Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 47107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
It was her habit to leave it on. She once told me she kept it on because she never knew when Grandpap was coming home, and the habit had stuck. She couldn’t sleep unless the light was on. Growing older, learning more, I was figuring she kept it on in case he tried to sneak in after they separated. He never gave her a divorce. That was one thing he held over her head, and how my grandmum grew up, she didn’t fight him. She was just happy he never brought his shotgun to finish her off.
Women shouldn’t have to live like that, but some did. Grandmum did.
I left her room and checked on my mom next.
She’d taken to the same habit as Grandmum. Her light was on, and she was sleeping in almost the same position as her mama. The main difference, her wheelchair was positioned next to her bed, and she didn’t have an oxygen machine. Instead, though, she had a fan propped up for noise.
I turned her light off and moved through the living room. That light too.
Doors were locked. I checked them two more times before I headed upstairs.
None of the lights were on up here, but neither my mom nor Grandmum came up here. It was the reason it was mine. I got the whole floor, but I only used the large bedroom on the end.
I cleaned up and got ready for bed.
Once I settled in, my window was open because temps were fine at night, I rolled to my side. I faced the door and the one window I had propped open. That was it. I couldn’t handle sleeping with noise. If someone broke in, it was up to me to protect everyone. That was my role in the family.
I took a deep breath, feeling sleep starting to spread through me, but right before I drifted off, I flashed back to Zeke.
“You’re too hot to be single, Ava. That’s what I think.”
I drifted off with a grin on my face.
I didn’t believe him, but it felt nice to hear.
4
AVA
The smell of bacon and coffee woke me, and my stomach grumbled, waking me even further.
I knew my mom could cook just fine. She was a wizard in her wheelchair, but I still hurried getting up for the day. I didn’t shower last night because I didn’t want to wake anyone up. Both needed their sleep, so I hurried with a shower this morning.
I grabbed my phone, pulling it from the charger and stuffing it into my back pocket before I went downstairs.
The sounds of the grease sizzling filled the room, along with the coffee machine brewing.
I was already smiling before I got to the kitchen because my mom didn’t need to cook for me. She and Grandmum liked to sleep in. Not me. Or I didn’t think I did. I never had, to be honest. Sleep was a privilege for me because I worked so much, so her doing this was for me.
They also weren’t big breakfast eaters, though Grandmum would nibble on some dates when she woke.
But once I hit the doorway, I saw the brochure laid out on the table and my heart sank.
This wasn’t going to be one of those happy mornings.
I looked over.
My mom was watching me. Metal tongs clutched in her hand, she’d unlocked her wheelchair so she could see me better.
Tiny, but toned arms. Her hair was clipped back with tiny barrettes, framing her face from ear to ear. They were rainbow colored. She had on mesh shorts.
She swallowed, her eyes flaring from grief before she said what I never wanted to hear from her.
“We need to talk about Grandmum.”
5
ZEKE
We were on the golf course when instead of lining up his shot, my buddy burst out laughing.
I frowned. “Dude.”
He was almost falling over, but turned to me, raising his nine iron behind him. “Zeke! That is fucking hilarious. Look!”
Brian was almost falling over from his laughter.
Jesus. What the fuck.
I got out of the golf cart and moved so I could see whatever this was. When I got there, holy…fuck. But I wasn’t laughing. Ava was walking across the green, but not in a way where it was obvious that she was on a mission or had a destination in mind. No. She was going this way, then that way, and going in a circle. She was walking backward. She was all over the place, and she was drinking from a bottle of vodka at the same time.
I drew in a breath as Brian kept laughing. “You know who that is? That’s that Ava chick. You know, the one who worked everywhere.” His laughter went up a notch. “We’d go to the pizzeria. Ava. We’d go to Manny’s. Ava. We’d go to Nooma’s. Ava. It became a joke, remember? We’d drink if she popped up somewhere. She was at the gas station too. Damn. Girl got around.”