Toxic Love by Kristopher Triana

Author:Kristopher Triana
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: QuarkXPress, ebook, epub
Publisher: Blood Bound Books
Published: 2019-02-14T05:00:00+00:00

PART TWO

A TOXIC RELATIONSHIP

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I was a moron.

I always waited until the last minute to do my Christmas shopping. Some of it I did online, but it’s hard to browse products on the web. Much easier when you’re in a store and you can see everything in person and have impulse-buy displays tell you what to do. As the father of two young girls, I needed the advice of big business.

Of course I’d been given a list of desired presents too. Rachel had sent it along with Fay when I picked her up for our sleepover on the fifteenth. Carmen had refused to come, and I wasn’t about to force her, even though that meant I wouldn’t see her until New Year’s, the one holiday I got the girls for. On top of Thanksgiving and Christmas, Rachel had even taken Halloween, and even though the girls said they were too old for trick ‘r treating it still stung a little. We could have at least carved jack-o-lanterns and watched horror movies all night.

Fay had been in a jovial mood. She loved Christmastime—everything from the pretty lights to the trees to those head-splitting carols. It was her favorite holiday. I took her bowling and was impressed by how much better she was now that she’d grown some, giving her strong enough shoulders and long enough arms to roll the ball without doing it granny style.

“Sorry Carmen wouldn’t come, Dad.”

I put down the soggy pizza and sodas I’d brought over from the concession stand. “That’s not your fault. I’m upset she feels this way, but I guess I can understand. Carmen’s just emotional.”

“She’s a butthead!”

I chuckled but caught myself, knowing I shouldn’t encourage that kind of talk. “What kind of thing is that to say about your sister?”

“It’s the truth. She’s being a brat. She’s, like, mean to everyone now, even me! What did I do?” She huffed and took a sip of her Dr. Pepper.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, pumpkin,” I said. “She’s just having a hard time adjusting to all these changes.”

“So am I, but I don’t slam doors and yell and scream.”

I put my arm around her. “Well, that’s because you’re so mature. Pretty soon you’ll be buying stocks and using Preparation-H.”

She giggled. “Gross!”

Last Easter she’d seen a tube of Preparation-H in her grandmother’s bathroom and asked me what it was for. I wasn’t too pleased with Barbara that day, so I’d told Fay flat out.

“You can use Preparation-H,” she teased. “Cause you’re so old.”

Playful insult comedy was new to Fay and I found it rather endearing. I rustled her hair and led her on. “How old I am?”

“You’re so old, when you walk out of a museum the alarm goes off.”

I laughed like hell, feeling better than I’d felt in a long time. One of my girls was coming back.

“I love you, kiddo,” I said, still snickering.

“I love you too, you big mummy.”

Now it was Christmas Eve and I was in a mall, kind of surprised they even existed anymore.

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.