Succeeding Love

Shitty Night

Vin

Last night, after watching Lynn fumble to her door with tears in her eyes, I was left not knowing what the hell to do. I did not know how I could fix this.

The reality of every mistake I made hit me all at once. She trusted me to help her deal with the drunken idiot, but I jumped to anger, and ended up putting her in a worse situation than the one she was originally in.

My fingers were shaking as I sat in my dark car and pressed send on that text message, telling her I was sorry. I couldn’t think of what else to say. I was sorry. Sorry that I had made a shitty situation worse out of possessive rage instead of helping her to get his sorry ass cleaned up and home. She had to do it, because she didn’t trust me any longer to be around him.

She didn’t trust me. That tore me the fuck up inside.

I sat in my car for a while, waiting for a text back. After ten, twenty, thirty minutes of waiting, I gave up and dragged my sorry ass into the house.

I felt like complete shit. I must have looked like it too. Mom was still up, watching some late-night talk show on TV. When I walked in, she looked surprised to see me, then her eyes filled with concern as she took in my entire appearance.

This was a shit time for mom to be observant. I didn’t want to explain, but knew the questions were coming.

“Hi, sweetie. I didn’t expect you home tonight. Everything alright?”

I rubbed the back of my neck, sighing heavily. “Not really, mom.”

She picked up the remote and put the TV on mute. She would not let me run away easily.

“What happened?”

I shook my head. “Nothing, mom. Just a shitty night.”

“Did you and your girlfriend get into a fight?”

Damn, she would not let this go. I was hoping I could just head to my room to be miserable by myself.

“Yeah. I messed up,” I murmured, eyeing the stairs for my escape.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. Is there anything I can do to help? Do you want me to talk to her?”

“No, mom. I think I got to handle this on my own.”

“Well, what about I just make you a bouquet?” She asked hopefully. She really wanted to help. I could see it on her face. “Nothing says sorry like flowers.”

I felt the corners of my mouth lift slightly, loving my mom’s way of showing support. “Sounds wonderful mom,” I walked by her chair, kissing the top of her head. “Flowers would be perfect. I’m going to head up. Good night.”

She patted my cheek. “Good night, sweetie.”

Flowers from my mom. That was how Lynn and I started this whole thing. Bringing them to her tomorrow while saying how sorry I was would actually be perfect.

Right when I reached the stairs, mom called out, “You still want to marry this girl, Kevin?”

I stopped, imagining my life without her. That thought hurt so badly. Not seeing her smile, hearing her silliness, or her infectious laughter. I knew I couldn’t live without her.

“Yeah. I’m going to marry her, mom.”

She smiled sweetly, nodding her head. “It will work out. Get some sleep. Tomorrow is a new day.”

I nodded, then dragged my exhausted body up the stairs to my room.

I took off my shirt, but it still had Lynn’s perfume clinging to the fabric. I kept it on, wanting some part of her with me as I tried to fall asleep. After kicking off my boots and jeans, it didn’t take me long to pass out.

~

The next morning, I woke up early, still feeling like shit. I showered quickly, shaved, then checked myself in the mirror, making sure I didn’t look as shitty as I felt.

Lynn will walk her dog soon. On Saturday mornings, we usually woke up and did it together. It was a habit, one I wasn’t about to break, even though I was on the wrong side of the street.

Mom was still in her room, which was odd. She was usually up with the sun, making breakfast in the kitchen before I left for work. I haven’t been home on a Saturday in a while though, so maybe she sleeps in on Saturdays now.

I heard her as I passed by her room. She sounded like she was talking to herself. It was barely seven in the morning. Surely she wasn’t on the phone.

“He loves you, dear. Everything will work out. He told me as much,” I heard her say.

Was she rehearsing what to say to Lynn? I told her I would handle it, but I guess that didn’t stop her from worrying.

Hearing a dog bark, I dropped the thoughts of mom talking to herself and rushed down the stairs two at a time. I knew that bark. Kevin saw a cat, and I know Lynn has a hard time controlling him when he gets excited.

Throwing the door open, I saw not Lynn with Kevin, but Preston.

“Stop it, you stupid mutt.” Preston jerked Kevin back on the leash, managing him perfectly fine.

Preston saw me and stopped as I walked down to the street from my house. He was eyeing me skeptically. I know he dragged his crying mom into the house last night, but I wasn’t sure how much he knew about the events from the night before.

“Morning,” I muttered nervously.

Preston was the gatekeeper to his mother. I knew that well enough to know not to misstep again after sending his mom home crying.

“Morning,” he said in a hard tone.

Shit.

At least Kevin was happy to see me. He jumped up, wagging his tail excitedly as I rubbed between his ears.

Preston sighed, jerking on Kevin’s leash and telling him to get off me. Then he turned that cold stare back on me.

“Mind telling me what the fuck happened last night?”

My brows knit in confusion. Did Lynn not tell him?

“It was a shitty night,” I murmured, rubbing the back of my neck.

Preston scoffed. “Mom wouldn’t have cried herself to sleep over a shitty night . What happened? Why were you guys with my dad?”

Lynn really didn’t tell him anything. I wasn’t sure if it was my place. I also knew that I really didn’t have an option but to talk to him if I wanted to get to Lynn.

“We went to a charity dinner last night, and your dad was there, too. It was just a shitty night.”

“A shitty night,” Preston scoffed. “You keep saying that but aren’t telling me why.”

“Your dad got drunk,” I shrugged. “Made a fool of himself.”

Preston crossed his arms, looking older than sixteen. He looked me up and down, then said, “That doesn’t explain why mom was crying.”

This kid….

“I don’t know if your mom wants me to tell you everything that happened,” I admitted.

“Why wouldn’t she?” He lifted a brow.

“Because he’s your dad,” I said flatly.

“That’s even more reason to tell me. Let me deal with him, so mom doesn’t have to. What did he do?”

“Kid, you’re putting me in a bad position. I really don’t want to make your mom more upset than she is.”

“So she’s mad at you and not him?” He lifted his chin.

“It was a joint effort,” I scoffed dryly. “Your dad was a drunk asshole, and I got defensive. That’s all I’m telling you. If your mom wants you to know more, she will tell you herself.”

Preston stared at me like he was taking my measure. Then he pursed his lips, nodding to himself. “Fair enough.”

I sighed, feeling like I had just passed some test. “So, your mom?.... Is she still asleep?”

Preston raised a single eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

The kid was pushing his luck with me now. “Is she awake or not?”

His smirk slipped, and he looked back towards his garage like I was missing something. Then I noticed it. Lynn’s car was gone.

Preston looked back at me. “She’s awake. She’s also not home.”

“Where is she?” I was worried instantly.

“The asshole is still being an asshole,” Preston snickered, shaking his head. “She’s at the hospital.”

My eyes went wide, fear rising in me. “Is she okay? Did he-”

“Mom’s completely fine. Dad’s the one who’s not.”