Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
“This is child labor!” he yelled at my back. “And thanks for offering me something to drink!”
I smirked and stepped outside.
Once Dominic finished up, he walked around to the back of the house where I was tying a rope around the dead tree that needed to come up. It wasn’t huge, but it was tall enough it’d do damage if it came down and fell in the wrong direction.
Following my instruction, Dominic tied the other end of the rope to the hitch on my truck, secured it, tested the knot, then stood back as I climbed in the driver’s seat and hit the gas. The root pulled out and the tree hit the ground.
“Now what?” Dominic asked, hands to his hips as he stared at the dead branches.
I grabbed the ax out of the bed and carried it over to him, thrusting it into his hand. “Start chopping,” I ordered.
He looked at me. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“And what are you gonna do? Go make a sandwich?”
I smirked, muttering, “Smart kid,” before turning and moving away.
I knew when I came back outside, finding Dominic taking a breather was a strong possibility, especially since I didn’t just make a sandwich, I ate it and made a second for him.
But when I walked out the door, I could still hear the steady chopping and the crack of the wood. Dominic was showing that tree zero mercy.
“Here,” I said, halting Dom from taking the next swing. I held out the sandwich and the Coke I brought out. “Take a break.”
“I’m good,” he rushed out, panting.
“Take a break,” I repeated, holding his eyes until he dropped the ax and took the food and drink from me.
“Thanks,” he muttered. Sweat dripped from his brow.
I cleared the branches and carried most of them to the dumpster, then I broke up the thicker ones, stripping them of twigs, and piled up the wood next to the stump in the yard used as a chopping block. I split two logs and stacked the wood along the fence, then I turned back to Dominic, who was shoving the last remaining bite of sandwich into his mouth and chasing it with a drink.
“You need another minute?” I questioned.
“Nope.” He wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand, sat the Coke in the grass, and stepped forward. “I’m ready.”
“Split the logs, then stack the wood like that.” I gestured at the pile. “Got it?”
“Got it,” he answered.
I held out the ax.
He tried taking it, but met resistance when I held on, and looked at me. “What?”
“Your dad,” I began.
Dominic stiffened. “What about him?”
“You ain’t the only one feelin’ it, so quit actin’ like you are,” I said, watching his neck roll with a swallow. “Your mom, Shayla, your brother, they all gotta carry that weight. Only difference is, they’re dealin’ with it while you’re gettin’ pissed at every fuckin’ person who ain’t you. That ain’t dealin’. That’s throwin’ a shit fit, and it’s fuckin’ stupid.”
“What do you know about it?”
“I know because I’ve done it.”
His eyes softened. “Your dad had Parkinson’s too?”
“My dad was a fuckin’ loser who knocked up my drug-addicted whore of a mother, then split and made a family with someone else. They even had one of those fuckin’ in-ground pools with the slide going into it. Ask me how I know that.”
“How do you know that?” he whispered.
“’Cause I found him,” I said, voice dropping lower. “I found that motherfucker. Saw his perfect house with his perfect fuckin’ family, which consisted of a son who wasn’t me. A son who was probably a year younger, meanin’ my dad didn’t waste any fuckin’ time once he split to make that family. And you know what I did when I saw them?”
“What?”
“I beat the shit outta that kid right in front of his dad, right in front of my dad. You wanna talk about fuckin’ up, that kid didn’t do a damn thing to me. He didn’t deserve what I did. And you know what? I was still pissed after I did it. So trust me when I say, throwin’ shit fits and actin’ out isn’t gonna help you, Dom. You’re mad. You should be. It fuckin’ sucks what’s happening, but don’t take that out on other people. Especially ones going through the same thing, ones who get it. You need to burn out your anger, you come here and I’ll put you to work. Or find something else to get it out of you that doesn’t involve knockin’ other kids around or actin’ like a little prick, you got me?”
Eyes wide, he whispered, “I got you.”
“Good.” I gave up the ax. “Your sister’s takin’ on a lot lookin’ after you and your brother. So how ’bout you ease up on her a little, and I won’t stand around when you got a mess to clean up.”