Page 28 of Fighting the Tide
“The boy is out of his mind!I don’t owe a thing!”His words are slurred and his pupils are pinpoints in the center of his irises, the whites of his eyes the color of a mucus yellow.Right now, in front of us, he’s fucking high.
“Ten thousand, Ma,” I grit out between my teeth.“Ten thousand dollars has to be paid within a week, or his dealer and his gun are coming to pay us all a visit.”
“Oh my God!”Mom comes to stand beside me, her hand pressed to her stomach as she looks down at my father with disgust.“That’s it, Anthony.You’re out.I never want to see you back here again.”Then I watch as she turns and stomps back into the house just as my father makes it up to his knees, his stringy hair blowing in the wind.
“What did we ever do to you to deserve this?What about us wasn’t enough for you?”I crouch down, resting my forearms on my bent knees so I can look him in the eyes, his body swaying with the force of the wind.
“You were never meant to be born,” he spits out, his words sharp and agonizing as they burrow into my chest.“You ruined everything for us.”At least he’s being honest and I can’t fault him for that.I already knew the reason why he behaves the way he does, but for once I needed to hear it.
“Here, Anthony!”Mom screams as she comes running back across the beach.I rise to my feet in time to see her throw a plastic bag at his face filled with crisp bills.“There’s two thousand dollars in that bag!Every cent I had saved!Take it and get out of our lives!”Her body trembles as I gather her and wrap my arms around her, hoping my body heat eases the shaking.Her teeth chatter as she stifles a sob, her eyes blazing with a fire.Still, she forces herself not to show him how he’s once again ripped her apart.
He falls back onto his ass on the beach, his fist clutching the money that I know will just feed his addiction, but my heart has turned to stone and I don’t care anymore about what he does to himself.I lead Mom back into the house and shut the door, hauling the bolt across the thin wood to keep the cancer out, and then I do the same with the front door and every window.It’s a relief to know that the ties are finally severed, and the man who fathered me but was never truly a father, is finally gone.
Chapter Thirteen
Thewinterslowlybleedsinto spring and my father has been smart enough to stay away.I haven’t seen Darren in a while, and honestly, I haven’t seen much of Avery either.Dating Brooke has put a major dent in our friendship and I don’t know how to fix it.I care a lot about Brooke, actually, I’m pretty sure I’m in love with her, and I don’t want to have to choose between her and Avery.
Avery has been my best friend since we were in diapers, but if she can’t bring herself to at least attempt to get along with Brooke, then I can see plainly where the problem lies.Brooke can be a bit jealous at times, even knowing Avery’s sexuality, but that’s normal when your boyfriend is so close with another girl.I hope Avery one day changes her mind, but until then, I will give her the space she’s seeking.I feel bad about choosing Brooke over her, but she forced that on me.
Maybe I’m projecting some of the anger I feel for her brother onto her too.He’s changed the way I walk through my neighborhood, the way I feel when I’m alone, and how afraid I am at night when I think someone is lurking around the cottage.The gun being pressed to my head was scary enough, but I don’t know what I would do if I ever saw it against my mother’s.
It’s Brooke’s birthday weekend and I can’t help but reminisce about the one we celebrated last year.I wanted to do something quiet like that again this year, a cake and maybe catch a movie, but Brooke has other plans.It is her eighteenth birthday and I don’t want to put a damper on it, so whatever she plans is what we’ll do.
“So a bonfire on the beach?”Brooke’s voice slips through my thoughts and I smile at her.
“Is that what you want to do?”I raise a brow as I bite into the apple that was on my tray.I look around the table to find everyone else shrugging and nodding their heads.
Brooke has somehow dragged me from the solitude of my corner lunch table to join her with Cassie, Kasen, Monica, and sometimes a few other football players.It was awkward at first, especially with the history between Kasen and Brooke, but it was soon forgotten.It’s clear how Kasen feels about Monica, he’s just a prick who wants his cake and eat it too.
“I’m down for another beach party,” Kasen mumbles around a mouthful of his sandwich.“I’ll bring a few kegs.I just got my fake ID.”
“Yes!”Cassie squeals from my other side, her hands wrapping around my arm with a squeeze.“I love beach parties.”
She’s been very touchy-feely with me lately, and it’s usually when Brooke is around but her view is obstructed.I’ve been discreetly removing her each time she does this, but I think something needs to be said for her to truly get the picture.If Brooke finds out what Cassie has been doing, she’ll kill us both.
“It’s still chilly, though,” Monica adds as she shivers inside her cashmere cardigan.“And what if it rains?”
“Then it’s every man for themselves to find shelter,” Brooke purrs as she curls into my side just as I get Cassie’s hands off my arm.She’s probably remembering the first storm we spent inside the lighthouse.Cassie continues on as if I didn’t just deflect her advances… again.
Their conversations drone on around me as my eyes flick to my old lunch table and the single person sitting there.Her head is curved downward as she reads an open textbook, and the fries on her plate are cold and long forgotten.I force myself to look away before the guilt consumes me and my eyes land on Monica, who is also watching Avery, only her eyes are filled with longing.
The sight leaves me stunned as she turns back around to find my eyes on her.I couldn’t pretend not to notice if I tried and she knows she’s been caught when her cheeks turn a rosy shade of pink.Monica wants Avery, I just witnessed the desire pouring off of her, but there’s something holding her back, and I don’t think it has anything to do with the guy sitting to her right with his tongue in her ear.
“I gotta go,” Monica mumbles as she scrambles from her seat, knocking Kasen away and leaving him stunned.
“Mon—”
“See you later!”she calls over her shoulder as she rushes from the cafeteria.
“Your girl has issues,” Cassie mutters to Kasen who narrows his eyes on her.
“You have no room to talk,” he fires back as he rises from his seat, his eyes moving to where Avery is sitting across the room.I tense as I witness the pure hatred radiating from his eyes and I prepare myself to grab him from across the table if he even utters one word about my best friend.
Avery and I may be mountains apart right now, but she is still my best friend.
Luckily for him, and probably for me too, he leaves the lunchroom without saying a single word, his shoulders dipped in defeat.
“That was awkward,” Brooke murmurs and I nod, dropping my apple core to the tray.“Monica needs to just break up with him once and for all.They have absolutely nothing in common.”
