Page 45 of Fighting the Tide
The first thing I notice is the fresh coat of paint and the brand-new cabinets in the small kitchen, and when I take off my shoes, the floor beneath my feet gleams with a shine, giving the place an almost new feel to it.
“Your dad’s been working a lot around here,” she informs me as she sits at a different table, our old one nowhere to be seen.“The place has a new roof too.”
“Where is he now?”I ask as I bring the suitcase over to the couch, placing it down on the side and noticing the few boxes I sent from the dorm.
“He had some work to do in town, but he’ll be home for dinner.”That’s why the truck wasn’t in the driveway when I got home, making it obvious why she gave in to Brooke so easily, and even though there’s a part of me that still doubts his intentions, I can’t deny all the good things he’s been doing.I’ll attempt to bury the years of mental abuse at his hands and wipe the slate clean for her sake.
“Is my bike still on the side of the house?”I ask before I throw on a sweater.My mother gives me a look, her eyebrow raised in question.“What?I want to ride into town.I’ve been cooped up in a seat all day.”
“Yeah, it’s out there under the carport,” she says as a cough wracks her body, the sound drier now than the wet cough she had before.
“How are you feeling, Mom?”I approach her and lay a hand on her forehead, feeling for a temperature when she smacks it away.
“I’m fine.I just have a persistent cough.It’s nothing but an annoyance.”
“Are you going to be okay here alone for a few hours?”I ask as she rolls her eyes and scoffs.
“I’m alone here often, Nolan, and honestly, I enjoy it most days.”She chuckles and flips through the magazine that’s on the table as I bend and kiss the top of her head.
“I love you, Mom,” I whisper into her hair as she reaches up and pats my cheek.
“I love you too, son.Try not to be out too late and be careful riding that bike on the main road.There’s not that much light once the sun goes down.”
I find my bike propped up against the house, the once-blue paint chipping off the metal bars.When I pull it out, I see the chain is still intact and the seat in good condition, even if it’s a little cracked.It’s been over a year since I last rode it, but with Dad having the truck in town, I don’t have any other choice.
It takes me about ten minutes riding my bike before I’m standing in front of the gelato stand, reading the sign above it to see the new flavors they have this year.
Before I can place my order, the familiar sound of an engine grabs my attention and I find our red truck pulling into a parking lot behind the hardware store.I don’t know what compels me to jump on my bike and ride over there, because it’s obviously my dad picking up something for the house, but for some reason, I need to see what he’s doing.My feet hit the pavement, stopping my bike as I watch him park his red truck beside another very familiar vehicle, and suddenly my body breaks out into a sweat.
When Darren steps out of the driver’s side, I nearly drop my bike and run over there but curiosity keeps me rooted in place.I want to see just what’s going on.The urge to slam their heads together overwhelms any logical thought.I had hoped this time it was it.That my father had actually stayed sober for my mother.I didn’t care much about him not trying to repair the damage he had done to our relationship.What mattered to me was how he was treating my mother and the fact that he was staying sober.
All of that was nothing but a lie though as I watch them exchange whatever it is he’s buying and then, with little conversation, my father gets back into the truck and drives out of the parking lot, turning in the opposite direction from where I’m standing.I begin riding straight home, not caring that my ride here is wasted because, in reality, I’m pretty sure I just witnessed what I was meant to.I know I’m about to break my mother’s heart, but there’s no way I can let this happen again, especially with me being away and her left at his mercy.
Minutes later, I drop the bike at the end of the driveway and run by the truck up to the front door, yanking it open and stepping inside.My heart is thundering in my chest as I struggle to suck air into my lungs, feeling like they’re caving in under the pressure.
“Nolan.”My mother comes in from the back door, her eyes wide as her long, thin fingers grip the door handle.“What’s wrong?What happened?”
I bend forward, my hands resting on my knees as I try to catch my breath, my palms sweating and my hair soaked through.“It’s Dad,” I pant out as he appears behind her, his eyes narrowed on me.
“What about him?”Mom turns to look over her shoulder as my dad has the gall to shrug his shoulders.
“I saw you.”I take a deep breath and straighten as my clothes stick to my wet body.“I saw you in town and I saw who you were with.”
He doesn’t try to defend himself, he doesn’t say one thing as I continue to glare at him, and my mother looks questioningly from him to me and back again.
“What is this about?”she asks as she steps into the house, her face filled with worry.
“I saw him with his old dealer,” I reveal to her, waiting for the betrayal to fully sink in.I step forward and point a finger at him, my arm trembling as my lips pull back tight against my teeth.“I saw you with Darren, and I saw you buy something.”
“You don’t know what you saw, boy,” he says as a small smile plays around his mouth and his voice is filled with arrogance.“How about you stop stressing your mother out and shut your mouth?”
“Anthony!”my mother screams as she turns to face him.“Don’t talk to him like that!”
“He doesn’t know what he’s accusing me of, and I won’t stand here and listen to it.”He steps back outside, letting the door shut as I stare at my mother.
“He’s using again, Mom.I swear I saw it.”She doesn’t turn away from that back door as her shoulders sag.
“He’s sober, Nolan,” she assures me, her voice small and filled with sadness.“He’s not using again.”
