Page 49 of Wasted Memories
“How do you know this? How do you know he was a missing person?” None of this made any sense to me.
She looked up at me, tears streaming down her cheeks. “They called me when it was reported. He wasn’t showing up to work, his friends were concerned-”
“Friends? He had friends? Did you know where he was this whole time?”
She pursed her lips together, not confirming my question, but I knew at that moment that she’d lied to me my entire life. All those days I spent crying about the fact that my father didn’t love me enough to be in my life or let us know where he was, she knew. She knew where he was this entire time and she made the decision not to tell me or my brother.
“Does Ross know?”
“He does now.”
I looked away, focusing on the worn wood floors. I couldn’t stand to see the hurt look on her face, as if this wasn’t something she willingly decided to keep from us.
“I did it to protect you two, Emerson. I didn’t want you involved in the life he was mixed up in.” I could tell by her voice that she was hurting but I didn’t care.Iwas hurting. I was the one who kept getting lied to by the people who should be completely honest with me.
“That should have been a choice left for me and Ross to make, not you.”
My hand squeezed Wesley’s three times, and he squeezed once back. I wanted the hell out of here. We turned to leave and as Wesley opened the front door, Jett’s truck pulled up at the curb directly in front of my mother’s house. I stopped dead in my tracks.
“What is he doing here?” I asked my mom without turning around.
“I couldn’t get a hold of you so I called him. I didn’t know you two were no longer together.”
I bit the inside of my cheek in an attempt to hold back my frustration at this entire situation. “Yeah, well, you lost the privilege to know about my personal life a long time ago.”
Not bothering to close the door, I beelined for Wesley’s truck across the street, doing my best to ignore that Jett was getting out of his truck while staring directly at me and Wes.
“Emerson!” We had just made it around the hood of Jett’s truck when he slammed his door and began to follow us.
“Ignore him,” I muttered to Wesley, trying my best not to bolt for the truck. I wanted the hell out of here. After the news I had just been told, I was not in the mood for a confrontation with Jett.
“Emerson, wait.” Jett was trying to calm his tone. I could tell because he knew I didn’t like when he raised his voice. If he thought softening his tone would make me want to talk to him, he was sorely mistaken.
“She doesn’t want to talk right now, Jett,” Wesley said without turning around to look at him.
“Well, I do.” Of course, Jett wanted to. Why else would he have been trying to find me?
I stopped walking, swinging around to face him. Wesley turned around as well, putting his shoulder slightly in front of me as a sort of buffer between me and Jett. “I want you to leave me alone.”
“I made a mistake, Em. I’m sorry.” His face told me his apology held no weight.
“Mistake or not, I’m not coming back and I need you to accept that and move on.” I tried to keep the tremor out of my voice but it broke on the last word. Moving on was what I had to do about my now deceased father, whom I never really knew.
“You wouldn’t be on the verge of tears if you really wanted that. I know you, Emerson. Please let me make it up to you.”
“I have other shit going on, Jett. The whole world doesn’t revolve around you and your secrets.” I didn’t mean to add the last part, but I hated him. I hated him for lying, I hated my father for leaving before I got the chance to know who he really was. It was all coming out in one massive tidal wave, and I was taking it out on Jett. Afterall, he did the same thing to me. The only difference was that I wasn't putting my hands on him.
“What else would you be crying about? Him?” He moved his focus to Wesley, who had been glaring at Jett.
I appreciated the fact that Wesley was letting me handle this, between my mother and Jett, I needed to feel the control I had over my own life. I spent too long bending to the likes of others. Wesley knew me well enough now to know I could do what I needed to do on my own and that he’d be there if I needed him.
“Wesley’s the only man in my life not upsetting me at the moment, so no.”
Jett turned his focus back to me and it was clear he took that statement the wrong way. I guess anyone would if they didn’t know the context of the situation. “So you’re living up to your title then? Huh, little smokeshow?” He practically spit the words at me.
Wesley moved in front of me then, keeping one hand against my hip behind him. “That’s enough, Jett. Respect that she doesn’t want you around, and fuck off.”
“Seems like Emerson is doing enough fucking for the both of us.”
