AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Now that they know you're my son, they’ll look at you differently. They’ll wonder why someone who has the resources and opportunity like you do is squandering it. At least that one who was admiring my car will. The other numb nuts are probably right now thinking about how to be your best friend so that they can get access to money."
"You don't know anything about me or my life."
The words were like little knives in my heart because they were true. "So, tell me. Why aren’t you doing your homework and why are you skipping school? Because while I'm rich, you're not."
"Why do you care? Mom never did."
His words were like an epiphany. When Taylor decided to leave Las Vegas, I should've fought for custody. I knew what she was like. And yet I let Dean go live with her, thinking that because I worked so hard, I wouldn't have time to be an attentive parent. Another thing to add to my list of fuck-ups at being Dean's dad.
"Well, you're not with Mom. And I do care. So when we get home, you're going to start on all the homework you haven't done. Tomorrow, you're coming to work with me, and you're going to do your civics assignment shadowing someone at their job."
He made a pffftttt sound and pulled out his phone. I whipped the car to the side of the road, braking hard to stop. I reached over and grabbed the phone from his hand.
"Give it to me." He reached for the phone.
I exchanged the phone into my other hand and then used my free hand to push him back into the seat.
"The phone is mine until your homework is done. The same with your computer."
I thought I'd seen hatred before in his eyes, but this was pure hate. "I can't do my homework without my computer."
He had a point. "Fine, you'll have your computer, but it won’t have access to games or the Internet. The world stops right here, right now, Dean, until your homework is done and you get your shit straight."
Rage radiated off him, but he must've realized I meant business. He jerked away from me, turning his head to look out the window. I pocketed his phone and pulled out into traffic again.
When we arrived home, I made good on my promise, making sure that he no longer had access to the Internet. I put his phone in the safe and just for good measure, changed the combination.
Dean had already gone to his room, slamming the door. I doubted he was doing his homework, but I was at a loss for how much more I could do to force him to get it done. At some point, I figured he’d get bored and figure out that the only way for his world to open up again would be for him to do what I said.
I gave him the night to stew in his room, but early the next day, I rousted him and reminded him of what was going on. I wondered what I was going to do if he refused to get in the car to go to work with me. Luckily, I didn’t have to find out as he got in the car murmuring obscenities at me.
The disrespect tore me apart. It also pissed me off. It took every ounce of will to not lash out and punish him. But I hadn't asked him to do my bidding with a good attitude. I'd asked him simply to do it. And since he was, I'd ignore the attitude for now.
As I drove us to the office, I knew that his shadowing me wasn't going to work. He needed a legitimate work experience for his homework, not having his father looking over his shoulder every minute. I thought back to the night at the haunted house and how well Betts had connected with him. So when we arrived at the office, it was a no-brainer to take Dean up to Betts. It wasn't until I was approaching her area and she wasn't there that I wondered if she was working down in Henderson today instead. Well, I’d drive him there, if I had to.
"Hey. What are you two doing here?"
I whipped around to see Betts approaching us. Her skin was pale and there was an expression on her face I couldn't quite read. Like apprehension or something.
"Hey, I hate to spring this on you, but Dean needs to shadow someone on their job as part of a school assignment. I was thinking he could shadow you."
She looked at me and then at Dean. Finally, she returned her attention to me. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
I nodded. We stepped aside out of Dean's hearing.
"Why doesn't he shadow you?” she said in a low voice.
"One, because he and I are both pretty pissed off at each other right now. Two, and maybe more importantly, is that you connected with him. Maybe with you, he will take this assignment seriously and won't see it as some sort of punishment."
She arched a brow. "Is it punishment?"
I shook my head. "No, this is a legitimate assignment that he skipped. The punishment is I've taken his phone and all his electronics until this assignment and the rest of his homework is done."
She studied me like she was looking for something, but I was at a loss for what it was. Maybe it was how much I asked her to do that was beyond her job. I wanted to pay her for it, but since we slept together, I worried how she might view it.
"I know I've been asking a lot from you lately, especially this. But I could really use your help right now."
She let out a sigh. "Okay. I'll do it. But Todd, things aren’t going to get better with your son until you and he work things out."
