“Can I go take a shower?” she asks timidly.
“Yes,” I reply with a nod. “You know where our bedroom is, and your clothes are where you left them. Get yourself nice and clean, then come back and talk to me. It’s been a while since I’ve had some adult conversation.”
The smirk on my face is enough to make her wince, but she knows better than to defy me again. One wrong move and back into the ground she goes, only this time, she’ll fucking stay there.
I watch her leave the room and pick my pint back up when I’m confident she won’t stray anywhere she doesn’t belong right now. I’m sure she’ll want to stop by her brothers’ room, but that belongs to Darby now and none of their shit is in there. I built a bonfire one night and burned it all to hell—I figured they could use it there while they rot.
I wouldn’t imagine that Eloy and Vaughn went anywhere good. Honor Thy Mother and Father is one of the Ten Commandments and they sure fucked that up big time.
Not that I’m a religious man, but I like to think logically about things and if that’s what I can use to be able to sleep better at night knowing that those little fucks are out of my hair forever, then Hell, I’m willing to play along and believe.
“Fuck ‘em,” I say to no one in particular as I pick the pint back up and keep eating.
Jocelyn is here now, and Darby will get to know her Momma soon enough. And if they’re both really good girls, they’ll get to know me too.
Once I finished my ice cream and tossed the empty pint into the trash can, I made my way into the living room to lie down on the couch and wait for Jocelyn. I can hear the shower knobs turning so I know she’s done now, I just have to wait for her to dry up and get dressed.
Ever since she was a little girl, she’s always been very curious and I’m hoping that she knows better at this point. She knows that she’s only to go to our room, shower, then come straight to me. I’m hoping she’s not dumb enough to try and sneak a glance into the boys’ room because if she does, she’ll see Darby and that’ll pop open a can of worms that I don’t have the can opener for just yet.
I close my eyes and sigh as I clasp my hands over my chest. If she’s smart—and I know she is, she’ll probably try to take me out thinking I’m asleep, but I’m ready for that. These kids have always kept me on my toes when they were all around, and anything they’ve tried, I’ve alrea
dy done before.
It’s the proverbial eyes in the back of the head thing that parents always talk about. Kids think it’s all bullshit until they’re caught being dumb little fucks, then they are amazed as hell that we knew all along.
I don’t regret having any of them, I just wish they turned out better is all.
Now, I could take some blame for it but I won’t. I did what I could with them and that’s all there is to that story. Darby on the other hand … I’ll do much better with her.
“Hi.”
I open my eyes and cock my head to the side, a smile spreading across my face. Jocelyn is standing just inside the living room, her hands firmly clasped in front of her, and her hair damply sitting on her shoulders.
“Didn’t have time to dry up completely?” I ask with a laugh.
“I … I just didn’t want to draw attention to myself,” she says, her eyes darting nervously around the room. “I can go back and fix it if you want me to.”
“Nah,” I reply, swinging my legs off the side of the couch. “Come on in and have a seat, kid. Let’s catch up.”
She clears her throat and walks toward the chair that sits directly across from the couch. In a way, it reminds me of the last time that Laura came to visit because she sat in that same damn chair.
Fucking bitches and that chair, I think as I shake my head. Maybe that’ll be the next thing I make a bonfire for—it’s just up to Joce if she’s in the damn thing when I decide to take it out back.
“So, how ya been?” I ask, leaning back and crossing my hands behind my head. I’m not exactly sure what I’m expecting her to say, but I wait for her answer anyway. I stopped going to check on her as often as I used to when I first tossed her down there. I didn’t want Darby getting too curious about the oubliette, even though she clearly already has.
Jocelyn doesn’t say anything. Instead, she folds her hands on her lap and glances up at me every now and then, cutting her eyes toward the door.
I sigh loudly. “When did you become such a pussy? Seriously, kid. You used to be so full of spunk and ready to fight at a moment’s notice, and now you’re this docile little piece of shit and it’s starting to bug me.”
This time, when she glances up at me and meets my eyes, she holds them in hers. I can tell that I’m starting to make her angry and that’s what I want because that’s when she fucks the best.
“Good,” I say evenly, with a nod. “Get pissed off. You’ve got a child in this house that you don’t even know yet, and by the looks of it, you only seem to give a shit about yourself right now. That’s not a good look for you, Mommy.”
“Must have been the example I had growing up,” she replies curtly, inspecting her fingernails.
“Damn,” I reply with a chuckle. “That had some bite to it, little girl.”
Jocelyn shrugs indifferently and puts a hand to her stomach. I can tell she’s hungry, but I don’t know if she’s worth sparing any food on.