Page 81 of The Naughty List
“I was going to ask if you’d be willing to come down to the group home. Talk to the kids. Maybe we could do it together. Tell them about the hell we put each other through as kids and how we wish we could’ve found other ways to deal with our anger and our issues. Let them see that their actions have consequences. I train a few kids there with histories of abuse and short fuses and I think they’d really benefit from hearing from you.”
Joey contemplates the request for a minute then nods slowly. “Yeah, I could probably fit that into my busy schedule.”
Jonah’s smile is wide and I can feel the weight of his pain lifting. “Cool. I’ll call you with a date and time. I can send someone to—”
“I can drive him,” Jen breaks in. “We have a van.”
Jonah stands, pulling me up with him. “Okay, well we won’t take up anymore of your day. It was good to see you, Joe.”
“Don’t be a stranger,” Jen says as she walks us to the door.
“Speaking of,” Joey says, addressing me. “You ever get tired of him, you know where I live. I might not look like much in this chair, but you’d be surprised what I can do with all the parts that still work.”
“There’s the Joey I remember,” Jonah breaks in. “Don’t be playing the sympathy card with my girl, man. I don’t want to have to knock you out again. I can only afford so many houses.”
The guys do some type of mock boxing, then Jonah leans down and Jen and I watch as they hug. It’s tight and lingering and Joey pats Jonah solidly on the back several times.
My eyes fill with tears and I’m not even sure why.
Maybe because I know Jonah needed this. Because I see now why he’s tortured himself for so long.
Maybe, after today, he can finally stop.
Epilogue
1 Year Later
“You sure you’re ready for this?”
I swallow thickly. Several people inside the house we’re about to enter are armed.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Which is not ready at all.
We tread carefully, pretending it’s the snow on the sidewalk slowing us down but most of it has melted to slush. Achilles looks at me like he knows I’m stalling and is annoyed.
Hollis’s mom opens the door before we even knock and I figure she was waiting for us. She gives me a hopeful smile but I see the apprehension in her eyes. She’s worried for me. Hell,I’mworried for me.
I take in as much oxygen as my lungs will hold, wishing for the first time in a long time that I still drank. A little liquid courage would be nice right about now.
Addison gives Hollis a hug and tosses me a thumbs up over her shoulder.
She must’ve told her then.
Mikey, Tony, and Hollis’s dad stand and greet us.
Hollis’s dad is the first to call me out. “So, what’s this big announcement?”
This past year, I’ve become a part of the Rossi family.
As a kid, I dreamed about Sunday dinners and holidays and having people to just generally give a shit about me. I never thought I’d ever actually have it. And now that I do, it’s terrifying knowing I might be about to piss them off and risk losing it.
Hollis ushers her mom and Addi into the kitchen, leaving me alone with her dad and brothers. Ache gets comfortable with Hollis’s mom’s dog by the fireplace and I am on my own. So much for man’s best friend.
I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans and look her father in the eye.
“Well, sir, actually, it’s more of a question.”
Mike and Tony glance at one another then level me with matching stares.
