Page 5 of Poisoned Promise
Who knew that judgmental doctor would end up helping me? I step back from Bolton and watch anger flash across his face, then he relaxes his expression and turns to the doctor.
“My mistake. I heard his mother was here so I thought I would try my luck.”
“Out!” The doctor barks. “Ms. James, I am so sorry for the intrusion.”
I wave her off, glaring at the back of Bolton as he exits the room.
Fuck.
Who the hell did Alex steal that car from?”
2
DOVE
“Mom, I’m really sorry.” Alex has been apologizing ever since we left the hospital, only voicing minor confusion when I drove home using back streets and turns that turned a thirty-minute drive into almost an hour.
The sun’s already turning the sky a faint amber, and exhaustion clings to my lids while I stride through my small apartment to the kitchen with Alex on my tail.
Making a beeline for the coffee maker, I tap a few buttons to get the strongest brew possible and brace myself on the counter with both hands.
“Say something?” Alex says from the doorway.
All his snidey, snippy attitude melted away in the face of that cop and it’s taken until now for me to calm the urge to follow that bastard through the hospital and kill him in a supply closet.
I don’t do that anymore.
I’m normal now.
Ordinary.
Just a mother and her son.
“Mom?” Alex sounds so meek and it pulls hard at my heart.
Taking a deep breath, I turn away from the coffee maker and face him. “I don’t want to say something I’ll regret because I’m so angry with you right now, Alex. So angry. I mean, what the hell were you even thinking?!”
“It was just supposed to be a bit of fun!”
“Fun?! Where was the fun, Alex? When you snuck out of here and scared me half to death seeing your bed empty? When youstolea car? Or when you crashed it and put you and your friend in the hospital?” He opens his mouth and I point at him. “And don’t you dare try and tell me Michael was driving because I saw that bruise on your shoulder. I know what seatbelt you were wearing!
His mouth snaps closed.
“Come on, tell me where the fun was?”
“I thought I’d be back before you woke up.”
“You’re fourteen, Alex! What are you doing sneaking out in the middle of the night in the first place?!”
“Michael wanted to hang out.”
“And? Where’s your sense, huh? Did you leave it on your pillow because you sure as hell didn’t take it with you. You could have been killed, Alex. Do you understand that? Do youseehow close you came to that phone call telling me you were dead? Why! Why would you do this?!”
Despite the pain in his eyes, he remains defiant. “Just because you live a boring life, Mom, doesn’t mean I want to. Besides, you’re the one who taught me to drive in the first place!”
“As a safety measure!” I snap back. “For emergencies, not an invitation to steal other people’s cars!”
“Michael stole it,” Alex mutters. “Not me.”
