Page 80 of Truck Up

“Yeah, whatever. So, are you coming or not?” He quickly changes the subject back to the reason he called, and I’m grateful.

“I’ll be there. Just need to drop Lia off at the house. Then I’ll head to the store. Give me an hour and a half. Will that work?”

“Yep. That’ll be fine. I’ll wait a little longer before I head over then. No need to give Mom more time than necessary to yell at me.”

I laugh. “She sure as fuck can yell.”

“Drive safe, and I’ll see you soon.”

“See ya,” I say right before the line goes dead.

I glance over at Amelia and she’s staring out the window with a distant look on her face. I reach over and take her hand in mine. “You okay?”

She nods. “Is your mom really that mean to Chase?”

I shrug. “I guess. She doesn’t respond well to nice people. They make her nervous. And Chase is definitely the nice one out of the two of us.”

A sadness fills her eyes. “So, she wouldn’t like me.”

I squeeze her hand, regretting the role I played in the way this conversation turned. “Mom doesn’t like anyone.”

“But she likes you?” she asks.

“I wouldn’t say that. She understands me. She understands my demons and my addiction because they’re her demons too. We share a bond. A bad one, but a bond nonetheless.”

She rotates in her seat until she’s facing me. “Can I come with you today? I’d like to meet your mom.”

I tense, and she senses it. I can tell by the way her shoulders sag. “Baby, you do not want to do that. My mom is not a nice person.”

“Surely, she’s not that bad.”

“She is.” I adjust in my seat as I struggle to find the words to explain to her who my mom really is. “Plus, she’s not clean. She’s never stopped using.”

“Christian.” Amelia squeezes my hand and runs her other hand up my forearm. “I won’t judge you for who your mom is.”

“I know,” I insist, but it sounds weak even to me. I worry everyone will judge me because of who my mom is. I love her in my own way, but she’s a horrible person. “You have to understand. She won’t be happy that I’m seeing you.”

“Because of the feud?”

“No, because of me.” I search for the right words to explain how she behaves. “She won’t like that you’re withme.”

“That makes no sense.” She furrows her brow and frowns. “Doesn’t she want you to be happy?”

“No. She’s the perfect example of misery loves company. It’s why she doesn’t like Chase. He’s too happy.”

“And I’m a generally happy person too. So there’s no way she’ll like me either.”

“Not exactly. If she sees that you make me happy, that will piss her off. She doesn’t want me to be happy any more than she wants happiness for herself. She loves drama and the general shitty life she’s made for herself. If she can’t drag you down to her level, then she’s got no use for you. I don’t want to expose you to that.”

“It’s okay. I can handle your mom.”

“I know you can.” I lift her hand to my lips and press a kiss to her fingers.

“Then let me meet her.” She sounds so innocent in her request. My mom will despise her for that. “Please.”

“My mom is a mess. You don’t really want to meet her.”

“Yes, I do.”