Buried Deep ✔️

Chapter Eighteen [Challenges]

The silence that filled the room made me uncomfortable. I shifted in my chair as their eyes fell on me. The light from the sparkling chandelier above us turned the kitchen table into an interrogation room. I cleared my throat to break the silence.

Trisha stared at me from across the table. "Spencer, is this true?"

I nodded my head as I forced myself to look at her. "Yes, ma'am. My father has been struggling for a few years now. Stuff hasn't been the same since my mother left us." It was strange opening up about my life. Allowing my emotions to show was new to me, it made me feel vulnerable. The Southside had taught me to be emotionless because people can use them against you, but here, I could let my secrets out. I pushed my food around on my plate with my fork. Adrienne's hand rubbed my thigh as she tried to soothe me.

"Are you sure you're ready to take on that kind of responsibility? That's a lot for a young man this early in life," Jeff asked.

I glanced at him. The look on his face convinced me his concern for my well-being was genuine. With a light shrug of my shoulders, I dropped my fork. "Sometimes, you don't have a choice but to be ready. I'm just doing what I can to make it."

The food that looked so good just moments ago made my stomach churn. I leaned back in my chair as the silence settled on the room again.

Adrienne's aunt leaned forward against the table. "I'm so sorry to hear about your mother, Spencer. That must have been hard on you."

I was desperate for it to end. "Yeah, it was. For a long time, I was angry because she didn't take me with her. But then, I met Adrienne." I squeezed her hand that rested on my thigh and took a deep breath. "She made me realize that maybe my mom did it for a good reason. Besides, if I carried that anger around, it would rot my heart." I glanced around the table.

Her aunt pointed her fork at me with a smile. "I'm just happy you didn't turn to these gangs around here for support. They're nothing but trouble."

Jeff's eyes were on my face, but I didn't look at him. The knot in my stomach returned, the gnawing at my conscience that came with a lie. I glanced at my hands, clasping them together.

"You have no idea, Trisha," Jeff replied. "Last week, we had to bury a decorated officer. She was murdered in cold blood by the Southside gang." His eyes remained on my face. "Now her little boys will have to grow up without a mother."

My eyes rose when he mentioned the Southside, meeting his dark ones. The look he gave me sent a shiver through my bones. Did he know? There was a lump in my throat that I struggled to swallow. I had warned Rodney, but he had been, and still was, too lost in Cayden's fantasy. He was determined to get redemption, no matter the cost, and now, another family was broken. Her aunt replied to Jeff's statement, and they started their own quiet conversation.

"You okay?" Adrienne's soft voice asked from beside me.

I nodded before glancing at her. "Yeah, I'm fine." I managed a weak smile.

Adrienne looked at her aunt across the table, standing up. "Dinner was fantastic, Auntie. I'm finished, and Spencer is too. May we be excused?" She picked up her plate and reached for mine.

Trisha nodded with a warm smile before continuing her meal. I followed Adrienne to the kitchen where dishes cluttered the marble countertops. Spices were perched in perfect rows along a shelf above the stove, and filled the room with an enticing aromatic smell. Adrienne rinsed our plates off in the sink.

I leaned against the counter, watching as she placed the plates into the dishwasher. "Thanks for having my back in there. I hate lying to them."