I pictured some run-down dump. A tiny house. But this was an upper-middle-class neighborhood. Why would she not want to stay here instead of that tiny apartment in my lakehouse? My apartment was only 850 square feet. This house had to be easily over 3,000. I pull into her parent's driveway and park the car. She turns to me, giving me a puzzled look.

“Is it okay if I come in and use your parent's restroom? I drank lots of coffee, and then that healthy smoothie you made ran right through me.” I asked her.

She holds back a smile. But it’s her eyes that always give her away.

In the short time I’ve been around her, I noticed they light up when she tells a funny joke or when she’s being honorary. Or when she looks at Bodie when he talks. Or when she listens to a song on the radio, she bounces her head to the beat when she thinks no one is looking.

“Ya, sure,” she says, opening my car door. I follow behind her. She punches in a code on the siding of her garage, allowing the garage door to open. We walked inside, and I was blown away by how much stuff was in the garage. And it wasn’t tidy like you would think since the house was so lovely on the outside.

Great landscaping, too.

We entered the garage, and she opened the door, leading us into the laundry room.

“There is a bathroom down the hall to the left.” She says.

I hear a lady talking to herself, and then a man shouts, “Shut the garage! You’ll let the bugs inside.”

Is this how her parents always greeted her? Not very welcoming. I decided I would use the restroom and then introduce myself since my bladder was about to explode.

When I was done relieving myself, I searched for Abigail to tell her goodbye.

“Ya, can you believe that?” A lady stops when she sees me in the hallway and says. “Oh, I thought you were Abigail. I heard her come in. Are you here for the yard? Micheal, did you call the yard guy today?” She shouts as she lifts her chin over my shoulder.

“No,” I frown at her. “I’m one of Abigail's friends. Her car died, so I brought her home.”

“Oh, great. She can ask her dad for help, but I doubt he’ll give her money to fix it. I kept telling her she needed to be taking care of that car since it was the last one she’d see from her dad. Oil changes are everything.”

“I checked the oil myself. It’s not that. It’s her battery and I think it needs to be replaced, or there may be some engine issues.”

“Well, I don’t know how she’ll pay for a new engine.”

Unlike Abigail’s vibrant eyes, this woman’s eyes seemed lifeless.

I couldn’t believe what I was even hearing.

Did she even say hello to her daughter? Does she even care who I am? I could be a serial killer or a kidnapper, and she would have no idea since she was in her own world, babbling on.

“I’m Colt, by the way.” I hold out my hand.

“Nice to meet you.”

Taken by surprise, she reaches out. Her grip is fragile in my large hand. She is petite like Abigail. I tower over her, and it reminds me of how helpless Abigail is. I see a slight resemblance, but not too much. We break our hands free.

“I’m Josh’s brother.”

“Josh? Josh? Abigail, have I met Josh?” She shouts over her shoulder.

Does this lady not believe in going up to the person to ask them a question.

“Mom, where is my bed?” I hear Abigail say as she rounds the corner coming up behind her mom.

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