Page 21 of Tattered Souls
It was a few minutes later when Tatum came back in, and then she looked at my mom, and yeah, I noticed it. The forced smile. That son of a motherfucking bitch.
“Everything okay, Tatum?” My mom asked.
“Yes, umm, I was wondering if you have enough dinner for an extra person. Lance wants to come.” Tatum asked.
I gritted my teeth so hard I was sure a molar had cracked.
My mom, being my mom, simply smiled and nodded her head, “Yes, dear, that’s fine. I always planned to have leftovers.”
Alec chimed in then, “It’s how I don’t starve.”
“Where do you put it all anyway?” Ethan asked as he sat on the floor next to the coffee table with Melanie coloring away.
Alec smirked, “Gotta keep my body. What do you think draws the ladies in?”
Harlee, Lila, Everly, and Talia all gagged, and before my mom could reprimand him, my father tilted his beer bottle to him, “Good man.”
And then my mother whipped her head in his direction and said, “Excuse me?”
My dad sighed, “I’m on the couch again, aren’t I?”
We all heard his smile.
“Yes,” Mom snapped.
But we all knew dad wouldn’t end up on the couch.
Well, he wouldn’t be there all night.
Mom would tell him to come to bed because she didn’t want her feet getting cold.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Tatum took in a breath and said, “That’s Lance. Be right back.”
And when he walked in, I had to lock my jaw not to do a few things.
One of those was asking Tatum what in the hell she was thinking.
Another one of those things is that he dressed like an uppity prick.
And yeah, I was being a judgmental ass.
Polo. Khaki. Loafers. So much gel, he could probably get HBO. Oh, and let’s not forget... you're supposed to spray your cologne on. Not bathe in it.
But I had caught his sneer on the flower wallpaper my mom had in the hall that she loved.
I wasn’t the only one to miss it.
He had just made sure he wouldn’t be tolerated.
Because there was one thing about all of us.
No one insulted our mother.
I opened my mouth and said, “Sneer at something in this house again, and you’ll be out of it faster than you can say boo.”
Seeing the way Tatum’s cheeks flamed red in embarrassment, I growled.
