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STEVE OPENED THE GARAGE door, holding it for both of the boys, and then followed them into the kitchen. “Upstairs.” Steve pointed toward the stairwell. They trudged upstairs.
He exhaled and turned toward his wife sitting on the couch with a script in her lap. “I don’t know what else to do with them.”
“We’ve done all we can.” Jennifer Williams closed the script. “They’re almost eighteen and they’ve been rebelling ever since Jessica died.”
“Can you blame them?” Steve met her sincere eyes.
He hadn’t been prepared to raise a stranger’s children, never mind two teenage boys with baggage that rivaled disaster victims, but after what had happened in Georgia, Steve couldn’t just leave the children in the care of their aging grandparents. They weren’t equipped to deal with the after effects of Georgia any more than Steve and Jennifer were, and they certainly weren’t prepared for the responsibility of CJ Ryan; the prodigal son, the offspring of Ty and Jessica, and the only human being capable of destroying the earth on a whim.
“No, but it still feels like I’m failing miserably at being a parent,” he said and sat next to her. “They’re constantly in trouble. Shoplifting, underage drinking, DUIs, and now this. Where the hell did we go wrong?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Uncle Steve. We screwed up.” CJ stepped into view on the stairs.
Steve met CJ’s gaze. “I can’t keep bailing you out.”
CJ nodded. “I know and I’m sorry.” He disappeared from view.
Steve glanced at the script on Jennifer’s lap. Another B rated horror flick. “Is that any good?”
Jennifer shook her head. “My character is killed off pretty quick.”
“I don’t know why you don’t just go back to the theater or that soap that keeps calling.”
Jennifer pressed her lips together and looked at the ceiling. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. I think they need me around.” She slid her gaze back to Steve. “Especially Tom. He gets angrier and angrier as each year passes.”
A hand banged on the railing and they both jumped. Tom glared at them and then signed a frantic comeback. I don’t need you here, I don’t need anybody.
Steve heard the words even before his hands finished signing.
“Tom.” Jennifer stood, and he put his hand out like he was stopping traffic.
Don’t! Don’t look at me like I’m some freak. I don’t need your pity. I just need to be left the hell alone. So, go to New York, or wherever your jobs call you and stay the hell out of my life.
CJ appeared on the stairs. “Don’t talk to her like that.”
Tom turned, glaring at him. He raised his middle finger and turned, hopped to the landing, and stalked toward the front door. CJ reached him before Steve could intervene and the minute CJ’s hand landed on Tom’s shoulder, Tom spun, sweeping CJ’s feet from under him. CJ reacted just as quickly, yanking Tom with him as he fell, and sending Tom crashing on the floor. Both boys held black belts in various martial arts disciplines and were equals in height, weight and talent, so when they fought, things tended to break. But this time when they got to their feet, CJ tilted his head and Tom crashed into the wall, held in place by an invisible hand.
Let me go! Tom’s thought barreled with a strength that had grown over the years, and CJ winced but shook his head.
“No.” His chest heaved. “You can’t leave.”
Tom’s laugh filled the room.
“CJ, put him down.” Steve crossed the distance, righting the table they knocked over. “He isn’t going anywhere.” He turned to Tom. “Isn’t that right?”
Tom glared at both of them and kept quiet, neither nodding nor shaking his head. He was protecting his thoughts from both of them. When his eyes landed on Steve, his teeth snapped together, and his eyes narrowed.
Steve caught the tail end of Tom’s thought process, something akin to wanting to kick his ass. “CJ, I want you and Jen to go upstairs right now.” Steve pointed to the stairs, without breaking eye contact with Tom. “Now!” the command filled the room, shocking both CJ and Jennifer into motion. They scurried up the stairs and Steve waited and listened. No wings fluttered, and he sent a silent warning to his ever-present ghost to stay put before returning his full focus on Tom. The fury in the kid’s eyes worried him enough to take drastic action.
“We’re going for a ride.” He grabbed Tom’s arm and hauled him to the car, shoving him in the passenger seat. He flew out of the gate and navigated the roads like an Indy 500 driver, slamming on the brakes in front of the deserted beach.
“Out!” He yanked Tom out of the car and practically dragged him onto the wet sand. “You want to kick my ass?” He stretched his arms out. “Here’s your chance, boy.”
Tom didn’t hesitate; he threw a punch that Steve parried, sidestepping away.
