Page 61 of Steel & Jenna
“No!” Jenna shouted. “You stopped being my mother the moment you had your thugs hurt Jack.”
“That boy is nothing!” Her mom’s voice was shrill. “He will only bring you down in life, Jenna! I was doing you a favor. I would put money on the fact that you don’t even like him and are only still with him to spite me. You are so stubborn to get back at me that you’ll spread your legs for some lowlife trash?—”
“Mom!” The word was shouted twofold. From Jenna and from Carolyn.
Jenna let out a sigh of relief when she saw her pajama-clad sister standing in the large doorway. She hated having to battle with her parents alone. She didn’t have Carolyn’s backbone or grit. As much as Carolyn hated to admit it, she came by her cutthroat attitude honestly.
“You have no say in this!” their mom pointed an accusing finger at Carolyn. “You’re the reason we’re even in this mess. If you’d let your father ship her off to Massachusetts, we wouldn’t be dealing with this a year later!”
Carolyn came into the room to stand by Jenna. She crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her boobs up under the men’s shirt she was wearing. The white material was thin and hid nothing, despite the too large size. “Have you even questionedwhyI didn’t? Why I made that stupid deal to play the Good Daughter and go to work for people I despise?” Jenna flinched, knowing she meant their parents. “Has it evenoccurredto you that JennalovesJack? That he loves her? Or is your heart so black you don’t even know what that feeling is like anymore? You’re too busy fucking your bodyguards while Dad’s off galivanting around the globe with his secretary of the week to even contemplate that your youngest daughter is in love? And not some fleeting, teenage lust, but honest-to-God, forever kind of love? Are you so cynical that you think the fact that he doesn’t live in a fucking mansion makes him not worthy of her? Have you forgotten so easily thatyoustarted out as Dad’s secretary too? Where was it you wereliving when you met him? Oh yeah, a studio apartment with three other women because that’s all you could afford.” Carolyn’s laughter held no humor and was pure spite. “How the lowly have risen. One would think where you started in life would make you a tad bit more sympathetic, Mother.”
“I am doing this forher?—”
“No, Mother, you’re doing this foryou. Because everything revolves around you. Always has, always will. You don’t want your hoity-toity friends to know your precious little girl is dating acommoner. Grow up!” Carolyn snapped. “This isn’t the fifteen-hundreds.”
Carolyn nudged Jenna’s shoulder with her own. “Grab your oatmeal. You can finish eating in my room while I put a bra on. Then I’ll take you to Jack’s.”
Jenna turned her back on her mom, but the mirror on the wall by the doorframe showed just how red-faced and pissed her mom looked. Jenna swallowed hard, hoping that her mom didn’t do anything out of spite.
As the sisters walked up the large grand staircase to Carolyn’s third floor bedroom, Jenna repeated her new mantra in her head.One year, six months, seventeen days…
1 YEAR, 6 MONTHS, 13 DAYS
Jack headed towards his truck after school the following week. He had a lot of school work to do, including an essay for English. He had a four hour shift at the grocery store too. But it was Wednesday, which meant that he only had to get through tomorrow and then Jenna would return Friday night. This would be their last full weekend together for two weeks and he wanted to make it count.
Halloween was next Thursday. He had traded the following Saturday and Sunday shifts with a coworker so he could get the holiday off and take Lilly trick-or-treating. She’d begged him to gowith her, even though Mr. and Mrs. Zarin were also going. Jack couldn’t disappoint Lilly so he’d had to trade shifts, even though he was covering two of his coworker’s shifts for his one. It also meant giving up his weekend with Jenna.
She was still going to come up to hang with Lilly for the weekend and have meals with him, but it wouldn’t be the same.
Jack paused partway to his truck. He was now the official owner too. Mr. Zarin and Jack had gone down to the DMV on Monday to switch the title over to him. They’d also stopped at the hardware store where Mr. Zarin purchased a small handheld safe for Jack.
“For your important documents. You don’t have many now but you’ll accumulate more as you get older. Always keep the things you can’t afford to lose inside a fireproof safe.”Jack appreciated the lesson. He’d put his and Lilly’s papers that he’d brought with him from the trailer in the safe, too. It was now stored under his bed and another key was added to his keyring.
The silhouette of a man was showing through his back windshield. From his distance, Jack couldn’t tell if the person was inside or next to his truck, but there was definitely someone there. Looping one strap of his backpack off of his arm, Jack continued forward. One of the first lessons Mr. Zarin had taught him was that everything could be used as a weapon. Even the most unconventional items. If it had weight, it was a weapon.
His backpack had several textbooks and a thick binder inside. It was certainly heavy enough.
Now that he was living with the Zarins and wasn’t putting all of his efforts into taking care of Lilly, his grades had improved. Principal Foote hadn’t given him detention since this time last year. In fact, Foote hadn’t said anything to him, even when Jack returned to school still covered in healing bruises. Since Mrs. Zarin had been bringing his homework home for him when he’d been laid up, Jack had a feeling she’d said something to the principal to make the ass get off of Jack’s back.
The closer Jack got to the truck, the more his stomach started to sink. Because he knew who was standing outside his truck.
Jack’s heart hammered in his chest. He wanted to run, to go back inside and call the Zarins, but what good would that do? They had no claim to Jack. Even Chief Cunningham’s hands would be tied if Jack called him.
And Jack was no coward. He’d survived fifteen years under this man’s roof. Maybe he didn’t want anything from Jack. Maybe he was here to say he was leaving town and officially abandoning his children.
One could hope.
Jack walked around the front of his truck. John Duncan was leaning up against the hood of the blue truck smoking a cigarette. An empty bottle of whiskey was on the snow-covered asphalt at the man’s booted feet. Jack was wearing a new winter coat the Zarins had purchased him the year before. John Duncan had on multiple layers of hoodies and sweat jackets. The brown fingerless gloves covering his hands were stretched to their limits and had a hole in one palm. Jack wondered when the last time his father had showered. From the grim and grit on him, it had been a while.
John Duncan took one last drag from his cigarette before tossing the butt aside. It landed in the snow several feet away and sizzled before going out.
When he stood up fully, Jack realized that his father and he were now the same height. Or close enough to it. Jack was standing tall, warm in his coat, hat, and gloves. His father was hunched over slightly as if to conserve his body heat.
Jack remembered that stance. That had been him only a year ago. But it was hard to feel sorry for his father, even though Jack’s circumstances had improved when it appeared his father’s had gotten worse.
His father was an adult who had made his own decisions that had landed him where he was. His choices had consequences, which was a lesson his father had never learned.
“Get in the fucking truck, son,” his father slurred. No doubt he’d drunk the entire bottle of whiskey at his feet. “You and I have unfinished business to take care of.”
