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“That’s gross,” Nick said.
“It’s the truth! How do you think you were conceived?”
“Don’t tell me that.”
“It’s the truth, Nick. He did his thing and left again. Then he stayed away for good. That’s it. You can’t lean on that the way Mom does. You’re going to end up just like her. You already are just like her.”
“Screw you, Nova.”
“Fuck you, Nick.”
There was a pause in the conversation for a minute.
“You and Linc again?” Nick asked.
“Yeah. He was the only person I could call.”
“So I brought you two back together?” Nick smiled.
“Don’t.”
“Nova, I need help,” Nick said. “I’m going to go home, see Mom, and then I’m going to find a rehab.”
“I’ll take you.”
“No,” Nick said. “Let me do this on my own. I need to research it. I need to do it myself. Nobody on my back. Nobody telling me what to do.”
Nova swallowed hard. She nodded. “Okay. If that’s what you want, Nick.”
“It was scary out there,” her brother confessed. “I was really messed up. I ended up owing someone money. They asked me to do a favor for them. Nothing bad, I swear. Well, it could have been bad. I just kind of went along for the ride, I guess.”
“Stop telling me this,” Nova said. “It’s just going to make me even more pissed at you.”
Silence again. Nova turned down their mother’s street.
“Thank you for finding me,” Nick said. “Things were about to get really bad. There was something about seeing Linc that just hit me with clarity. I know that probably sounds stupid. I always liked Linc. He was cool. Big and strong. You were always happy near him. I saw the way he was. And even now… I mean, look at me. I got beat up by some bikers. That’s kind of neat.”
“You are such a fucking moron, Nick.”
“I know,” he said. “But at least I have good stories to tell.”
Nova turned into the driveway. Their mother was out on the porch, pacing with a bottle of vodka. In a shocking twist, their mother put the bottle down and came running off the porch. Nova listened as her mother screamed Nick’s name.
Nick climbed out of Nova’s SUV. Their mother tried to tackle Nick but ended up tripping and slipping. Nick had to hold his mother as she screamed and wept. She beat her hands against Nick’s chest and then finally stood up and hugged him.
Nova didn’t get out of her vehicle. She just watched. Nick kissed the top of his mother’s head and pointed to the house. He walked toward the door.
Nova watched as her mother covered her mouth. Shocked. Surprised. Relieved. She looked back at Nova. Nova gave a quick smile.
Her mother called out, “Thank you!”
That was as good as it would get for Nova in the moment. Her mother wouldn’t jump for joy at Nova, then hug her, kiss her and tell her she loved her and was proud of her. Her mother wouldn’t find peace, put down the bottle and get help. Nothing would change. Nova didn’t expect anything to change.
Even what Nick said… rehab? Nova hoped Nick would do it. Stick it through. Get cleaned up. And then stay that way. The sad reality to that was if that were to happen for good, chances were Nick would need to get away from their mother. The woman was toxic.
Nova backed out of the driveway and drove down the street. Tears filled her eyes. She took a deep breath and collected herself. She blinked fast and smiled. A sense of calm washed over her. Behind her a horn beeped. Nova waved, apologized, and started to drive again.
It took her a couple blocks to start to wonder about the vehicle behind her. A big, lumbering pickup truck, riding way too close to her bumper. She looked in the mirror but couldn’t see the driver. He was just a faint shape. She couldn’t believe this guy would be that mad at her for sitting at stop sign for too long. It wasn’t like Nova threw the middle finger or something.