Steve felt the emotions swamping Tom, saturating his mind and movements. Anger prevailed, but there was something underneath, something darker, something that if he followed, it would lead him down a path to despair. He let him swing, and kick and go through the motions of forms, knocking each and every tag out of range until Tom sat on the sand and put his face in his hands, sobbing in frustration.
Taking a seat next to him, Steve threw his arm around his shoulder, offering him support without words. He stared at the ocean and sighed.
“O u me.” He shook Steve’s arm from his shoulder.
Steve put his arm back despite Tom’s plea not to touch him. “What happened? What’s going on?”
“O-ee.” Tom knocked Steve’s arm away again.
“Bullshit. This isn’t normal behavior for you and we both know that.”
Tom turned his head, his blue eyes shimmering with tears. “e oke u wi me.”
He sighed and threw his arm around his shoulder again. “It happens.”
You don’t understand. She broke up with me because I couldn’t kiss her like the other guys.
Bitterness accompanied the thought and Steve didn’t know what to say.
I just want to be normal. I want to be able to talk, to...to kiss.
Steve pressed his lips together and looked out at the ocean. “I did what I could, Tom. Things just don’t grow back.”
Your eye did.
Steve shook his head. “My eye was never removed. Deflated, yeah, gross as hell, but I didn’t want it taken out.” He turned to Tom. “So, it was there when you’re mother did her magic. But the things he took from you...”
They’re gone.
Steve nodded. “I’m sorry.”
Tom rested his head on his folded arms.
Steve closed his eyes and gently rubbed Tom’s back, letting the kid wallow for a few minutes. Up until today, Tom seemed to have adjusted just fine to his handicap. His grades were top notch, he was a star running back on the high school football team and he had his share of girls lining up to talk to him on facebook every night. Sure, every now and then he’d get frustrated, but not like this, not this complete anguish.
Tanya, his latest girlfriend, was a beauty, a cheerleader with the body of a goddess and the face of an angel.
“You really liked this one.”
He nodded without raising his head.
“I swear someday you’ll find the right girl and your issues won’t matter at all.”
Tom tilted his head, raising his eyebrows. Issues? I’m a f-ing freak!
“No, you’re not. You’re a good kid who was dealt a raw hand. As I understand it, you’re a lot like your biological father. Your dad had a very high opinion of him, you know.”
Tom nodded. He knew. His folks made sure he knew what his father sacrificed for them.
“You’ve got a good heart and that’s a rare thing these days. So what if you’ve got this handicap, screw ’em if they can’t accept you for who you are.”
That’s easy for you to say...
“Yes, it is, but here’s the thing. You bring a lot to the table and if Tanya can’t see that, she’s blind. So what if you can’t stick your tongue down her throat.”
He laughed, shaking his head. Just shut up now. You don’t know what it’s like to be me. You don’t know what it’s like not to be able to do those things. Yeah, I can drive her crazy with my hands, I can even screw the daylights out of her, but she wants more, and I can’t give her what she wants.
Steve raised his eyebrows. “You’re sleeping with her?”
Tom’s eyes widened, and he looked away, his cheeks turning a rosy pink from more than the cool air. He turned back. Don’t give me that shocked look. I am almost eighteen. How old were you?
Steve cleared his throat and looked out at the water, stumped. He was seventeen when he lost his virginity, so he understood more about teenage hormones than he wanted to give away. “We’re not talking about me. Tell me you’re at least being smart about it?” He returned his gaze to Tom.
He rolled his eyes and nodded. Yeah, I am. It was his turn to look out at the water. I want to bring her to Paradise Cove.
Steve stiffened. “Why?”
So she can hear my voice and I can kiss her the way she wants me to.
“And introduce her to your father?”
Tom raised his eyebrows and shook his head. No way. I’d ask him to be scarce.
“Did you ever think it might be his presence that gives you the ability to speak?”
Tom’s face went ashen and he shook his head.
“And I think he’d have an issue with you sucking face with a girl in front of him.”
Tom snorted. I thought he liked to watch?
Steve couldn’t help it, he burst out laughing. “That’s sick, Tom.”
A grin surfaced and some of the good humor he possessed made its way into his eyes.
Yeah, well, ok, maybe you’re right.
“Oh, you know I’m right.” He glanced at Tom and slapped him on the back. “Let’s get home before Jen has the local police scouring the town for us.” He stood and started brushing the sand off his backside.
Uncle Steve?
“Yeah?”
Thanks.
“Anytime.”