Fast Car | Escapes #1

Chapter 24: Jenny

"Want to drive?" Mom asked, dangling keys in front of my face.

I slurp the last of my milk and set the glass down. "I don't know how to drive."

"Oh." She looks disappointed. "Of course that man wouldn't have shown you how. We never had a car." She sighed. "Well, it's about time you learned how. We'll swing by the DMV and see what you need to do to get a license. How about it?"

"Sure." I ate the last bite of toast and slid off the stool. Dishes in hand, I walked over to the sink and began running water to wash them. Mom reached over and turned the water off. "Hey!"

"Nope. Not in my house. You're not doing dishes while you're living here. You've been through enough with your father." She shuffled nervously. "Did he... do things to you?"

I frowned. "He never touched me, if that's what you mean. If not, then, yes, he beat me a fair few times, but that was what got him arrested, too. I called the police on him."

"He's in jail?" she asked, not sounding surprised. "How did that happen?" 

I recapped what happened on my last night in Rapid Falls. "As far as I know, he's waiting for a hearing and then court. I'll probably have to go back for-"

My mother's arms suddenly surrounded me in a crushing hug, cutting off my words. "I'm so, so sorry you had to go through that," she said, voice shaking. 

I awkwardly pat her back. "I'm fine, nothing happened to me." As tempted as I was to push her away, I knew she needed this. Plus, I told myself, I probably needed this as well. It had been two years since I'd been able to be hugged. I never counted the times my father would apologize and hug me because I knew it would always happen again. His apologies were never sincere. 

But with Mom, I wanted to believe she was genuine. I wanted to believe that she didn't really want to leave me. I wanted to believe that so badly.

"Mom, seriously, I'm fine," I said after a long moment.

She pulled away with a sigh. "I missed you, you know. There was no telling what that man was doing to you this whole time." Tears were welling up in her eyes. "Not a single day went by that I didn't worry about you."

Yet she never came back for me. 

That one statement echoed through my head, tainting what little trust I had in her. Why didn't she ever come back for me? Why didn't she take me with her? Those weren't questions I could even ask. I had to let them torment me.

"I missed you too, Mom." I gave her a genuine smile. Whatever the answers were, it didn't change the fact that we were back together and she was welcoming me with open arms. I just wasn't quite sure about her new husband. He was rubbing me the wrong way at every turn and seemed like he didn't want me here.

After another moment or so she released me and took a deep breath. "You've probably noticed that Wen is a bit standoffish. He'll come around, I promise. He's just . . . resistant to change. He's a nice guy, though. He just needs some time to get used to the idea of you living with us."

"I meant what I said, though," I reminded her. "I fully intend to move out and be on my own. He doesn't have to worry about me for too long."

Mom's smile faltered a little. "He'll come around. You'll see."

My mind flickered back to the way he looked at me when he came to my room. Even the next morning my nerves were unsettled. I hoped that I was reading more into a look than I needed to, but something in my gut told me I wasn't.

"Okay," was all I said in return. "Anyway, I'm ready. Let's go."

Mom twirled her keys once before nodding. She grabbed her purse and Kyle while I grabbed my wallet as we walked out the door. Kyle followed her to the car and she put him in a car seat. I watched in the rearview mirror as she buckled him in. How did she do that? I'd be afraid of getting him caught in the buckle!