The Lost Days (Prairie Town Book 3) (40 page)

Please be okay, babe.

“It’s so loud!” Justin shouted over the roaring of Mother Nature’s fury.  “Why is it so loud?”

A loud popping noise caused the little guy to shriek, which in turn woke Jamie up.  She began crying and Kelly scooped her up into her arms, saving room for Justin as he hurried to her.  His opinion on tornadoes quickly changed, it seemed.

Shoving his phone back into his pocket, Nick sank down between the four of them, wrapping one arm around Mrs. Harrington and the other around Kelly.

“Do you think Devin is okay?” Kelly asked tearfully. 

“I hope so,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“I don’t like this anymore,” Justin whimpered, pulling away from his mother and flinging his arms around Nick’s neck.  “I don’t want it to get us.”

“You’re okay, little guy,” he murmured, burying his face against his neck.  “We’re all okay.  It’ll be over soon.”

—————

D
evin

He made it to his mom’s house in record time, which wasn’t easy given all the debris he’d maneuvered around on the way there.  Even without his memory, he was pretty sure he’d never seen a storm quite like this one.  The wind gusts alone were enough to make any driver nervous, but when the tree branches started falling—one even hitting his hood—he knew it was probably something he hadn’t dealt with before.

But no matter how bad it was, he would have fought through worse to come to his mother’s rescue.

Shutting the engine off and getting out, he jogged to the front door where she was already waiting.  Her face was pale and he knew she was scared, but hopefully he could get her to safety before things got worse.

A siren wailed in the distance, probably Prairie Town’s severe weather alarm, and he knew they didn’t have much time.

“Oh, Devin.  Thank you for coming,” she said, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace.  “Thank you so much.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Mom.  Of course I came.” He pulled back to gaze at her, wondering if the old him would have done the same.

Surely, I would have.  Hopefully I wasn’t that terrible of a son.

“Come on, Mom.  Let’s get you out of here.”

“Wait, I have to grab Josie.”

“Josie?”

“My cat.” She blinked and frowned.  “You met her when you visited, remember?”

“Right.  Okay.  Grab her fast though.” He glanced up at the sky and swallowed hard.  “There are two tornadoes on the ground already.”

“Three,” she corrected, disappearing inside.

“Three?” His heart stopped for a moment and he wondered where the third one was.

Oh, God.  Not on our street.

But he couldn’t exactly worry about that at the moment.  Well, he
did
worry about it—he worried about it a lot.  Were Kelly and the kids all right?  Nick?

Slipping his hand into his pocket, he slid his fingers over the screen of his phone and contemplated calling them.

Tugging the device free, he was just about to dial Nick’s number when his mom reappeared with a pet carrier in tow.  The fluffy feline within meowed fearfully, its tiny paw reaching out.

“Okay, we’re ready,” she said, panting.  “But we have to hurry, Devvy.  Those clouds don’t look friendly at all.”

His phone was soon forgotten as he followed her gaze back to the sky, and his heart sank when he saw the rotation in the clouds.

“Four tornados?” He asked quietly, swallowing the lump in his throat.  “Is that possible?”

“It sure seems that way,” she replied, grasping his hand tightly.  “Come along, sweetheart.  Let’s get out of here.”

“You have everything you need?” He glanced down to see the only thing she had was the pet carrier.

“From this place?  Yes.” She nodded, giving him a look that told him not to ask.

He understood, he really did.  She probably didn’t
want
to take anything else with her.  What a sad life it must have been for her if her cat was the only thing of value she worried to bring along.

A loud explosion sounded off nearby and they both nearly jumped out of their skin when they looked up and saw sparks flying.

“That was a transformer,” she whimpered.  “The wind is atrocious, Devin.  Are you certain you can drive in conditions like this?”

“I’m certain,” he said, guiding her down the steps by her hand.  “I’ll get you somewhere safe, Mama.”

Or at least he would try.

And it seemed he was going to successfully do so as he placed the pet carrier in the backseat and shut the door, until his mother released a blood-curdling scream.

“No!  Devin, watch out!”

The pain in the back of his head had him seeing stars and he fell forward, smacking his forehead against the unforgiving frame of the car.  The world dimmed as he slumped to his knees, trying to figure out what had happened.

