Breaking Free by Jennifer Slattery

Author:Jennifer Slattery
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Published: 2016-10-22T16:00:00+00:00

Alice returned to Beth’s after her failed attempt to talk to Tim and Danny at their early morning practice and stared out the window from Beth’s kitchen table. Two chubby-cheeked toddlers raced Big Wheels down the adjacent sidewalk as their mother ran behind them.

Beth entered and sat across from her. “Ed said you went out last night.”

Alice traced her finger along a crack in the table.

“Did you get any sleep?”

“Your guest room was very comfortable, thank you. And thank you for letting me stay over.”

Ed had already left for work. Hopefully, Beth had errands to run today. Alice needed a few minutes to herself, to process everything and come up with a plan. One she should have formulated before packing her suitcase.

She wrapped her hands around her coffee cup and watched the cream disappear into a sea of brown. How long would Beth and Ed let her stay? How long did she want to? As if she had a choice. Until she found a job, her options were few. And what about the boys? They couldn’t stay here in Beth’s one guest room. Although at this point, her hopes of them joining her had nearly evaporated.

Obviously, they were avoiding her. She had called their cell phones more times than she could count and left messages each time. Not one returned call. Nothing. Not that she blamed them, really. Their world had been turned upside down.

What kind of mother was she, walking out on them like that? Except she hadn’t walked out on them. She left Trent, and it was for their own good.

Right?

Beth moved to the fridge and pulled out an orange juice container. “You talk to the boys yet?” She poured herself a glass.

“I tried. They won’t listen.”

“Do you think they’re at the house?”

“Danny said they’re at a friend’s, but I don’t know for how long.”

“If you need someone to talk to . . .” She placed her hand on Alice’s shoulder.

Beth migrated to the living room, set her glass on the end table, and curled into the corner of the couch. She grabbed a notebook and her Bible, chewing on the end of a pen as her eyes scanned the opened page.

Alice hadn’t even thought to bring her Bible with her. But that was only because she’d left in a hurry. Not that she’d been reading it much lately.

Her heart sank as she relived the afternoon she’d left. The hatred in her son’s eyes . . . Oh, sweet Timmy. She never meant to hurt him. Either of them.

Maybe if she’d waited one more day, the boys would have come with her. They didn’t understand. If only she could talk to them.

She rose and lumbered toward the guest room. Closing the door behind her, she grabbed her phone and sifted through her contacts. She needed to find out where Tim and Danny were. Though she wasn’t thrilled about sharing her drama with the entire PTA, she didn’t have much of a choice. Highlighting the first name on the list, she pressed call.

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