Page 1 of Mike's Assistant

Underneath the Sympathy

Jake

“My condolences.”

Every “my condolence” expressed dragged me more into a personal hell. My fingers tensed and my jaw constricted every time I heard it. It was a well-meaning sentence that was gradually pushing me over the edge. My condolences and my sympathies appeared to be the favorite for the people of Buckhannon, West Virginia.

I nodded my head and quietly thanked Mr. Travis. He’d been a close friend of my dad’s and a good neighbor. At least he showed up, I thought. I guess I could acknowledge that. It wasn’t his fault I was having such a hard time. It’d been a hell of a past three days, and I just wanted to forget it ever happened. I mean, who wouldn’t want to forget being told their parents died a day before Christmas?

I peered down at my little brothers. Sam, the older of the two, whispered to Abel while they quietly played with Scruffy, the stuffed lion. At just seven and five, they were far too young to be going through this. They couldn’t comprehend that Mommy and Daddy weren’t coming home—Abel especially. He was a momma’s boy through and through and kept asking for his mommy. It broke my heart every time I had to explain that she wasn’t coming back.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” I looked up at my old elementary school teacher, Mrs. Evers. “Thank you, Mrs. Evers.”

“Your parents,” she sighed, pressing her lips into a slight frown. “They were good people, and it’s just awful what happened—especially right at Christmas.”

Tears burned in my eyes, and I choked back a sob. I’d been crying non-stop since the police showed up at our door. “Yeah,” I managed to croak out.

Mrs. Evers gently touched my shoulder. “If you need anything, dear…”

I nodded. “Thank you, Mrs. Evers.”

Crap, I thought as the elderly lady walked away. I was only twenty-one years old and didn’t want to go through this crap. I cast a glance at Todd, my so-called boyfriend. He wasn’t really the supportive type, and neither of us was out, but his absolute apathy toward the situation made me want to break off our relationship. He was absorbed in his phone, oblivious to everything else.

Sighing, I shook my head. I couldn’t stay here anymore. I needed to get away from these people, no matter how well-meaning. My life was a wreck. According to my stepmother’s sister, Judith, my parents had left no will and were supposedly in mountains of debt.

Judith was the polar opposite of my stepmom, Ann. Judith was crass, mean, and an all-around unpleasant person. She had never treated me as part of the family; I was merely someone she had to tolerate.

Ann, on the other hand, was warm and welcoming. She’d always supported and accepted me, treating me like her son, and I viewed her as my mom. My real mom died when I was four, and my dad remarried Ann when I was eight. I loved her and my dad very much. I felt the tears burning in my eyes again.

I looked back at Todd. “Can you watch the boys for a second? I need to step away for a minute,” I whispered, my voice shaky with emotion.

“Sure, be quick, though,” he replied, not even looking up from his phone.

What an asshole, I growled to myself. What did I ever see in him? I leaned down toward the boys. “Sammy, Abel, I’m going to the bathroom. You be good for Todd, okay?”

Sam and Abel looked up at me, their innocent faces full of trust, and nodded. Abel, the younger of the two, clung to my shirt, his eyes reflecting a sudden fear of me leaving. “Jake, you won’t go far, right?” he asked, his voice just above a whisper.

“Of course not, buddy,” I reassured, forcing a quick smile despite the raw pain that threatened to pour out as tears. “I’ll be right back.”

Sam, trying to act the part of the older brother, gave Abel a comforting pat on the back. “It’s okay, Abel,” he said, his voice stronger than I expected for his age. “Jake won’t leave us alone.”

I flashed a smile at them, though I knew it didn’t reach my eyes, and slowly extricated myself from Abel’s grip before rising from my chair. The tears were ready to fall again. Sam, like me, had the same brown eyes, brown hair, and facial features as our dad, while Abel, with his hazel-green eyes and light brown hair, looked more like Ann. Looking at them reminded me so much of what we’d just lost. Fucking black ice.

My parents were driving home from a Christmas party when their car skidded off the road and collided with a telephone pole. The authorities later determined black ice had been the treacherous culprit.

I shook my head and continued toward the back of the building. If I stayed and thought about the situation any longer, I’d break down. I couldn’t do that around the boys. I had to be strong for them.

Fuck. Just give me one minute of fucking peace—one fucking minute. I picked up the pace as the Talbots headed toward me. They were okay people, but Mrs. Talbot was a narcissist and made every event about herself. If I stuck around, she’d somehow make my parents’ death about her. I turned down the hall and continued my journey.

My escape came to an abrupt halt just as I neared the bathroom. My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt an icy shiver run down my spine as the shrill voice of Judith echoed through the hallway. “We’re set to take the boys in the morning, right?” Her words rang in my ears like a chilling death knell, causing a surge of panic and dread that rooted me to the spot.

“Yes, I have the officers all set for tomorrow at eight,” a voice I wasn’t expecting responded.

To my surprise, it was Ms. Grace on the other end of the conversation. The same social worker who was there on the dreadful night we learned about our parents’ deaths. I had thought her to be supportive and encouraging. Was she really talking about taking the boys? I thought in disbelief. My stomach churned, bile threatening to rise in my throat. I pressed myself further against the wall, inching closer to catch the rest of their conversation.

“Good. You’ll give me custody, and I can finally get that insufferable hanger on out of my family once and for all. I can’t imagine why my sister let that fairy into her family, let alone near the boys. Did you see he brought his boyfriend?” Judith’s voice dripped with contempt.

My cheeks flamed at her words. I had never disclosed my sexuality to my parents and always thought I had hidden it well.

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