Someone had punched him – he knew that much.  But who?

“Get up, you little sum’bitch.”

“No, no,” Mrs. Rose wailed as she pushed her door open and got out.  “Leave him alone, Andrew!”

But his father didn’t listen as he pulled him to his feet by the back of his shirt and greeted him with a punch to the kidneys.  The hit was so hard it made him want to throw up, and maybe he would have had he not been so preoccupied with trying to shield his face from future blows.

“Get off of him! Are you insane?” His mother screeched.  “There’s a damn tornado about to hit!  Leave my baby alone!”

“Ow! Damn it, woman. Stop hitting me!”

He stumbled forward and caught himself against the car, turning his head just in time to see his father throw her to the ground.  For a woman her age, she bounced back surprisingly fast.

Standing back up, she placed herself between them and stared her husband down, chest heaving with each breath.

“Your baby, huh?” Mr. Rose snorted, and then he spat at the ground.  “This is your baby, huh?  He’s all you care about?”

Blinking rapidly to clear his blurry vision, he saw his mother’s eyes wide and wild with fury.  He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anyone with an expression like that.

What did it mean?

“Get...inside...Mama,” he said, each breath more painful than the last.  “Be...safe...”

“I am not leaving you,” she replied, glancing at him briefly before facing her husband again.  Her tiny hands were balled into fists and she was trembling as she stared him down.  “I will not allow you to do this to him again, Andrew.  Never again.”

“Oh, yeah?” The old man slurred.  He swayed back and forth, his legs barely capable of supporting his bulky form.  Lifting a hand to run through his graying hair, he smirked.  “And what the hell do you plan to do about it, bitch?”

Oh, hell no.

Maybe there had been a part of him, once upon a time, too afraid to challenge his father.  Perhaps he had been scared of the beat-down he’d receive, or maybe he was even afraid of losing whatever money the old man had been giving him – but not anymore.

He’d already lost everything.  It didn’t even matter to him anymore.  All that mattered to him was preventing his mother from getting hurt anymore.  The only thing he wanted was for her to be happy and safe, no matter if it was from a tornado or his father, or both.

“You don’t tell me what to do, Winona.  You need to remember who wears the pants ‘round here.” Mr. Rose’s hand shot into the air, ready to strike.

And Devin was there to stop him.

Darting in front of his mother, he grabbed his father’s wrist and twisted it as hard as he could.  Mr. Rose released a howl of pain and fell to his knees, muttering obscenities.

“No more,” he said, his voice quivering with rage.  “You’re not going to touch her anymore.”

“Damn it, boy.  That’s stupid,” his father growled, glaring at him.  “You’re going to be sorry for that.”

“No, I’m really not.” Devin laughed, and it was the laughter of a man on the brink of something...something he couldn’t explain.  “We’re done with you, do you hear me?  She’s done with you.  I’m taking her away from here and you won’t lay a hand on her ever again.”

Releasing his wrist hastily, he turned back to his mother and noted the tears rolling down her cheeks.  He admired her for her courage, and was grateful he’d finally found his own.  All it took was seeing her willingness to protect him in spite of her own fears.

She was the person he should have been striving to be like, all along.

“We don’t have time to leave now,” he said, catching sight of a tornado in the distance. It was coming in fast. “We have to get back inside, Mama.  Grab Josie and let’s go.”

“But I don’t have a basement!” She cried, following his gaze.  “Oh, God!” Her fingers tightened around his arm and she stepped closer to him, sobbing loudly.  “It’s coming right for us.”

“It’s okay, Mama.  I’ll keep you safe,” he promised, reaching into the car for the pet carrier while keeping one arm around her protectively.  “Here,”—he placed it in her arms and nodded towards the house—“Go into the bathroom and wait for me.  I’ll be right behind you.”

“Devin...”

“Just go, Mama!”

He waited until she was safely inside before he turned his attention back to his father.  He had to do something with him.  He couldn’t just leave him out in the storm, no matter how shitty he’d been.  He had to—

“What the hell?”

He was gone.

His heart fell into his stomach as he glanced towards the house and horror struck him.  What if he’d just sent his mother into the arms of that monster?

