Revive Me (32 page)

Tessa

“C
an you take these to your car?” Dawson asked, handing me two heavy, trash bags full of clothes. We’d driven straight to his house after the hearing, hoping to beat his mom and get out before she got home. I’d followed him to his room as he threw all of his belongings into bags. I’d never forget the rage on his mom’s face. I knew it was going to turn ugly when Dawson started talking. He’d told me he wasn’t sure what he was going to do, so I was just as shocked as everyone else. I focused on his mom as he talked, her eyes turning cold as she pressed her hands against her stomach, and cowered away from him.

His dad’s parole was denied, and his mom told him to get all of his belongings out of her house as soon as we left the room. I’d wanted to slap her in her face and scream at her for the mistake she was making. She knew Dawson had nowhere to go, and he’d given his mom most of his money to help with bills.

I nodded, taking the bags from him, and walking out as the brisk air hit me in the face. I unlocked my car, bending down to release the trunk, and trekked back to the end of the car, careful not to slide across the ice. I tossed the bags into the trunk and turned around at the sound of tires pulling up next to me.

“Was this your idea?” Dawson’s mom asked, getting out quickly, slamming her car door, and marching up to me with her hands latched to her hips.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I answered, looking away from her. I’d only met her a few times, she wasn’t around much, but she’d always been nice to me.

“Did you tell him not to help this father out?” Venom spewed with her words, and I took a cautious step away from her.

I shook my head, tightening my scarf around my neck with shivering hands. “I didn’t. Dawson makes his own decisions about his happiness, and that’s what I want.”

“And you don’t think I want my son to be happy?”

“It doesn’t seem like it.” She winced. I knew it probably wasn’t a good idea for me to get on her bad side, but I was going to stand up for Dawson. It was my turn to be his wall.

“And I’m sure you and your family’s stuck-up, rich influence had nothing to do with it,” she fired back.

I shook my head. “No, they didn’t. No one did.”

“Listen here, Ms. Goody Two-Shoes, we all know your high-profile daddy got put in the slammer for joyriding while drunk, so maybe you shouldn’t look down on people. Maybe you should understand people deserve a second chance.”

Tears pricked at my eyes. I knew what my dad had done was wrong, but I understood second chances, I did. But that second chance wasn’t mine to give. It was Dawson’s and it wasn’t just the second. Dawson’s dad had continuously let him down.

I slammed my trunk shut. “You stop it right there,” I said, my voice as cold as the snow surrounding us, “don’t you dare talk about my family. I understand you’re upset with Dawson, but you should support his decision, not lash out at him, or me, because it didn’t go your way. Don’t you want him to be happy? He’s always done that for you. Everything Dawson has done was for your happiness. Now it’s time to do the same for him.”

My shoulders slumped, and I hoped my words would wake her up. “You think I’m going to support him when he’s the reason Phillip got more time?” Nope, she was still asleep.

I shook my head at her in disgust. “More time? He got sentenced for that time because of the crime he committed. Do you think they were honestly going to let him free? Every single person in that victim’s family was there, and they weren’t going home without a fight. Now, if I were you, and I loved my son as much as I know you do, I would go apologize, tell him to put his things back, and make things right before you have nobody. He’s not only doing this for himself, you know.” I needed to add more fuel to the fire. I needed her to not let her son go.

“You stupid little bitch,” she snapped, swatting my hand away from the trunk, and I took another step back nervously. She had fire burning in her eyes, and I wasn’t sure what she’d do next.

“Ma, get away from her,” Dawson warned. I turned around to find him standing on the edge of his porch with more bags in his hands. “Leave her alone. She had nothing to do with this. If you want to be pissed at someone, be pissed at me.” He walked down the stairs, tossing the trash bags with a backpack strapped over his shoulders into my backseat, and stood in front of her.

“I’m not doing anything,” she cried. “I warned you about what would happen.”

“I did what you asked! I showed up, and I spoke. That’s all you asked. You never told me to beg them to let him free,” he said.

“I didn’t know I had to spell shit out for you. I didn’t expect you to come in there and make it worse. You were supposed to tell them you needed your dad.”

“I don’t need him!” Dawson yelled out in frustration.

“But I do!” She cried, slamming her finger into his chest. “Don’t you get that you selfish brat? I need him! You have the girl you love.” She looked angrily at me and pointed in my direction. “Why can’t you want the same for me?”

“It’s not like that,” Dawson started to explain, but she cut him off.

“Save it. It doesn’t matter anymore. Just get your shit outta here. You’re not welcome here. Stay the hell away from me. I’ll be back in my room while you finish getting your things.” She stuck her hand out. “Key,” she demanded, her voice void of emotion.

Every bit of color drained from Dawson’s face. He fished his key ring from his pocket and unclipped a small, silver key. “Here,” he said, placing it gently into her hand. “I love you, Ma. I just want you to know that.”

