The Fae's Find

Chapter 1: Starting Over

Liza was sitting on the balcony at her mother's lake house with a hot cup of coffee contemplating where her life went wrong. At thirty-three years old, she expected to have it all figured out. However, that was not the case at all.

"Mom, are you alright?" asked her fourteen year old son, Jamie poking his head through the glass door.

"No, but I will be," she tried to smile, but her son saw through her facade and immediately swept her into his arms.

"We're gonna be okay, Mamma. We can do it without him," Jamie sniffles.

He's a strong boy, her Jaimie, and he tries to hold her up the best he can. Despite all of her efforts, Liza couldn't keep him from growing up too fast. He remembers the times the blue lights came and took his father away. Two times before this one. The first time, he was four. Parole violation. The second time, he was seven. His father got into a fight with one of his friends' dad in the school parking lot. He broke his nose in three places, beat him unconscious, and was charged with assault and battery and attempted murder. He just got out on parole for those charges last year.

This time was different. This time, James got rowdy with Liza.

*flashback*

Jamie was doing his homework when he heard the yelling. He tried to ignore it until he heard a loud crash against the wall.

Muttering to himself angrily, he walked into his parents' room. What he saw he'll never forget. Liza's hand was bloody from punching a hole in the drywall. In the wall was several large stacks of money, a few pistols, and a large package of what Jamie could only guess was drugs.

"What the f**k is this James? Are you running again? You promised this time would be different! You said you'd get a real job and do it right this time! That you weren't going to expose Jamie to this bullshit again!" Liza screamed as tears ran down her face.

"Mind your f*****g business woman! We've got to eat somehow!" James exclaimed, pushing Liza away from the wall.

Jamie was appalled. He knew his father wasn't a good person, but he'd never seen him act like this towards his mother.

"Get away from her, Dad!" Jamie yelled, getting in between them trying to shield his mother.

*SLAP* James backhanded his son.

"Mind your business, you ungrateful little s**t. This doesn't concern you."

Jamie wiped the blood off his lip and straightened. He towered over his father by 4 inches, and he was done with his bullshit.

"Try that again, old man, and you'll be eating your teeth," Jamie said menacingly.

He was done. He was the laughing stock of school because his father was a convict. He had to watch his mother struggle and bust her ass for everything they had. Double shifts every weekend, so he had to stay with his grandmother. She put money on his books twice a week when James was in prison, on top of all the bills, and Jamies school stuff. Jamie was done watching his mother get beaten down by life. He refused to let her get beaten by his father, too.

James put his hand on his sons shoulder and started to squeeze, "Boy, get out of my f*****g way. This is between me and your mother."

"The f**k it is," then he reacted. Taking James' hand in a twisting maneuver, his grandpa taught him over the summer during martial arts training. Jamie put his father on the ground and pushed a knee into his spine.

At this point, Liza was hysterical.

"Mom! Snap out of it! You're going to take two bricks of that money and hide it in the bottom of my school backpack. Then get your phone and call 911. Do it now!"

Jamie took control of the situation and held his father down until the cops came.

*end of flashback*

Liza didn't know where it went wrong. James was doing good when he first got out of prison this time. He was working with a construction crew remodeling houses and mobile homes. He was home before five o'clock most days. He helped with dinner, dishes, and checked Jamie's homework. A few months ago, he started getting home later and later. He was getting angry over the smallest stuff. Yelling became the knew normal. Liza was beating herself up about the whole situation. She missed the signs, and her negligence put her and her son in a dangerous situation.

She was forced to move in with her mother. She didn't want any of his so-called friends to come looking for them and stir up trouble. Jamie would be starting a new school. The money they had hidden was now in a locked safe underneath Liza's bed where it will stay in case of emergencies.

"It's all my fault," she whispered after Jamie went back inside.