01-21-2018, 09:35 PM
The heat of anger wasn't enough to keep Jay from shivering. He all but fell inside. When mom opened the door, the hot air slammed his face so hard it was difficult to take a deep breath.
Lights flicked on in rapid succession, but Jay paid them little mind, nor who was in the room with him as he stripped from the gear. Mom told Cayli to go back to bed. Jay grit his teeth and searched for signs of his sister, but blankets were thrust around him and he was led to the fireplace.
After he had a cup of hot water nestled in his hands, he drank greedily. The stream of questions returned, but he finally found the voice to answer. Yes, he had been stranded. No, he didn't know where dad was. Yes, he walked. Yes, he could have died. No, he didn't want to go to the hospital.
The second cup turned to hot tea with lots of sugar to pump up his blood sugar, the sloshing in his head calmed and he was able to focus on his family. Mom was haggard looking in a robe that Jay swore she had since he was a little kid. Shadows chased Cayli's eyes during a wide, toothy yawn. No point telling her to go back to bed. He had hoped she would leave before interrogating mom over their dad's whereabouts, but she was as stubborn as the rest of them.
"Where's dad?"
He asked. He fixed mom with as gentle and firm a stare as he could muster in the situation. She pursed her lips and waved the question away, but Jay's gaze grew sharper. "Don't cover for him."
His skirting responsibility to their family could have cost Jay his life tonight. Worse, he left mom and Cayli home alone for half the night. It was well past midnight. Oddly enough, mom's worry for her son didn't seem to extend to dad.
Her answer took him by surprise. "I'm sorry, son. I thought you had gone with him." He shook his head. Where in the world could they have gone together at this time of night? A bar, maybe? They'd been coming home exhausted every night. Jay wasn't exactly in the mood for bars. Not when he could drink tequila in the comfort of his own underwear in his room. Bars tended to frown on that.
"Clearly I didn't. Where is he, mom?"
She glanced nervously at Cay. Jay frowned. His sister looked nervous. They both knew.
"He's at Trade Winds," she said quietly and turned away.
Jay blinked. "A fucking casino?"
Everything swirled in his head. The employees all let go over the past few years. No money for metabolic feed. The equipment falling in disrepair. Mom's haggard appearance. The canned food. All of it. His mind raced. How bad off were the finances? "Is it all gone?"
He whispered, stomach sick. The farm was their lives, established by a grandfather fleeing the worst of World War II. They all knew the story. Sacrificed. Siblings lost. Family lost. All for a chance to escape hell and start again. Most of his life confiscated in the war, but enough treasure was salvaged to buy some land. All that remained of that life was the dirt around them. If the business went under and the land sold off parcel by parcel to pay the debts. Jay wanted to be sick. He never wanted to be a farmer, but he didn't want it to disappear either.
Mom frantically shook her head. "No, no. Jay nothing like that. It's why I didn't want to tell you. It's no big deal."
Anger burned his veins hot. "Why isn't he home yet?"
She stammered. Jay considered putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, but he was afraid if he rose he would punch a hole in the wall. Best to stay sitting. "If he drinks too much to drive home he will stay the night at the hotel."
Something snapped in his head, a decision reached. A calm sort of fury that gave him the focus to put a bullet in El Tiburon's head. As he had no intention of taking anything out on mom and his little sister, the two most innocent people in the world, he calmly rose to his feet and channeled every ounce of energy into retreating to a bedroom and closing the door gently, avoiding both their gazes. They needed to be spared the demons he knew hovered about his expression.
Lights flicked on in rapid succession, but Jay paid them little mind, nor who was in the room with him as he stripped from the gear. Mom told Cayli to go back to bed. Jay grit his teeth and searched for signs of his sister, but blankets were thrust around him and he was led to the fireplace.
After he had a cup of hot water nestled in his hands, he drank greedily. The stream of questions returned, but he finally found the voice to answer. Yes, he had been stranded. No, he didn't know where dad was. Yes, he walked. Yes, he could have died. No, he didn't want to go to the hospital.
The second cup turned to hot tea with lots of sugar to pump up his blood sugar, the sloshing in his head calmed and he was able to focus on his family. Mom was haggard looking in a robe that Jay swore she had since he was a little kid. Shadows chased Cayli's eyes during a wide, toothy yawn. No point telling her to go back to bed. He had hoped she would leave before interrogating mom over their dad's whereabouts, but she was as stubborn as the rest of them.
"Where's dad?"
He asked. He fixed mom with as gentle and firm a stare as he could muster in the situation. She pursed her lips and waved the question away, but Jay's gaze grew sharper. "Don't cover for him."
His skirting responsibility to their family could have cost Jay his life tonight. Worse, he left mom and Cayli home alone for half the night. It was well past midnight. Oddly enough, mom's worry for her son didn't seem to extend to dad.
Her answer took him by surprise. "I'm sorry, son. I thought you had gone with him." He shook his head. Where in the world could they have gone together at this time of night? A bar, maybe? They'd been coming home exhausted every night. Jay wasn't exactly in the mood for bars. Not when he could drink tequila in the comfort of his own underwear in his room. Bars tended to frown on that.
"Clearly I didn't. Where is he, mom?"
She glanced nervously at Cay. Jay frowned. His sister looked nervous. They both knew.
"He's at Trade Winds," she said quietly and turned away.
Jay blinked. "A fucking casino?"
Everything swirled in his head. The employees all let go over the past few years. No money for metabolic feed. The equipment falling in disrepair. Mom's haggard appearance. The canned food. All of it. His mind raced. How bad off were the finances? "Is it all gone?"
He whispered, stomach sick. The farm was their lives, established by a grandfather fleeing the worst of World War II. They all knew the story. Sacrificed. Siblings lost. Family lost. All for a chance to escape hell and start again. Most of his life confiscated in the war, but enough treasure was salvaged to buy some land. All that remained of that life was the dirt around them. If the business went under and the land sold off parcel by parcel to pay the debts. Jay wanted to be sick. He never wanted to be a farmer, but he didn't want it to disappear either.
Mom frantically shook her head. "No, no. Jay nothing like that. It's why I didn't want to tell you. It's no big deal."
Anger burned his veins hot. "Why isn't he home yet?"
She stammered. Jay considered putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, but he was afraid if he rose he would punch a hole in the wall. Best to stay sitting. "If he drinks too much to drive home he will stay the night at the hotel."
Something snapped in his head, a decision reached. A calm sort of fury that gave him the focus to put a bullet in El Tiburon's head. As he had no intention of taking anything out on mom and his little sister, the two most innocent people in the world, he calmly rose to his feet and channeled every ounce of energy into retreating to a bedroom and closing the door gently, avoiding both their gazes. They needed to be spared the demons he knew hovered about his expression.
Only darkness shows you the light.