Dna by J L Campbell

Author:J L Campbell [Campbell, J L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Writers' Suite
Published: 2020-06-25T16:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

Denial.

Anger.

Bargaining.

Depression.

Acceptance.

She’d been through the five stages of grief and though Amoy accepted that her life had taken on a hellish quality, she didn’t see a way to handle the fallout.

She’d just left the dentist’s office with Junior.

Dr. Peart removed the splint from Junior’s tooth and asked Amoy to schedule a follow-up visit in six months.

Troy was already at home since she’d picked him up earlier and left him with Miss Sarah.

Now, Amoy sat in the driver’s seat and adjusted the mirror. Her makeup was perfect with no signs of the fading discoloration. By the weekend, she’d be okay to use less foundation, concealer, and face powder.

Junior had buckled himself into the back seat and leaned forward, meeting her eyes. “Can we get ice cream?”

Wearing a conspiratorial smile, she said, “I suppose we could. You were a brave boy in the doctor’s office.”

He beamed at her compliment, then sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and lowered his head.

“You all right, baby?” Amoy asked.

He nodded but when he stared through the window, wearing a hang-dog expression, she knew he wasn’t.

“Tell you what?” She injected a cheerful note in her voice. “We’ll definitely get that ice cream.”

His grin was all the reward she needed, despite the way her heart lurched every time she thought about Russ. She almost wished he was off the island this week. Her nerves were frayed from tiptoeing around him and keeping Junior out of his way.

Their son wasn’t stupid, so it was a matter of time before he started asking questions.

Amoy suspected that since they had the privacy, Junior would bring up his father’s behavior.

She raised the hair off her forehead, turned on the air conditioner and closed her eyes for a few seconds. The low-level headache that hadn’t gone anywhere for several days, pounded behind her eyes.

“Mommy, are you all right?” Junior asked, watching her.

She nodded and forced another smile. “I’m fine, baby.”

As she drove, she wondered whether she should explain a few things to Junior before he asked any questions. Telling him to avoid Russ would make her uncomfortable, but she had to find a diplomatic way to do it. Either that or have Russ continue sniping at him, which would only hurt her baby more. She determined in her mind that she’d do whatever it took to protect Junior.

Every time she thought about what Russ said to her last night, the words hit her like a tidal wave and she felt as if she was drowning. The reality that Russ could disown their son as if he hadn’t been a part of him all these years had her twisted up in knots. She set her jaw and blinked hard to prevent tears of rage from escaping.

Amoy gripped the wheel hard and stopped herself from sniveling. As much as she wanted to cry until she emptied herself, she couldn’t. She pasted on a smile and looked into the mirror. “Still want that ice cream?”

Junior nodded, keeping watchful eyes on her.

Amoy widened her smile to reassure him and let her gaze go back to the road.

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