She looked up at him, a single tear dripping down her cheek. “Good luck,” she said, turning around and going into the house.

“Dawson,” I said quietly, taking a few steps toward him.

He held out his hands to stop me. “Please get in the car and turn on the heat. You shouldn’t be standing out here in the cold. I just need to grab a few more things.”

I nodded, watching him head back into the house before getting into my car. I shivered again, turning the heat on high, taking off my gloves, and running my hands back and forth against each other.

The passenger door opened, and Dawson slumped into the passenger seat. “Just drive,” he said, spreading the seat belt across his body while I did the same thing. “I need to get the hell away from here.”

I nodded, creeping the car out of the driveway, and slowly turning onto the street. “What are you going to do?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I’ve got some money, not enough to get a place yet, but I’ll ask for extra shifts. I need to get ahold of Cody or Ollie to see if I can crash at their place. If not, I can stay at a motel.”

“You can stay with us,” I rushed out, keeping my eyes on the road.

“I appreciate the offer, baby, but I don’t think your parents will go for that.”

“Why? You’ve spent the night at my house hundreds of times.”

“Right, that’s when I would hang out with your brother, and I wasn’t dating you.”

“There’s not a difference.”

“Oh, babe, there’s a big difference.”

It was only a few days before Christmas. There was no way I was letting him stay at some motel or with a friend. I liked Cody and Ollie, but there wasn’t enough room for Dawson to stay at their houses. He needed to be with his family for the holidays, and we were his family.

“They love you,” I said. “We can ask. What’s the worst that can happen? They say no? If that happens we’ll come up with another plan.” I carefully turned the corner and corrected my wheel before we slid into the other lane.

“God,” he groaned tilting his head against the brisk window and a circle forming near his breath. “This is fucking humiliating.” Dawson hated asking me for help with anything.

“We’re past humiliating ourselves in front of each other, remember?” I asked, grinning over at him. “I’ve seen you act like a drunken fool, sliding around the floor, and salivating over the last White Castle.”

He gave me a weak smile. “I told you not to bring that shit up, ever. You promised.”

“Oh please, just like I told you not to bring up my terrible face mask experiment.”

He cracked a smile. “Oh man, we’re one indestructible pair, aren’t we?”

I nodded. “Yep, we already know each other’s flaws, so nothing can surprise us now.”

“But are they really flaws if I’m in love with them?” he asked, his lips spreading apart wider.

I looked over at him grinning. “No, I guess they’re not.”

Tessa

I
saw in the recliner watching spread blankets across the couch in our living room. He grabbed a few pillows and situated them before falling back against the cushions. My parents offered to let Dawson stay with us. He was apprehensive at first, embarrassed, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer.

They’d been recovering well. They hadn’t had a sip, to my knowledge, of alcohol and they were home every night spending time with us. Things weren’t perfect, but they were getting better.

I rose from the chair and fell down next to him. “Has your mom called back yet?” I asked, mentally crossing my fingers she’d called him while I was upstairs changing for bed. She would realize what a mistake she’d made and call to apologize.

He shook his head. “Nope, I checked my phone a few times and then turned it off. I’m not going to wait around for a call I know isn’t coming.”

I sighed, allowing my head to fall down on his shoulder. I knew he was going through a rollercoaster of emotions. He’d lost what little family he’d had, and the only belongings he now owned were the trash bags we’d put in my trunk.

“Maybe she’ll change her mind.”

“No. She made her decision. She turned her back on the one person who’s always been there for her.” His voice grew harder. “I was the one who begged for more hours at work so I could help with the bills, and in return she’d hand the money over to him or his lawyer. We’d go without groceries because he’d beg for commissary. He needed extra money for good food; meanwhile, we’re living off leftover pizza from work and peanut butter sandwiches. Everything is always about him, every damn thing, and she’s never going to learn. I knew if he got out, it would be worse. He would use her until he broke down every piece, and she’d eventually have nothing or nobody. At least now he can’t leave her.”

His hands wrapped around my waist, and I crouched down until my head rested on his lap comfortably. He looked down, and I felt his soft fingertips brush the hair from the bottom of the bandage and away from my face. “You’re always helping people,” I whispered. “You’re amazing, in case you didn’t already know.”

“I help the people I love,” he replied, leaning forward and kissing me.

I took a deep breath of courage. He needed to know. He needed to know everyone wasn’t against him. His head shot forward as I abruptly pulled myself up from his lap. I stood in front of him, looking down at him nervously, and watched his eyes bore into mine underneath the soft ceiling light. I lifted a leg and gently brought myself back down to straddle his lap.

“You know I love you, right?” I asked, resting my palms against his chest. He needed to know that. “I know you told me to wait until I loved myself, but I want you to know where my head and my heart are. I want you to know it’s you who makes me this happy. It’s you I want to be with for the rest of my life.”