Page 54 of Falling in Reverse

“Y-yeah,” Dad says off an exhale, and I immediately notice how he almost said one solid word without trouble. “A p-p-pa-in in t-t-he asssss.”

I laugh, feeling Mae cuddle closer to me as I cover my mouth to keep from waking her up.

“Careful, Roger,” Levi declares. “I’m the one that snuck you in a beer the other night.”

Dad immediately glares at him.

Clearly, that was a little secret, because Dad knows I’d bitch at him for going against not the doctor’s orders.

However, I’m so placid with hanging out with my fam that I don’t currently give a shit.

“You need to pick a better buddy, Dad,” I tell him. “He sucks.”

“You swallow,” Levi retorts, and I wish to God I had something to throw at him besides one of my sister’s bodies.

He begins laughing at his own joke, and Dad chucks his metal spoon at him, almost nailing him in the foot, which only makes him laugh harder.

Seriously, such an asshole.

“I’m thinking some sort of laxative in his food. What do you think, Dad?”

“Y-y-yes.”

I wink at him, and I see a ghost of a smile illuminate his lips as my cell phone buzzes in my lap.

Picking it up, I have a text message from Travis.

TRAVIS: Hey, Bay. Are you up?

My palms immediately begin to sweat post-haste with the anxiety I’ve felt for four days.

This is it.

This is where my life either stays the same or somersaults into oblivion.

Travis was able—don’t know how—to get into a lab ASAP and promised me results I really didn’t want. Despite that, it’s the way my fucking cookie is crumbling right now.

I glance over at Dad, watching Marty McFly drive his mother to the prom, a wave of ease placed on his face that I haven’t seen much of since his health declined.

Nothing is going to change how I feel about that man.

Nothing.

BAY: Hey, I’m here.

TRAVIS: How are you doing?

Oh my God, I love this dude, but I’ve never been into small talk.

BAY: Dying over here. Did you get the results back?

TRAVIS: Yeah.

TRAVIS: You’re his daughter, Bay.

No.

Nausea washes over me so quickly that I almost become dizzy. My fingers death drip the edges of my phone so hard that my knuckles turn white.

---