The River's Edge by Tina Sears

Author:Tina Sears
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction - Literary
Publisher: Bedazzled Ink Publishing
Published: 2016-09-05T04:00:00+00:00

MORE THAN THE rain loomed. My heart was burdened by what my future held. As if on cue, the bruised sky ruptured and angels everywhere began to cry. Fat droplets of rain flattened against the windshield and streamed down the glass, blurring the oncoming traffic momentarily between the rhythm of the wipers. Uncle Butch tight-knuckled the steering wheel as he caressed the edges of the wet, winding road. It felt like fifteen hours instead of fifteen minutes to get to the house. Lightning scarred the sky and a crack of thunder followed as we pulled into the driveway.

The house was dark and hot. Uncle Butch pushed past me and grabbed a beer out of the fridge. “It sure feels good to be home.”

He popped open the can, chugged the beer, and slammed the empty can on the kitchen counter.

“Aw, that’s good,” he said and burped. He grabbed another one. “Maybe you’d like to go upstairs and take a long, hot bath before you call your mom. It’s a luxury we don’t have at the cottage.”

I felt uncomfortable in his presence, especially when he was drinking. I learned how to count the beers Uncle Butch had each night, and tonight he was on number seven. There was a darkness that crawled up inside him with each beer.

“No thanks. I’m going to call my mom now,” I said and picked up the receiver. I waited until he was out of the room before I dialed the number.

It took three long rings before I heard my mother.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mom,” I said.

“Hi, Chris. It’s so good to hear your voice again. I sure do miss you.”

“I miss you too.” I took a deep breath. “Mom?”

“Yeah, honey.” She sounded so tired.

“I was wondering.” Another deep breath. “When can I come home?” The edge in my voice was clear.

“What is it, honey? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, but . . .” How was I going to tell her I knew about the divorce? I eased into it. “Have you heard from Dad?”

She let out a long sigh. “Yeah, but it’s complicated.”

The sadness in her voice vibrated through the phone. It made me want to cry. I took a few more deep breaths to shake the feeling.

“I know, Mom. That’s why I want to come home. I can help.”

“Chris, you have to give me some more time.”

I wanted to scream-yell-cry. I said nothing.

“Please, honey. Can you just give me a little more time until I start feeling better?”

There was a quiver in her voice. She was pleading so I gave in. We were just talking around the “D” word anyway. “Okay, Mom. I hope you feel better soon.”

“Yeah, me too, sweetie.”

“I guess I’ll see you soon, huh?”

“Yes, honey. See you soon.”

She asked me a bunch of questions about what I’d been up to and I answered, trying to show her what a good time I was having. I told her about my new friends, about swimming at the pool, going to Coney Island, going to the dances. She seemed glad I was having fun with my cousins, but I guess she saw through me and asked about Reds specifically.

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