Noxious (Anathema #1) - Yolanda Olson Page 0,11

stupid trip because not only do I want to be able to see if all of the Meyer men are insufferable assholes, but I know that if Aftyn’s dad does live with another man, it’ll give me an idea of how to handle these two.

I’d love for Dexter and Aftyn to hook up, but that seems like mission impossible for the time being.

I’ll get some tips from his friend, I tell myself as I turn on the radio and lower it just enough to not wake either of my boys up.

I begin to hum along to the song that’s on. It’s one of those pop classics from the 80s that I honestly can’t stand.

Anything to help myself stay awake at this point.

Aftyn shifts in his seat next to me and I half expect him to wake up, but he just crosses his arms over his chest and goes back to his soft snoring.

I turn my eyes back toward the road and shake my head, a smile on my face, and remember happier days, when he didn’t even think of his father, and his mother was finally out of his fucking life.

"Be quiet,” I tell him, giving the skin on his forearm a pinch. He hasn’t stopped laughing like a goddamn animal ever since we’ve snuck in through the back door.

His mother has been entertaining her latest guest in the living room and Aftyn thinks it’s hilarious to see her head bobbing up and down.

“What do you think they’re up to?” he asks with a snicker. I glance at him and arch an eyebrow. For as long as I’ve known him, he’s had a libido as high as the stars in the sky, so he knows exactly what they’re doing right now.

“If you don’t want us to get caught, we’ll have to wait until she’s done,” I warn him as I take him by the hand and we creep back toward her bedroom.

He rolls his eyes but lets me lead the way. Once we’re in her room, we crawl under her bed to wait for her guest to leave and for her to turn in for the night.

I never did like the way she treated Aftyn—she basically crucifies him every chance she gets for his father’s sins and has never given him a chance to be himself.

At least, that’s what he tells me, and since he’s not allowed to have friends, I’ve never been over much when she’s home. The one or two times that I have though, she’s laid into him like he’s the biggest pile of trash in the world and he just takes it.

Not anymore, I think grimly as he slides in beside me.

I turn my face toward him and when he glances at me, we both smile. Aftyn is my best friend in the whole world. Even though we honestly hate each other for the most part, we kind of know how to calm the other one down and it just works for us.

His full lips suddenly become a tight line of anger, and I reach over, take his free hand in mine, and give it a squeeze.

Seems that Mommy Dearest has gotten to the fucking portion of her ‘entertainment special’ and she sounds like a stuck pig squealing and moaning like a two-dollar whore.

“Hopefully it’ll be over soon,” I whisper to him as he turns his eyes toward the underbelly of the bed. His hand is shaking but I know it’s not in fear; it’s in anger, which he has every right to feel.

But not for much longer.

My Granddaddy died a few weeks ago and his estate lawyer already told me that I’m getting his gold mine. I promised Aftyn that I’d set him up with a new life. One far away from this bitch that makes his life a living hell, and I intend to follow through on it.

We just have to make sure she stays out of the fucking way of our plans.

An eternity, or thirty minutes later, the front door opens, then closes. She’s finally gotten rid of Aftyn’s latest ‘uncle’ and now the fun can begin. I always hated that she flaunts all of these bastards in his face, making him feel even less than zero, because she’s so captivated by every man in the world except for her own son.

“Wills?”

I look at Aftyn whose eyes are wide and lower lip trembling. It’s not because he’s sad—he knew exactly what we were going to do tonight—I think it’s because he can’t believe