Page 81 of Truck Up
I meet her gaze, and the pleading look in her eyes causes me to falter. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t give this woman if she looks at me like that. “Okay. Let me tell Mom about you and the baby first. Then we’ll plan a Sunday to take you over to introduce you to her. Deal?”
She gives me a huge smile and bounces in her seat. From how happy she looks, you’d think I told her she won a million dollars. “Thank you! This means a lot to me.”
I reach over and cup her chin, then pull her lips to mine for a quick kiss. “Anything for you, angel. Anything.”
And I mean that. Whatever it takes to make her happy, I’ll fight to get it for her. Without question.
To my surprise,Mom’s apartment is quiet when I arrive with the groceries. The lights are on and considering how clean the place looks, Chase is definitely here.
“Hello?” I call out.
“In here.” Chase’s voice comes from the direction of the kitchen. When I walk in, he’s standing at the entrance to the laundry room, sorting Mom’s dirty clothes. The pile is so high, every article of clothing she owns must be dirty.
“Where’s Mom?” I ask as I set the groceries on the counter.
“Shower.” He continues tossing clothes into different piles. “She’s being really quiet today. I’m worried.”
I glance over my shoulder. He’s tense and his expression confirms his declaration. His face is etched with worry. “The harder stuff is killing her.”
He furrows his brow and scans my face. He’s not just worried about her. He’s worried about me too. In the past, when she fell, I fell with her.
“You okay?” he asks.
I nod. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll never go back to that life. Not now.”
“You can’t blame me for asking.”
“I know.” I nod toward the front door. “I’m going to get the rest of the groceries.”
“Need help?” He calls after me.
“Nah. Looks like you’ve got your hands full as it is.”
“These clothes are gross, bro.” I hear him coughing, followed by a gagging sound just before I exit the apartment. Those clothes must smell terrible for him to react that way. Chase typically has a strong stomach and can handle Mom’s messes.
I grab the last of the groceries and head back inside. When I make it back, he’s stuffing the first load into the washing machine.
“How many loads are there?” I ask. There are so many piles it’s hard to walk around them.
“Fuck if I know.” He grumbles and rushes to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. “This is the worst they’ve been. I don’t know how she gets them this dirty.”
“Drugs will fuck you up to the point you don’t even notice.” I study the piles, surprised by how much there is. “Didn’t we do laundry last month?”
“Yeah.” He grabs the package of paper towels I bought and opens it so he can dry his hands. “But there were probably half this amount.”
I scratch my chin as I walk up to one of the piles and kick it with my foot. “I don’t think these are all her clothes. She doesn’t even own this much.”
“Man, I don’t know. All I know is it’s gross.” He grabs a bag of groceries and starts unpacking it. “What’s for dinner tonight?”
“Burgers and fries. I figured that’d be easy since I got here so late.”
“Sounds good.” When he pulls the patties out of a bag, he sets them on the counter. “I already washed all the dishes. While the clothes seem to have multiplied, there were hardly any dirty dishes. I’m not sure she’s eating.”
“Is the food I bought last month gone?”
“I think so, but I’m not convinced she’s the one eating it. She’s lost a lot of weight.”
“Well, at least we can make sure she eats tonight.” I grab the skillet out of the cabinet and set it on the stove. Then I dig around for the baking sheet I got her a couple of months ago to replace the last one that went missing.