Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
I need to shower.
When I’m in the stall, I turn the water to the highest temperature my body can stand without melting my skin. I let the stinging spray of the scalding water beat down on my back as penance.
By the time I’m finished scrubbing myself clean, my skin is bright red and sore and my throat is dry. The slight stinging of my body doesn’t compare to the ache in my heart.
I go through the motions of finishing my hygiene routine and getting dress. With a heaviness in my chest that makes it difficult to breathe, I finally leave my room and head to the kitchen to get something to drink.
Zora is standing at the counter eating a piece of toast. She freezes when she sees me.
The shame from earlier returns full force and I’m at a loss for words so grab a glass from the cabinet beside her, noticing how she watches my movements warily.
I take a seat at the kitchen table and finish my glass of water before gesturing to the chair across from me. “Zora, have a seat. We need to talk.”
She narrows her gaze and continues to pointedly chew her toast.
“Please.”
Maybe she hears the defeat in my voice or the pain lurking within my heart but she slowly sits down, her gaze never leaving my face.
Zora crosses her arms across her chest and purses her lips. “What do we have to talk about Jackson. If you have an order for me, I have no choice but to obey right?”
I flinch from the hostility of her tone. But it’s no less than I deserve.
“I’m going to the municipal building this afternoon and getting the lien taken off the deed. It belongs to you and your father now. I can’t say what’s going to happen to your brother when he turns up. My business associate is willing to leave the decision of your brother’s fate up to the D.A. whenever he turns up. I’m not going to intervene one way or the other. I had no business setting him up the way I did and I take responsibility for that. He has a serious gambling addiction and I’m willing to pay for his treatment and for a decent lawyer. It’s the least I can do.”
“I’ll continue to pay any medical expenses including the home health caregiver that’s not covered by your father’s insurance.”
“What’s the catch?”
“There’s no catch. I’m freeing you from our arrangement.”
“Just like that?”
“You’re free to leave anytime you wish.”
To my surprise she bursts out laughing and I’m not sure what’s so funny because my heart is breaking. “That’s a neat trick isn’t it? You turn my world upside down and do things to me that makes me ashamed to look at myself in the mirror and now I’m free to go? You know what? Fuck you, Jackson.”
She pushes away from the table and stands.
“I can say I’m sorry because I am, but sorry isn’t adequate for what I’ve done to you.”
Zora slams her palm on the table. “You’re goddamn right it’s not enough. You still pretend you didn’t make my life hell in high school and I thought I’d moved on from it, but you came back into my life, forcing me to face all that pain all over again. And the fucked-up part is that you keep denying it ever happened. That’s so typical of former bullies.”
“I’m not denying you were bullied in high school, Zora. I’m not even going to say it wasn’t my fault. I’m not going to make excuses either. I will say I thought I was doing what I had to do to protect you.”
“Protect me? How? Did you protect me when your friend Darren Hicks sprayed soda on my brand-new shirt my father spent his hard-earned money on? Did you protect me when the girls in your clique labeled me the thrift store queen? Was it your idea of protecting me whenever I would make a friend, and you’d tell them to back off. Oh, yeah, with that kind of protection, it’s a wonder I didn’t have a complete mental break down.”
Hearing a list of things done to her tears at my spirit. If I’d had my way, I would have made sure no one bothered her but I found little ways to avenge her.
“I’m sorry for causing you pain.”
She swiftly wipes away a falling tear. “You say you’re sorry. But I just want to know why? What did I ever do to you?”
I clutch my chest because the agony in her voice touches my very soul. “You smiled at me.”
“And I was punished for that?”
I shake my head vehemently. “No. I don’t know if you remember but we met at orientation and you were wearing a yellow dress and your hair was so big it touched the sky. You were like an angel and you were so sweet. For the first time in a long time, I felt someone was being nice to me just because and not because I’m Jackson Champion. I think I started falling for you a little then. But to understand my thought process back then, you’d have to understand who my parents are.”