Turmoil | Spruceworth 5.1 (#Wattys2018)

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Holden

       "Remind me why we had to come all the way to Fusion to get alcohol when we could have bought some at the store?" I asked Calvin as I followed him into the nightclub.

       "Because we can get cheaper ones here," Calvin said. "Gerard's family owns the nightclub so we could get a discount."

       "Who?" I asked.

       "One of Dan's best friends," Calvin said. "Gerard already told his parents that we're coming here to get drinks for the party, thus the discounted drinks."

       "And why couldn't Gerard get the drinks?" I asked.

       Calvin shrugged. "Beats me. At least the two of us picking them up means we get first dibs on the drinks."

       "No thanks," I said. "I'm only eighteen. I've still got a couple more months before I can drink legally."

       "Then drink illegally," Calvin said in an obvious tone. "You won't be the first person to do it. If you're careful and don't get caught, you'll be good. And if you do get caught, my brother-in-law could get you out of it."

       "Okay, but I'd rather not drink when my husband is currently struggling to be sober again," I said. "It would send a bad message to him."

       "Fair enough," Calvin said as we walked to the front counter. He told the woman standing behind the counter we were here for the drinks and she nodded and headed into one of the backrooms to get them. "So I take it Shaw isn't coming to the party?"

       "He said he's busy and he would rather not be around alcohol," I said.

       "Right, I don't blame him," Calvin said. "How's he doing?"

       "Horrible," I said. "My parents and his sister turned their back on him. Oh, and Kendra too. She won't let him see the kids. I haven't even seen them and I'm their step-dad. She thinks it won't be fair if I see them and Shaw doesn't."

       "What?" Calvin asked. "That's completely unfair. I mean, yeah, I get where she's coming from but it's not like he's drunk twenty-four seven."

       "Yeah, well try telling everyone else that," I said. "I wish everyone was understanding. But nope. As soon as they found out he's drinking again, he's immediately made out to be some horrible person."

       Gerard's mom brought four six-packages of some sort of alcoholic drink in bottles over to us before telling us the price. While Calvin was paying for them, I looked around the nightclub and spotted someone I didn't want to see.

       Kendra.

       She was sitting at a table, talking to some guy and it looked like they were having the time of their life. And that annoyed me a lot. If she was here, that meant someone was watching the kids. And it definitely wasn't Shaw.

       While she was having a lot of fun and looking really happy, Shaw was somewhere in a horrible mood because she wasn't allowed to see his own kids.

       Kendra ended up noticing me, and I immediately looked away right as Calvin finished paying. We each grabbed a package before heading towards the exit. However, I stopped when I heard Kendra say my name.

       "I'll meet you outside," Calvin said, walking out as I turned to face Kendra.

       "What do you want?" I asked. "Because I'm kind of in a hurry."