Page 4 of From the Shadows
Diego shook his head, willing the memories away. He stared at the gravestone for several long, silent moments.
“He’s a good boy, Kendra. I’m not sure if you’d be proud of who he’s become, but I’d like to think so. We named him Jeremy, and he’s… amazing doesn’t even begin to cover it. He’s got this glow about him, and it infects everyone he sees. When you look at him, you can’t help but smile. He’s rambunctious, affectionate, likes bad jokes and….” Diego sighed, then raised the flask to his lips again. After a healthy swallow, he couldn’t stand it anymore. “You missed out. I know I say this every year, but it pisses me off how fucking selfish you were! How could you drag your kid along and treat him like that? If Jeremy were my son…. If…” Diego’s throat tightened, the anger surging once more. “Why the hell didn’t you just give up? Why not keep him in your life? Was attacking me—making me fight back—really what you wanted?”
He tightened his fist, crushing the flask, the remainder of the thin, viscous liquid oozing out and coating his fingers before dripping onto the dirt. The tears that Diego never allowed anyone to see came then. He wasn’t weeping for Kendra. Her lot in life had been chosen long before they’d ever met. It hurt him to know that Jeremycould never be told the truth about what kind of person she’d been. As far as Jeremy knew, he was Diego’s son, and they’d never done anything to dissuade him of that notion.
“Why the fuck do I cry? It’s been years, and I still find myself crying for what Jerm lost. And the funny thing? He didn’t lose a goddamn thing. He gained a family, which is more than you could have ever given him! I?—”
“Diego.”
He swiveled his head and Diego found himself staring at the last person he’d ever wanted to find in this stupid graveyard.
“Jerm?”
Jeremy shuffled closer, then took a seat beside Diego, close enough they were touching. “So this is her, huh?”
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Diego roared, trying to block out the grave. Jeremy simply peered around him and stared at it. At that moment, Diego feared Jeremy would tell him to fuck off and get out of his life.
Jeremy smiled. “I’m a shifter, you know. We snakes can fit in the tightest of spots. Like under the seat of the car.”
He would kill Gabe for this. “Where’s Gabe?”
“At home. He thinks I’m asleep.” Jerm grinned. “So, you didn’t answer me. Is this her?”
“Her who?”
Jeremy shook his head. “The woman who laid the egg I hatched out of.”
“How’d you know?”
“I’ve been listening when you guys talk. I mean, I know none of you are my parents. Not a snake among you. This woman, though? She sounds like a real piece of work.”
“Jerm, I’m sorry, I?—”
He sighed. “I don’t remember her. I don’t have any feelings for her. At least nothing beyond if someone told me a total stranger died. I don’t need a mother, D. I have a dad, and he’s awesome.”
The cold fist that had surrounded Diego’s heart for years, since the time he took Kendra from Jeremy, loosened.
“I’m sorry.” The words were trite, but Diego couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Jeremy shrugged. “Thanks, I guess. Like I said, I don’t remember her, but from what you guys said, she wasn’t a good person.”
He could lie. He could make Jeremy think that his mother had been a noble individual who’d loved him with her whole heart. Who died protecting him. That wouldn’t serve Jeremy, though. Lies always found a way of unraveling.
“No, she wasn’t.”
“You are, though.” He leaned closer and put his head on Diego’s shoulder. “You’re the best.”
“Jerm, I?—”
“Can we go home? I don’t like it here. No, I don’t likeyouhere. This isn’t a place for you. Don’t come here again, okay?”
None of this made sense. Jerm should be pissed beyond belief, but his features stayed placid. “But I took you from her, and?—”
Jeremy smiled up at Diego. “And what? Dude, I don’t know her. I don’t want to know her. From what I heard, snake shifters don’t have that whole ‘good family’ vibe going. They lay us, then they’re expected to bond with us before they abandon us, or worse, eat us. She didn’t. End of story.”
“She kept you, though. She protected you.”
Jeremy scowled. “No. She protected herself. If she had any thoughts about me, they were wiped out when she attacked you. I’m grateful to her, though.”
