Page 23 of Blood & Ash

“Get the fuck out of here before I stab you in the balls.”

“Knew you had a thing for me. Trying to play with my balls.”

“Daisy,” I call one of the hangarounds over.

“Hey, Blood.” She licks her lips and presses between Goose and me. “Goose. Can I do something for you?”

“Yeah, sweetheart. Take his ass upstairs.”

Goose laughs but doesn’t turn her away. I finish my beer and smoke another cigarette before I ride on home.

I pull up to the house and all the lights are on. Ashley is visible through the kitchen window, using a spoon as a microphone. When I walk in, I see Ash in the playpen, asleep, oblivious to the bubble gum pop music blaring from the speaker on the kitchen counter.

Ashley’s dancing around without a care in the world, and that’s how it should be for her.

“Hey. Martina left you a plate in the oven. I just loaded the dishwasher, and Ash has been asleep for about an hour.”

“When did Martina leave?”

“About two hours ago. I told her it was fine.”

“What’d she make?”

“You have a seat over there. In your chair. Go.”

I’m too tired to argue about it tonight. I kick my boots off and shrug off my cut, hanging it off the back of one of the barstools. I plop down on my Pop’s recliner and the music cuts off from the kitchen. Ashely brings me a beer, and a plate loaded down with mashed potatoes and gravy, fried chicken, and green beans. Gotta say it’s nice coming home to home cooking and not eating whatever mess the prospects have concocted.

I’ve not found a replacement for Momma Tee still. I try not to think about the past year.

My life has been flipped upside down, but not all of it has been completely awful.

I look over at my brother and know I’ll do anything to give him a good life.

Teach him how to be a real man.

One who doesn’t betray their family.

One who doesn’t hurt the people they love.

Unlike War.

Unlike his cunt of a mother.

Chapter Ten

“Am I seeing shit or are there a bunch of teenagers taking over the pool?” Goose asks, staring out at the scene unfolding.

There’s about fifteen of them living it up.

“It’s Ashley’s seventeenth birthday. I couldn’t say no to the pout.”

He laughs. “Or the horny little shithead grabbing her ass.”

“Fuck. I don’t want to see that shit. I told her. No drinking. They clean up after and they stay outside.”

“Let me know how that works out for you, man.”

“Where are you off to?”

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