Page 43 of Craving Theodora
“Jesse’s biological parents are my brother, Royce, and a woman named Larissa.” She pulled the blankets up to her chin, tucking a fold under her cheek. “Liss wasn’t cut out to be a mom. She was young, she was immature, and I’ve never really understood why she went through with the pregnancy, except I know she loved my brother like crazy. When my brother went down the first time, she couldn’t cope. She was leaving Jess with me for days at a time, sometimes weeks. It came to the point that she was fucking with Jesse’s head, you know? Coming in and out like that. She agreed to give me custody, and when Jess was three, I adopted them and made it official. Liss was there at the hearing. She was relieved, I think. About a year after that, she took off for good.”
“Fuck. You were young.”
“My pop and I saw the writing on the wall. He was already sick, so he couldn’t do shit. But we knew Jess would end up in the system if I didn’t step in. Things haven’t always been easy, but it’s never been a hardship. I’ve loved them since the day they were born.”
“What’s Royce in for?”
“Where should I start?” Teddy replied with a huff. “Assault. Possession with intent to sell. Felony theft. His court-appointed attorney did his best, but the guy was fresh out of law school and suddenly playing with the big boys. My brother didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell.”
“Sucks.”
“It is what it is.” She shrugged. “He was being stupid and fucked himself. He’d be the first one to tell you that. He was out for a while after I adopted Jess, but ended up right back in there less than two years later.”
“That’s rough.”
“I think he was rudderless,” Teddy murmured. “We lost Mom, and then we lost our little brother, and it all just fucked up Royce really bad. Pop wasn’t equipped to deal with it, couldn’t control him, and Royce went off the rails. It happens.”
“Didn’t happen to you,” I pointed out.
“Of course not,” she replied ruefully. “Who would take care of everyone else if I lost my shit?”
“Fair enough.”
“Though, to be fair, I wasn’t exactly the poster child for smart decisions,” she said, her voice lowering. “I hooked up with Mike.”
I grimaced but didn’t reply. I’d done plenty of shit I wasn’t proud of or regretted in hindsight.
“I got Finn out of that, though,” she said with a small smile. “Worth it in the end.”
“And now you’re out from under that shit.”
“Hopefully,” she said with a yawn. “I haven’t turned my phone on since I got here. I’ve been using Jesse’s to make calls.”
“Seriously?”
“I know it’s stupid. I’ll turn it on Monday when I start applying for jobs and deal with it then.”
“Not a good strategy.”
“I wanted to get the kids settled first,” she replied, no defensiveness in her tone. “Plus, we’re doing whatever this is, and I wasn’t sure how that was going to play out.”
“How what would play out?”
“The pretending and all of that.”
“Been a real struggle for you?” I asked jokingly. “Ah, fuck, this guy keeps holdin’ my hand and kissin’ me when we’re in company. Plus, I gotta sleep next to him while he farts all night.”
Teddy’s tense expression disappeared as she burst out laughing.
“Must really suck,” I continued sympathetically. “He’s got an emo kid playin’ the same song over and over in his room, he comes home with grease caked under his fingernails, and the man’s feetstank.”
“Your feet stink?” she asked, her smile huge as she wrinkled her nose.
I chuckled. “Nah, not really. They did when I was a teenager, though. Whew.”
She laughed quietly. “I haven’t even noticed the grease under your fingernails, by the way. It wouldn’t have bothered me if I had.”
“I scrub them well, but I swear they’re always stained.”
