Page 102 of Love It or List It
Austin impatiently pushed hair out of his face and rubbed at his temple, trying to ease the building headache.“Fuck this.I’m driving you to and from your exam tomorrow.You’re going straight to school and coming straight home afterward, continuing next week.And we’ll be laying down more house rules.”
Any lingering guilt left Will’s face as he scowled deeper in outrage.“You can’t ground me!”
“The hell I can’t!”
“You’re not my real dads!”
“No!”Austin snapped back.“We’re just the ones who love you!”
Will paled and swayed, and Austin, standing in cat pee and nauseous from the scent of weed, needed to get out.He spun and stomped out of the house, pausing only to drag his disgusting boot through a pile of cleanish snow, and then flung himself back into his car and took off.He needed space to cool down, to think, to escape from the house and everything in it.To breathe.
He hated yelling.Hated the thought of being like those foster parents who had frightened him as a child.And yet… he hadn’t been able to help himself when he saw what Will was up to.
Teenagers got high.Austin had been one.He knew.But the panic and betrayal he felt at the sight ofWill—smart, capable Will, who was supposed to make better choices than Austin had at that age—high on a school night, burninganythingin the same house as Joe and his damaged lungs and hisextremely flammable oxygen tank….Austin didn’t know what scared him more—Will’s recklessness with his future or with Joe’s health.
It didn’t help that Will was doing something so self-indulgent when the floors hadn’t been vacuumed in days and the laundry—clean and dirty—was piling up and Austin was standing in cat pee after a failed grocery visit.Austin was drowning in shit to do, none of which he’d asked Will to help out with because Will was supposed to be studying for his exams, and instead Will was getting high before dinner.
Tears blurred his vision, and Austin pulled over to the side of the road.No sense getting into a car accident on top of everything.He felt hurt and stupid and ridiculous sitting here sulking like a kid after a fight, but for several minutes, he couldn’t seem to do anything else.
But only for a few minutes.He had responsibilities to attend to.He couldn’t afford to break down.
Chapter Twenty-Five
JOE WOKEto the sound of activity beyond his bedroom door and a surprising almost-rested feeling.It had been days since he’d last woken up not feeling miserable and exhausted.He might not feelgood, but he wasn’t on death’s door.So that was an improvement.
Since he was feeling slightly less horrible, he should probably find out what the noise was about.Also, he needed to pee.Again.
Joe shuffled out of his bedroom and all but ran into a mop-wielding Gavin, who was wearing headphones and lip-syncing.Judging by his dance moves, Joe suspected the music was Beyoncé.
None of the questions that came to mind were more urgent than his bladder.But when he’d managed to pee without wanting to fall over, he decided he should take advantage of his sudden stamina to have a quick shower.
Five minutes later, he exited the bathroom with a towel around his hips and heard Meg and Alex puttering around in his kitchen.
Nope.Joe still wasn’t ready to deal with whatever this was.He went to his bedroom for clean clothes.
When getting dressed still didn’t totally wear him out, he figured he was out of excuses.He shuffled back out of his room and asked the now-four teens in his kitchen what the heck they were doing at his house on a Friday at….
“Twelve twenty-three?Shouldn’t you all be at school?”Joe glared.Though the effect was probably lessened by his need to lean heavily against the counter.
“Wow.Will wasn’t lying, you really were sick,” Gavin said around his mouthful of… something he shouldn’t be speaking around.
Joe arched an eyebrow, too tired to verbalise his request for more information.Standing was fine, but standing and talking was apparently too much.
“We haven’t had classes in a week,” Alex explained.“Exams.”
It was exam week?Joe needed to sit down.He’d lost time in there somewhere.Vaguely, he reminded himself to call Greg when he could, find out what he needed to do to keep the business running.Probably he needed to do payroll, at the very least.
Joe shuffled along to the table and lowered himself into a chair.Will came along shortly and wiped the table in front of him.A moment later Meg set down a mug of tea.“Are you hungry?”
Actually, for the first time in long enough that he didn’t want to think about it, Joe was starving.“Yeah.Do we have anything that’s not dry toast?”
“Nonna made manicotti and Italian wedding soup,” Meg offered.“Gavin picked it up.Alex and I are making rice and green beans and chicken.The internet says they’re good if you have a sensitive stomach.”
Manicotti sounded like a bit much, but Joe was sure Austin and Will would appreciate it.The rest of the kids too, if Nonna had packed her usual portions.“Soup first, if that’s ready,” he decided.“Chicken and rice and beans sound good too.I’ll definitely have that for dinner if there’s any left.Thank you.”
At the stove, Alex preened.
Gavin put the soup in the microwave, the headphones now hanging around his neck.
