Page 60 of Silent Damage

Jason

I’m sitting on a lawn chair outside the trailer, pressing ice wrapped in a towel against my head.

My balls hurt like hell, and I deserve it.

Gabe’s been gone for hours, giving me time to sober up enough and realize I took it too far.

Guilt claws at my gut—

Trying to make him talk was beyond fucked up.

That was a Doug move—manipulate to get what you want. Punish if it doesn’t work.

Maybe I am garbage.

A sound I recognize from my youth turns my gaze toward Doug’s trailer to find Linda stepping out with two plates in her hands.

Fuck me.

She strides across the gravel, happy as a clam, then stops dead in her tracks when she sees me. I can’t imagine what I look like. I’m shirtless, slouched on a lawn chair covered in bruises, pressing ice to my eye…

She carefully steps toward me with a wary look on her face.

“How’s it hanging, stepmom?” I yell, lowering my hand to reveal the insane black eye I’m sporting.

I’ve been socked in the eye, what, seventy-three times since I got here?

Needless to say, it’s a shade of black that’s never been recorded in human history.

My greeting makes Linda shudder. She takes a deep breath and steps closer, stopping right in front of me.

“Jesus. Did you two get in another fight?” She sweeps her hand over my battered body. “These look…fresh.”

I tilt my head to crack my neck. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Where’s Gabe?” She asks.

“He ran out. He doesn’t look half as bad as I do, so don’t worry too much.”

Linda looks so sad, but all I can think about is the delicious-smelling food she has in her hands.

“Is that for us?” I ask.

She startles, looking at the plates of food in her hands like they magically appeared. “Uh, yeah. I wanted to feed you and Gabe.”

“I’ll get the door for you.”

Hey, I ain’t about to pass up free food.

Plus, Linda can cook. I’ve eaten enough of her dinners to know I’m in for a treat.

“Thank you,” she says, shocked by the polite gesture.

I’m not being nice. I’m hungry.

I hold the door open and wave her inside. She sets the food on the table and turns to me with a concerned expression. “Did Gabe really do that?” she asks.

“Not all of it.” Blowjob and his buddies helped. I grab silverware from a drawer. “May I?”