The Upside of Being Let Down (new adult romance - 1) by Casey London & James Karolyn

Author:Casey, London & James, Karolyn [Casey, London]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2013-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

(14)

Bryan walked the creaky steps. He hated the smell of the halfway house. He hated how it felt like it would fall over at any second. If his father was inside, would that be so terrible?

At the top landing, Bryan paused to collect himself. He needed to play nice. He found his father’s new room and knocked on the door. The ugly olive green door with cracked paint looked terrible but not quite as bad as the hellish sight of his father who opened the door.

“Bryan,” he said.

He smiled and two of his bottom teeth were missing. The rest were yellow and rotted.

“Dad,” Bryan said. “What happened to your teeth?”

“Fell out,” his father said. “That’s what happens when you don’t take care of yourself, son.”

Bryan’s father nodded and kept his mouth open. If it were Bryan he would have felt ashamed of himself for letting himself go. He would have been even the slightest of embarrassed and would have found a way to get cleaned up.

But not Bryan’s father.

Years ago, he could party and enjoy himself and he didn’t look all that bad. That’s how he justified it then. Now he justified his looks and actions by thinking he was teaching Bryan life lessons.

“Do you have a job yet?” Bryan asked.

“Are you here to ask me questions or visit?”

“Maybe both.”

“Here. Come in, son.”

Bryan stepped into the room and felt his stomach turn. A man in his early fifties and all he had to show for himself was half a room. A metal bed, a comforter, and nightstand. A clock. A calendar and random papers tacked to the wall.

Bryan opened his mouth but was cut off by another voice.

“Bob, who is it?”

Bryan turned and felt his father’s arm go around his shoulder. “This is my son, Bryan. Look at him. Good looking boy, huh?” His father nodded. “And, uh, Bryan, this is my good pal, Willie.”

“Nice to meet you,” Bryan said.

Willie stood from his bed, a thick man with dark eyes that made Bryan shiver. He put his hand out, a stained black hand, and Bryan took it. They shook for a few seconds.

“Your old man is a son of a bitch,” Willie said. “Glad he’s here though.”

“Good to know,” Bryan said.

Willie turned and touched his leg. He walked back to his bed and grabbed a small stack of books. “I’ll go for a walk. Have a smoke. A drink. A book.”

“A drink?” Bryan’s father asked.

“Dammit, Bob, what do you think I mean by that?” Willie said. “I ain’t touched the bottle in a year. Six months longer than you.”

“What’s it like after a year?” Bryan’s father asked.

Bryan stepped away from his father. The man stunk of body odor and stale aftershave. He looked around the room, at Willie’s wall, and saw almost the same set up.

“After a year,” Willie said, “I can still taste it. But that’s not why it tastes good, Bob.”

“Why does it taste good?” Bryan’s father called out.

Willie opened the door and stood for a second. Bryan felt uncomfortable and his blood already started to boil.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.