Chapter 5
405 Words
s**t! He saw that?!
Not wanting to worry his mom, Ken replied, “It… it was nothing.”
“Nothing, eh? Is that why that punk punched you in the gut?”
With a worried look on her face, Helen asked, “Ken, sweetie, what is he talking about?” She walked around the table to Ken’s seat and lifted up his shirt, seeing the bruise on his abdomen. “Was it that Jason boy again?”
“Mom, just let it go.”
“No! Ken, you know I worry about you!”
“You worry about ME?! I think you need to worry more about your brother!” Ken shouted, his anger exploding at last. “Right, Uncle Lee? Come on, you see your own nephew being ganged up on in a parking lot, yet you do nothing to help him out?!”
“A man’s gotta learn to fight his own battles,” Lee replied in a calm voice.
“No. You want to know what a man does? A man sticks up for his FAMILY! No. Matter. What! You stood there and watched your own nephew get beaten up. That says a hell of a lot more about you than it does me. And if that’s family… I don’t want any part of this one.”
Without a word, Ken stood and left the dining room. He then grabbed his MIT hoodie and headed for the front door. As he was about to get into his car and drive off, he saw to his frustration that his uncles’ cars were parked in the driveway behind him, blocking him in. Cursing under his breath, he prepared to leave on foot.
“Ken! Come back inside, please!” Helen called after him, running down the driveway.
“No. I’ve got to go out… clear my head…”
“Ken, it’s Christmas Eve. Please, come be with your family.”
“Mom, aside from you, not a single person in that house feels like family to me,” Ken replied coldly. “I’ll… I’ll call you after while…”
Ken walked off into the cold Georgia night, not knowing for sure where to go or what to do. Nobody else was out, as they were all at home with their families. Remembering the square in historic downtown Alpharetta, he decided to head in that direction. Maybe the quiet walk would do him some good.
- Writer
