Page 171 of Always Love You More

My father’s drinking has reached an all-time high. He’s been back at work, a new job after he lost the last one, but I’m not surehow long he’ll manage to keep it. I’m honestly surprised they’ve kept him on this long.

I stop in front of Carson, ignoring our father sleeping on the couch.

“Can you get me more water?” he asks, holding out his glass to me.

He’s twisting the cap off his prescription of Oxy when I come back into the room, a full glass of water in hand. “Thought you were supposed to be done with that,” I say, handing him the glass.

“Why don’t you mind your own business, huh?” He glares up at me. “Do you know how much fucking pain I’m in?”

“Sorry,” I mutter as he snatches the glass from me, water sloshing over the top.

He turns back to the TV, and I head for the kitchen.

If I thought he was a nightmare to live with before, it’s nothing compared to how he is now.

Since school got out a month ago, I’ve spent as much time away from the house as I can. But between Jace and Carson, someone always has to be home. If I’m not working, I’m usually trapped here. The walls of this house are starting to feel more and more like a prison than a home. But, thankfully, I have today off. It’s my first break in weeks, and Cathleen promised to cover for me so I can get some time away. She got in late from work, so I’m handling the morning, but once she gets up, I’m out of here.

We’re all going down to the lake. Me, Jameson, Billy, and the rest of our group. I can’t fucking wait.

Jace hits his hands against the top of his high chair, smashing pieces of cut-up banana into it.

“It’s coming,” I tell him, moving back to the stove.

I get through breakfast, clean the kitchen, and give him a bath by the time Cathleen’s getting up for the day. I let her have sometime to get herself together before texting Jameson that I’m ready.

His response comes back a minute later, telling me he’s on his way.

I quickly change and pack a bag before excitedly bounding down the stairs. Keeping my gaze lowered, I move through the living room, trying to avoid my father and Carson’s attention, relieved when I make it to the front door without incident.

Hot summer air wraps around me, and I drop to sit on the steps while I wait for Jameson. My eyes drift closed as I let my head fall back, the sun warming my face.

The low rumble of an engine tells me Jameson’s here before his car even slows in front of my house. I blink my eyes open, sliding my sunglasses over them.

Billy hops out of the car as I start toward them, moving to the back.

“Hey, baby,” Jameson greets me after I drop into the passenger seat, his voice just loud enough to hear over the music blaring from the speakers.

I smile over at him. “Hey.”

His hand comes down to rest on my bare thigh as he peels away from the curb.

By the time we get to the lake, sweat is trailing down my back, my hair is wild from the wind, and the tension in my body is slowly starting to slip away.

I step out of the car, the sound of laughter carrying from down by the water as Billy climbs out of the back. Leaning over, he grabs a few cases of beer, balancing them precariously until I reach out to help.

“I’ve got it,” Jameson says, cutting in front of me. “Can you get the towels from the trunk? I threw a blanket in there, too.”

I nod, rounding the car to grab them then follow the two of them down to where our friends have set up.

As we get closer, their laughter and the music flowing from the speaker they brought grows louder.

“There they are,” Mason shouts, jumping up from his spot and jogging over to Billy, taking a case of beer. “We were wondering if you were ever gonna get here.”

I glance around, noticing that we’re the last ones to show up.

Billy breaks off from us, him and Mason moving over to where Dylan and Rowan are standing. They all greet each other in that way guys do—grabbing hands and smacking each other on the back. Even though Billy’s not in the band anymore, they’re all still close.

There are a few other kids here who we hang around with, but at things like this, me and Jameson tend to keep mostly to ourselves.