Something Gained (USC Series Book #1)

chapter six

SOMETHING GAINED
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AIDAN

"Hey Mom," I greeted, muffled sounds coming out from my phone speaker.

I hadn't spoken to my Mom or anyone in my family for a couple of days. The last I spoke with them was on Monday morning when I left the hospital for class.

"Hey sweetie, how's school been?" Her melodic voice spoke, sending warmth through my body. Her soft voice always puts me at ease.

"It's been alright. Not much has been happening. Midterms are coming up though, so it's going to get stressful," I explained, trying to keep my focus on the road in front of me.

Tyson enjoys doing things last minute. We were preparing for the party that is going to start at our house soon. Kai went to our liquor cabinet and realised we were almost out. Holden told Kai sometime this week to pick some up, but he has the brain the size of a peanut and obviously forgot.

So here I am, driving to the closest liquor store to buy alcohol I won't even drink.

"No problem, honey. Oh, I forgot to mention. Your dad has decided not to go back into rehab," Mom stated.

I groaned. "Why not?"

"Said it won't benefit him in the long run and I support his decision."

"That is not true. Rehab is the only thing that will help him in the long run. We both know how stubborn Dad is with stuff to do with his addiction. How many times does he have to blackout unconscious and be admitted to the hospital for you to realise rehab is the only option if you want him to recover?" I argued, my tone coming out firm.

"I know you don't understand. But this is about your father and I need to respect his wishes. This doesn't concern you at all," my mother says, her voice remaining calm.

I need to pull over. If I don't, I'm not sure what might happen on the road right now. I really shouldn't have answered my mother's call right before driving.

Inevitably, my father would come up and just thinking about him sends a burning rage through my body.

"It concerns me when it's affecting my life as well, Mom. How long has he been battling this addiction? He won't get better unless we push him to do so."

"Okay," Mom says, caving. "I'll talk to him. Also, have you spoken to your sister recently? I haven't heard from her in a while and she hasn't been home for ages as well."

I informed her I had heard from Lilly, my sister, a few days ago. We began talking to each other casually.  She acted as though our previous disagreement about my father didn't occur.

The liquor store entered my vision, and I parked my car in the parking lot. "Alright, Mom. I need to go. Talk to you soon?"

"Yep, definitely sweetie. Love you."

"Love you, too"

I climbed out of my Range Rover, my feet scraping along the asphalt of the parking lot. A gust of icy wind blew across my face, sending a shiver across my whole body.

The fall weather is finally beginning. The leaves were falling onto the ground, a slight frigid breeze entered the air.

Quickly, I ducked into the shop and gathered some cheap beers and liquor. Tyson wasn't specific about what he wanted, so I just picked out the cheapest things. I used my ID and dashed out of the shop as fast as I could.