Read Off the Field: Bad Boy Sports Romance for Free Online Page B

I had tried four times recently. Each time was worse than the last. It got so bad that I just gave up. When I didn’t rock the boat and went to see a shrink every week, my dad kept putting money into my account every month.
    While it was just a few grand to survive, I found that if I lived in a dump and didn’t party, I had more than enough money to keep myself high for most of the month. Coming to the lake house to pretend everything was okay wasn’t my idea of fun, but I had to show up if I wanted my father to continue to pay for the basic necessities in life.
    I sighed deeply before heading out of the woods toward the cabin. If I was lucky, I would be able to sneak upstairs to my room and lay on my bed, listening to music with headphones and trying to figure out what the hell had happened to me in the Middle East. All of my memories were present, but none of them made sense when put together. As soon as I made it into the kitchen, both parents started up.
    “How’s the job hunt going?” Dad asked.
    “Fine,” I said as I opened the refrigerator door.
    “Don’t ruin your appetite, dear,” his new wife said.
    She was an okay person when she wasn’t blindly obeying my father. I treated her with respect because I cared about her daughter Cassandra. When we’d first met four years earlier, Cass and I had hit it off really well. Things changed when she went off to college and I signed up for the Marines. I missed the way things were between us, but we’d both gone our own way in life.
    “What time’s dinner?” I asked after closing the refrigerator door.
    “We’re eating around six,” she said in a sweet voice.
    “About those jobs…” Dad said.
    “I’m on it, okay? I thought you weren’t going to give me shit if I came to family week.”
    “Listen, young man. You’re not going to talk to your parents like that…”
    I walked across the kitchen and to the stairs. He continued talking as I ascended, but I was able to block him out for the most part. When I made it to the second floor, I heard him coming up the stairs. I tried to get to my room and shut the door, but he caught up to me before I could make it all the way in. His face looked a little flustered and his breathing was heavy from coming up the stairs so fast.
    “Yeah?”
    “I’m not a piggy bank for you for the rest of your life. You need to man up, son. What happened over there is still over there.”
    Having never served, he didn’t know. I nodded my head, as if I was listening. When he was finally done, I closed my door and locked it as he walked away. On my bed, I tried to read a book and clear my mind, but it was impossible. I’d never forget everything I’d seen in Iraq.
     
    ♥ ♥ ♥
     
    At dinner that first night, the five of us desperately pretended that it wasn’t awkward or weird as we sat around the massive dining room table. Dad was in his usually seat with Mom on the opposite side. I sat on his left side while Missy and Cass were across from me. The roast chicken smelled even better thanks to all the pot I’d smoked so far that day.
    “How’s the job hunt going, Cass?” I asked as I passed the potatoes to her.
    “Nothing yet.”
    “But she’s looking and not bumming off of me,” Dad blurted out.
    I stood up and left the table without saying a word. Outside in front, I headed to the lowest tier of the deck, which offered a little privacy thanks to a particularly large bush. I sat down and lit another joint. Fuck food, I thought as I inhaled deeply. My mind was already mush. The THC gave me a little clarity. Paranoia came with the package as well, but it was just a part of life, something I had to accept.
    Many guys had come back worse off than me or hadn’t come back at all. The thought haunted me as I smoked. After my third hit, I heard someone approaching from above. Panic raced through my body as I stood up and started to put out the glowing tip of the joint with my thumb and forefinger. It burned a little,