Chapter 20

Trey

It has been two weeks since I last saw Kiara. Other than going to the airport to see Candy off (somehow, she managed to afford a flight within a week of her and Mom's fight). She even avoided eye contact and rushed out of the building once my sister departed.

I thought that kiss would've meant something to her. It meant every damn thing to me, but she's still set on pretending her feelings for me don't exist. If anything, I'm a patient man. I'm hoping in time, she'll see that I'm worth the risk too.

As I'm wrapping up food prep for dinner service tonight, my phone starts ringing. I don't recognize the number, but it has the 757-area code, so I decide to pick it up and pray it's not somebody calling about my car's extended warranty.

"Hello?"

"Hello, this is Principal Evans from Princess Anne High School. Are you the parent or guardian of Jeremiah Thompson?"

"Yes," I clench my jaw tightly. Looks like Mom's not answering, and Candy's in New York, so I guess I'm next in line.

"Jeremiah is being suspended for fighting on school grounds. Is it possible for you to pick him up?"

I pinch the bridge of my nose, groaning.

Fuck J, what did you do now?

"Of course. I'll be there shortly."

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It turns out this isn't Jeremiah's first offense, so although I argued with the principal to reduce his sentence, it didn't get us anywhere. He got himself into a full-blown brawl with three other students, and now he's facing a week-long suspension. He's silent as I drive home where our furious mother waits for him to arrive. When she finally called back to the principal’s office, she started cussing him out over the speaker. If I was embarrassed, I can only imagine how he must have felt.

"J, what's going on? Why have you been in five fights this school year? You're not going to graduate on time if you keep this up," I ask, feeling frustrated.

I didn't want my siblings to go down my path. I can tell he's bottling up so much anger. It's only a matter of time before he explodes, and he won't have the same reasons to fix his mistakes as I did. Who knows what it will take to bring him back.

He scoffs. "Why do you care?"

I take a quick look and notice that he's got his hood on and is gazing out the window. His left eye looks nearly swollen shut as he holds an ice pack to it. "What does that mean? You think I'm not supposed to care as your big brother?"

"Why don't you just head back to Texas? Why'd you even come back?"

I tighten my grip on the steering wheel, the color draining from my knuckles. Gritting my teeth, I say, "I only left to make sure our family was taken care of. If you're angry at me because you can no longer do what you want while Mom is too hungover to deal with you, get used to it. I'm here to stay, and I'm going to make sure you graduate."

"You're not my fucking father, Trey! Stop trying to act like it when you're the one who ran him away!" he yells.

The car slams to a halt by the roadside. "Who the hell told you that?" I growl.

His emerald eyes, filled with anger, brim with tears. "It was my mom, during one of her rougher nights. She said our lives would've been better if you hadn't called the cops on Dad."

The truth stings, but it's not like I didn't know how she felt. "Do you even know why I did that?" I ask, struggling to control my anger.

He shakes his head. "Mom said he was a good man."

Of course she spewed that bullshit to him.

I let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, a so-called 'good man' who abused her constantly. I didn't call the police just because he was hitting on me, but because I knew if I didn't, he would've killed her that night."

He gives me a look like he doesn't believe a word I'm saying, his jaw tightly clenched. "You're lying. There's no way Mom would've stayed with him if he laid a hand on her," he insists.

"So why would he run from the police then? What else would I have gained from calling them?"

He casually shrugs and says, "Who knows? Maybe you thought since you didn't have a dad, we shouldn't have one either."

That's the furthest thing from the truth, I did it to protect all of us from William, but it's not his fault he only heard one side of the story.

I nod to myself. Fine. If he wants to see his dad, let's go see him.

I drive back onto the road, flipping a bitch, and heading the opposite way. I don't need a GPS because I've gone here numerous times, but never could confront him. Just the thought of seeing him again boils my blood, and I always worried that I wouldn't be able to stop myself from beating the living hell out of him once I saw his face. But I'll do this to show my brother why his life was better off without him.

I drive through the trailer park and stop in front of the familiar, old trailer. "Where are we?" Jeremiah asks.

I shut off the engine and lean back in my seat, nodding towards the trailer. "If you want to meet your father, he's right in there."

"Right there?" he repeats in awe. He's silent for a long moment, staring at the trailer with wide eyes.

All it took was a quick Google search to find his address and not to mention a list of public crimes he has been arrested for including shoplifting and domestic assault and battery.

Jeremiah finally breaks the silence with a heavy sigh. "Trey, are you gonna come with me?"

"No. Like you said he's not my dad."

Plus, if I see that man again, I just might kill him.

Jeremiah shoots me a pleading look, his eyes filled with that same innocent charm he used on me often when we were kids. "Please. Come with me, Trey."

I can feel my heart soften as I meet his gaze. "Alright, J. I'll come," I reluctantly agree. A satisfied smile appears on his face as we step out of the car. "Just so you know, those innocent eyes won't sway me anymore. I'm only going because I don't trust him."

I enjoy witnessing that smile, a sight I haven't seen since I've been back. However, it's about to be wiped right off his face once he realizes his father is a shit stain.