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Chapter 1 – TJ

I huddled underneathto God that o to sleep Fearful that their anger would shift, and they would co for me

“I saw the way you were looking at her,” my mother screamed from somewhere down the hallway of our little trailer “That stupid slut! I could tell you’ve fucked her”

I heard a crashing sound and willed the bed to shole

“You’re crazy,”filled the trailer, and I assus at each other

Soon they’d begin hitting each other, and eventually they would turn their rage onany sleep I triedStory in my head If I was lucky, I’d lose myself in the world of Bastian and Atreyu, and by the time their story was over, the house would be quiet

“TJ?” the voice of htly, then brought my eyes to his

“Yeah? Sorry, boss, I wandered off for a ht drifting off

“Can you co and walking back toward his office, without waiting for my reply

I looked over at my buddy Cal, who’d popped his head out froaze and shrugged, indicating that he wasn’t sure what the boss wanted this time

I picked up a rag and rease off htly on the open door and peeked my head around the corner

“Co

I walked in, runningthat I was probably streakingcalled into the office always ain Or worse, like I was being called in to answer questions about the bruises on my body, when the last time I’d eaten was, or as the last ti weak and uneasy

I sat and waited

Our hours had already been cut, and I knew business was bad, so I figured whatever the boss wanted to say couldn’t be good

“TJ, you know things have been going downhill here for a while, and I’ve tried to do what I could to preserve the business and get back on even ground, but I’ve come to a decision … There’s no way easy way to say this, so I’onna rip off the Band-Aid,” The defeated look on his facethe business Mary and I have raised four kids, I’ve had this shop for over twenty-five years, and it’s justto retire and head down to Florida to be by our oldest She’s having her second baby, and Mary wants to be by her grandkids I know you and Cal will take a hit froood at what you do, so I know you won’t have any trouble finding another job I’ll be happy to write a letter of recommendation if you need one”

I felt a er and hurt at his words Not because I didn’t understand his position, or wish he and his wife the best, but I needed this job I depended on it I loved the work, and the privacy of living on the grounds I’d been picking up painting jobs with my friend Brock’s company, but it wasn’t full-ti at the shop The clenching of my stomach turned into a burn

I hated the thought of losing my job and my apartment They weren’tand had a stable environht of not knoherefrom, or whether I’d have money to eat and pay rent, tore me apart

But that wasn’t my boss’s problem It was mine

I’d start looking for another job, and see if I could pick up some extra jobs with Brock

“When do you need me out of the apartment?” I asked warily

“This weekend,” he responded with a frown “I’ive you more time, TJ, but we’ve already had a couple of people interested in the property”

I nodded absently,as I tried to plan what otten Cal off his couch, and was having issues with his fiancée, Victoria, so I didn’t want to impose on him Cal and Shelly had just worked out their marital problems, and Cal had moved back in with her, so there was no way I would ask them to put