Rich Prick – Tijan Page 0,84
have more power as an adult now than I ever felt I had, so I’m not going to try to be your parent. Not now. I messed that up by staying with him for so long.”
I knew tears were still sliding down her face. But she sounded strong. She sounded resigned.
I’d never heard my mother sound like that.
After a moment, she shifted gears. “Taz said you have a girlfriend?”
My eyes opened, and I looked down. I’d been holding a pair of socks. Snorting, I tossed them aside and rifled through the bag. What the hell had I even thrown in here?
“What’s her name?”
None of your business.
What the hell else did I need?
“Where’d you meet her?”
I dropped the bag and turned around. “I’m not talking about her.”
“Okay. Yeah.” She tried to smile, but those tears.
I hated when she cried. Cursing, I hauled my mom into my arms.
She sniffled, tensing, but I cradled the back of her head, and that was enough. She dissolved in my arms.
I didn’t know if that was right or not. It was what it was.
I waited until she had stopped crying. Zeke would be here by now. I pulled back and smiled down at her. “Cheer up, Mom. You got a pain-in-the-ass son who will someday not be such a pain in the ass.”
She laughed, flicking the last of her tears away.
“And it seems you have a good guy upstairs.” I bent down, resting my forehead to hers. “I will try to not be such a dick.”
Pulling away, I studied her.
“You like Taz, huh?”
She smiled, bobbing her head. “I do. She’s a good girl, just lonely. I can understand that.”
A bit of my wall crumbled. I didn’t like thinking of my mom as lonely.
“I think counseling will be good for you, Mom.”
Her eyes turned sad, and she eased back a step. She cupped the side of my face. “You’re such a handsome boy. I got lucky having you. Real lucky. Despite the things you say, you’ve always taken care of me when I needed it.”
I batted away her hand. “Okay. Sentimental shit is my cue to leave.”
She reached up and held the sides of my face. “Let me say this. I know you are hurting. I know I can’t help you with that, but I also know you persevere. That’s your trait. You’re always strong, and you always get through whatever it is you’re dealing with. And I can’t take credit for that. That’s you. That’s all you, and I want you to be proud of that.”
Her eyes flicked to the ceiling and back to mine. “As for them, and the changes in our lives, it’ll all work out. I just want you to keep working on you. And whoever this girl is, I can tell she’s good for you. I’ve always seen fragments of the man you’ll become, and lately, I’ve been seeing more and more of them. You will become a man I’m proud of, and I know this because you’re already a son I’m so proud of.” She hugged me tightly. “So proud of you.”
I let her hug me.
“Mom, I can’t be a dick with you being a Pinterest hologram and saying all this cheesy shit.” But I grinned as I straightened a strand of her hair.
I loved my mom.
I might be a massive dick, but everything she’d said was right.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead and whispered, “Love you.”
Zeke was standing in the hallway just inside the back door when I came up from the basement.
His face lit up when he saw me. “Bruh!”
“Let’s head.”
His face faltered. “Dude. Brunch?”
“I’ll pay.”
“Dude.” He grinned again, and we left.
I tried to tell myself I wasn’t being a pansy when I pulled my phone out later and texted Taz.
Me: Congrats on your graduation tomorrow. I’ll come to your party if you want me there.
39
Aspen
Nate kept trying to talk me into letting him rent a camper. He was allergic to tents, he’d explained, but not campers. He loved campers. The whole time was like that. Nate making a joke. Me laughing. Then we’d descend into silence with awkward looks.
I didn’t know my brother. Not really.
I knew this, but knowing it and experiencing it were two different things.
It was sad, to be honest. I wished I knew him. I wished I knew him how I knew Owen.
I sighed at one point. “I miss Owen.”
Nate had been on his phone, but he looked up and without a word said, he put it away. He leaned back. “I wished I