DIRTY

28 SAM

Bayleigh finally cleaned all the blood from my face and patched up the scar on my head. Just as she finished securing the patch the bathroom door swung open. Dom stood in the door looking at us.

"Hey bro your pops is out here, he said it's time" Dom explained.

"Tell him I'll be out in a minute" I said.

Dom nodded and went out the door.

"What does that mean, it's time?" Bayleigh asked.

"It's nothing, just some stuff my dad and I have to take care of" I said.

"Stuff, stuff like what?"

"It's nothing for you to worry about okay baby" Sam said.

"Usually when someone says don't worry that's when you're supposed to worry" she sighed.

"It'll be fine. Look, just stay here with the guys and I'll make it back for the after party" I explained, as I opened the bathroom door.

"You don't have to do this" Bayleigh called.

I turned to face her.

"I see your face. I see that scared little boy. You don't have to do what he says anymore because you're scared of him, you're your own man" Bayleigh said.

"I'm not scared for me, I'm scared for my sister. I've dealt with this man all my life, I'll do anything he says so my sister won't have to" I said.

"Come back to me in one piece" Bayleigh said.

I nodded.

An hour later I found myself sitting with my dad in a large black van. We were parked outside of Pier fifty-five waiting on the Don and a few members of his gang to pull up.

"Oh, hey, change of plans" Dad said.

He was sitting in the back of the van loading our guns.

"What do you mean?" I asked, sitting in the driver's seat, eating goldfish crackers.

I was nervous as fuck and when I'm nervous I eat, like a bottomless pit. Our plan was to double cross these guys. We couldn't come up with all the money, so we placed an object of equal weight into the bottom of the briefcase and covered it with the little money we did acquire.

"I managed to make a call to a friend in Canada that owed me a favor" Dad said. "Anyway, he wired me the money".

I pinned him with a look as I stopped eating the goldfish.

"So, all the money is actually in there?" I questioned, pointing to the briefcase.

Dad nodded. I continued to look at him.

"What, you don't trust me?" Dad shrugged.

"Do I need to remind you of your tract record of 'trust'" I informed, doing air quotes with my fingers.

"Listen, I know I've been an ass, like...all of your life. I know I've never been a good father..." Dad started.

"Never" I interrupted.

"Sitting in jail I thought about some things. I also thought about how much you said you hated me, and I guess I'm just trying to make it right. I'm trying to get my shit together, but with your mom being gone it's hard" Dad explained. "Everything is so hard because I still hear her voice sometimes. I still hear her voice, her laugh, I even still see her smile. But what I'm trying to say is I'm trying to be a better person for you and Cera."