Page 60 of Valentine Dare

25

Trent

There wasno denying I was tired. No, fucking exhausted from making sure Jenny was satisfied, not only at the Valentine Dance, but all weekend.

It was Monday morning, and I was about to head out to school when I saw mom sitting down in the kitchen. She had that look on her face as she stared into space while holding her cup of coffee. It was the type which told me she was worried about something. I had a free period so I sat down to join her as she sat at the breakfast table, knowing I would get to school late. What was on her mind, I was about to find out.

“Mom,” I said softly, as my hand brushed her shoulder.

“Shit!” She screamed out as she dropped her cup, and the contents of it spilled on the table.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not your fault. Just I was miles away.”

We both ran around, clearing up the mess. Luckily, she had shorts on, so it didn’t stain her grey slip shorts, only her legs. She must have been sitting there for a while because the coffee didn’t seem to hurt. Mom never lounged around in her PJs, even first thing in the morning. She would always be dressed for work or going out. She did it on automatic dial.

“Shouldn’t you be at work?”

She laughed. “Now you sound as if you’re my dad and not the other way around. I’m the parent, remember?”

I nodded, but she didn’t look at me. If anything, she moved to the other side of the kitchen, most likely to get herself another cup of coffee.

“It was cold anyway, otherwise it would have been a nasty accident. You want one?”

I shook my head, thinking she’d avoided the question, and I wasn’t in the mood to play games.

“Mom?” I asked once she finished making herself another coffee and was heading to sit down.

“I know, I know. Why am I at home? Why am I staring into space…”

“And?”

“Sit,” she commanded, pulling a chair next to her.

“Today’s the trial, and it should have been in a few months, and I was hoping that it wouldn’t be while Jenny was in school.”

“Why?” Thinking she was talking in riddles and not making much sense.

“They’ll call her. If they haven’t already done so, but they will soon, and she’ll have to testify, and I have a nasty suspicion that they will use her to get her dad off.”

“No!”

She took in a deep breath.

“They’re a nasty family. The type that will use anyone and everyone to get what they want, and somewhere in all this, my name may even pop up.”

She took a sip of her coffee, and my head started to spin at not only mom being involved in all, but Jenny too. “You? How?”

“It’s been leaked about the money and the account. I bet they did it just to make it look as if they were not the only one’s involved with the scam.”

“Including Kurt’s dad. He gave Jenny a threatening look at the dance, but then disappeared again.”

She choked, as she took another sip of her coffee. “Yeah, he would…his dad’s reputation, money and everything is on the line. I’m sure he’s going through a lot of stress right now.”

“Who fucking cares?”

“Yeah, we shouldn’t care, but that’s the way it goes. It’s just that this whole thing makes me feel so unsettled. At first when you brought Jenny to the house it was all good and I wanted to help, but now it just brings back bad memories, and I don’t want to be involved.”

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