“Shit.” Taking off at full speed, he made it inside just as the wind picked up.  He could hear debris hitting the side of the house and his ears popped from the pressure, but none of that compared to the sound of his heart beating, pounding deafeningly loud.  “Mama!”

When she didn’t answer him, the worst outcome possible lingered in his mind.

Was his father capable of murder?

Not my mother,
he thought, flexing his fingers. 
Over my goddamn dead body.

He took a step further into the living room and stopped dead in his tracks when the front door slammed.

Somehow, deep down, he knew the wind wasn’t responsible.

“You’ve been a pain in my ass since the day you came into this world, Devin.”

Closing his eyes, he kept reminding himself that no matter what awful things his father said, they weren’t true.  Andrew Rose was a lying, manipulative jerk-off.  His words meant nothing.

“For a long time, I thought we’d gotten past that, you and I.  I thought you were seeing things my way – like your brothers do.  But then you messed everything up.”

His eyes snapped open and he stared straight ahead, hoping and praying that wherever his mother was, she’d stay put.

“I’ve been pretty patient with the amnesia act, until now.  It’s one thing to move out and pretend you’re innocent, Devin.  But you’re going to try and take your mama from me?  Who the hell do you think you are?” 

Ten times the man you’ll ever be.

“I get why you did it, I really do.  You were facing some serious charges I couldn’t get you out of, but this has gone too far now.”

What, exactly, had gone too far?  What was he talking about?

Slowly turning around, he faced his father and held his head up high, showing him that he was not afraid.

Not anymore.

Never again.

“I don’t know what’s going through your mind, son,” Mr. Rose said, cocking his head to the side.  “You can run away all you want, but this is your home.  We’re your family.  Why would you want to take your mama away from here?”

“Uh, maybe because you’re an abusive asshole?”

His father narrowed his eyes at him and Devin knew—he
knew—
he had seen that look before.  Though he couldn’t remember it, that was definitely the look of a man with a God complex.  That was the look of a man who was used to getting his way, always, and anyone who disagreed with him faced punishments of the worst kind.

I can’t believe I’m related to you.

“Abusive?  You think I’m abusive?  Does a man not have the right to put his wife in her place when she’s being disobedient?”

“No.  Are you kidding me?” His body shook with rage as he imagined his mother, scared and alone, hunkering in a corner as his father lifted a hand to her.  And for what?  Because she didn’t do as he pleased?  “That’s abuse.  No one has the right to hurt others, especially if they feel they’re being disobedient.  She is not your property.”

“Property,” Mr. Rose muttered, rolling his eyes.  “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, boy.  She’s my wife.  She will do as I say or face the consequences.  It’s just like when you were young.  If you didn’t listen to me, you got the hand.”

“Not anymore, Dad,” he said, feeling sick just from saying the word.  His father didn’t deserve to be called anything aside from the few-choice words lingering on the tip of his tongue.  “And I’m not the kid you remember.  You can’t intimidate me anymore.”

“Can’t I?” He asked, reaching his hands down to unbuckle his belt.  “We’ll see about that.”

His eyes fell to the belt and something inside of him jarred free. 

It was fear.  Lots of fear.

“I’m going to have to teach you a lesson, Devin.  And don’t argue with me about it.  We’ve got to have a talk anyway about the company you’ve been keeping.”

“W-what?” He lifted his eyes to meet his father’s gaze, and he was terrified by the insanity he found in those similar hues.  The man was crazy, plain and simple.  “You don’t honestly think you can beat me with that, do you?  I’m a grown man.  You can’t t-touch me.”

“You’re my son.  I can do whatever the hell I want.” Mr. Rose grunted, stepping towards him.

“No, you can’t,” he replied, taking a step away from him.  “I’ll hit you.  I swear to God, I will.”

“Oh, you’re a tough guy now, are you?  I’d like to see you try.”

It felt like an earthquake as the floor beneath his feet began to shake, and he almost lost his balance as he dodged the wrath of the belt his father was flinging his way.  He narrowly escaped being struck and darted around the couch.

“Don’t make this any harder than it has to be, Devin.  Remember what happens when you make me chase you?  It only hurts worse cause you make me angry.”