Read Choices (New Beginnings #1) for Free Online Page B

air at all times. He hadn't hit her, but his drinking had gotten out of control and she thought it was only a matter of time. She came out of that marriage with her self-esteem in tatters and her confidence lost. Elijah had helped her and, when she was with him, she had found some of what was missing.
    "Sorry, Mags," he sighed. "I'm just tired."
    "Did you take your pain meds?" she asked.
    "Yes, Mom," he said.
    She just grinned at him and went about picking the place up. "What'd you do today?"
    "Michaela was here."
    "Oh?" Her voice rose an octave and she glanced back over her shoulder.
    "Don't look at me like that!"
    "What? Michaela's cute," she said.
    "She's also Chris's sister, and I'd look a hell of a lot worse than I do now if I went there."
    Maggie was always getting on his case because he never went on dates. He spent most nights working and hardly ever met any women that interested him. He wanted more than just a woman in his bed. Did that make him less of a man? Did he care?
    "Chris would get over it," Maggie said eventually.
    "Michaela is a mess, Mags. She's trying to get over some douche bag that hurt her pretty badly."
    "Whatever you say, cousin." Maggie looked at him for a long moment and then shifted her eyes away. "Does your reluctance have anything to do with Briahna?"
    "That was a long time ago. I'm over it, so drop it."
    She held her hands in the air and went back to clearing the dirty dishes from the coffee table. Jason didn't believe she'd let the subject drop. He'd hear about it again.
    Maggie was the only family member Jason had regular contact with. His parents died when he was young and he didn't remember them. He'd grown up in the system. Occasionally, he'd hear from his foster brother, usually when he needed money. His foster parents turned him out when he turned eighteen and they could no longer collect money from the state. So, he had Maggie. He'd had Briahna for a few years, but she’d decided he wasn't enough. She left him, and the city, in search of bigger and better things.
    "You sleep," Maggie commanded. "And I'll take care of everything else here." He did as she said, as always. 
     
    ###
     
    "Don't hog the popcorn!" Michaela said, reaching across Jason for the bowl.
    "Wouldn't dream of it," he laughed. They were watching the movie Miracle. Michaela hadn't been able to return until late in the day so the sounds of Jason's club were drifting up towards them, providing a background to the movie.
    "Are you sure you wouldn't rather be down at the bar with Chris and Elijah?" he asked her. He didn't want her to go but he'd understand.
    "Yes," she stated simply. "Now be quiet. This is a good part."
    "Yes ma'am." He grinned.
    When the movie was over, Jason got up and went to the kitchen.
    "You want a beer?" he called back.
    "No," she answered. "I’ve sworn off all alcohol after the other night - at least for a while.”
    "Good idea," he laughed. "Water?"
    "Please." Michaela liked that Jason laughed at her. She grew up in a world where everyone was so worried about avoiding social faux pas. They’d never laugh at someone, at least to their face. There was a serious lack of fun and jokes in that world.
    "What's on your mind?" Jason asked, holding out a glass. Michaela hadn't seen him come back. She realized she’d been staring off into nothing. She’d been thinking about Ethan, but only in relation to that world he’d always be connected to. She hadn't thought about him in days, and his image no longer made her want to hide away and cry. She hadn't known that until that very moment.
    "It's just ..." she stopped. Michaela still barely knew Jason, but that was the first time she felt like she could talk about it without breaking down.
    "You can tell me," Jason said. "I'm a good listener."
    "It's just, I haven't even talked to my brother about any of this. I mean, he knows what happened, but we haven't talked about it."
    Jason didn't say anything as he waited for her to continue. Michaela studied