Dream Smashers by Angela Carlie Page B

cold on her parched throat. So cold that she feels it slip
all the way down her throat and into her stomach.
    “So, how does she go? Does she get some fatal
disease? Or maybe she jumps off a bridge and ends it herself?”
Jacinda laughs at the shocked expression on Ma’s face. Priceless.
“I don’t know why you’re telling me this shit. You took her away
from me. Why should I care?”
    Ma’s entire body shakes. Old age must do that
to everyone. Or maybe she’s just angry. Ha! Ma, angry? That’s a
riot. “Now, you listen to me.” She pounds her purple fist on the
table. Oh, yeah. This ought to be good.
    “Your daughter, my granddaughter,
didn’t ask for a bad mom. She didn’t ask to be born to someone who
doesn’t care for her.” Ma’s bluish finger points at the beginning
of each sentence. “Autumn is a good person, whether you want to
admit it or not. Just because you went and got knocked up by that
man, does not mean that she is horrible. God gave you a gift damn
it! Because you haven’t cared for her, now she’s being taken
away.”
    Jacinda chokes down another sip of beer and
tries her best to hold in the stupid tears burning her eyes. “God
did not give me a gift! I didn’t ask for her. It wasn’t my fault.
Why does everyone always blame me?”
    Ma coughs violently and spits onto the
ground. “Well, I just thought you should know.” She looks defeated
and tired. Ha. Jacinda won.
    Ma says, “If you care to clean up your act,
I’ll be happy to take you to rehab. Maybe you can get to know
Autumn a little bit before she goes to be with God.” She stands,
walks with her back hunched over to the gate, and then turns, as if
she wants to say something but doesn’t. She leaves.
    The pain wrenches through Jacinda’s entire
body. Stupid life. Stupid Pastor Bob. Fuckin’ fucker. Stupid,
stupid, stupid. Tears sizzle down her face and her stomach seizes
again. Hot beer pours out of her mouth.

CHAPTER NINE
     
    “Well?” Caleb bends to stretch his
hamstrings.
    “What?” Evan asks. The sun has decided to
shine this morning so they’re taking advantage of the dry air by
adding another jog for the week.
    “How did it go after you dropped me off last
night?”
    “Oh.” A tingle tickles in Evan’s chest.
“She’s great. We went for ice cream.” They trot down the trail to
warm up. The sun may be out, but frost stings the air. Trees shed
their vibrant leaves, making for a slick surface over the mud.
    “You like her, don’t you?” Caleb punches
Evan’s arm.
    “That sounds more like a statement than a
question.” The truth is Evan can’t get her out of his head. Her
sweet and unsure disposition, her caring dark eyes and silky long
brown hair, not to mention her long legs. He shrugs. “Yeah. She’s
cool.”
    “What church does she go to?”
    “Does it matter?” It always comes down to
that with Evan’s family. Every single time.
    “Well, uh…” Caleb rubs his nose. “Normally, I
would say yes, but I don’t think she goes to church. Both her and
Rainy looked at us like we were freaks or something.”
    “Yeah, but I don’t care about that right
now,” Evan says.
    “You don’t?”
    “No. I don’t.”
    Caleb lifts half his face in a grimace.
    Evan says, “They were both pretty nice. What
did you think of Rainy? Do you like her?”
    Caleb picks up the pace. “I don’t know. It
was kind of awkward.” Caleb has zero luck with girls. His last date
never returned his calls.
    “Autumn said she would volunteer at the Share
Home on Monday,” Evan says.
    “She did? That’s weird.”
    “Why?”
    Caleb shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m sure she’s a
nice girl.”
    “You bet she’s a nice girl. How far we
running today? You want to go ten miles round-trip?”
    Caleb sucks in a gallon of air and then lets
it leak out of his mouth in a controlled hiss. “Yeah. I was
thinking maybe only three miles. I’m pretty beat this morning.”
    “Sure.” It’s probably best since Caleb