Vendetta (Blood for Blood #1)(7)

Dear Sophie,

Sorry I haven’t written in a while. I like to wait until I have something to say, even if it’s not as interesting as life back in Cedar Hill. I would hate for you to think I’m becoming more boring than I was before I left. In truth, I am trying to make the most of my time here. I want to give you something to be proud of again.

You’ll be happy to know that I finished Catch-22 in just two days, which means I am finally getting faster at reading. I will have the knowledge of an English professor by the time I come back, and maybe I’ll even write a book of my own.

I hope your summer is going well. Try not to worry too much about not getting out in the sun — you will have the last laugh when all your friends are aging prematurely and you still have the skin of a teenager.

How is everything at the diner? I hope Uncle Jack is looking after you. I know he is really trying his best, so go easy on him. If you ask him, I’m sure he will give you some time off so you can get away with Millie — go on an adventure.

On the subject of your uncle, I was thinking that you should suggest some reading material for him, too. It would be a good way for him to de-stress. Maybe something with colorful pictures and big block letters? Just kidding. Don’t tell him I said that! I do worry about him, which might sound ironic given the circumstances, but I am relying on you to keep an eye on him and his blood pressure. We are not getting any younger, unfortunately.

How is your mom? Has she remembered to get the dishwasher repaired or have you had to go through with your sink-filling plan? I hope she has stopped overworking herself, but I know how unlikely that is. Please let her know I am thinking about her if she asks, which I hope she does. I haven’t heard from her in a while, but I know she is still processing everything. It is difficult for her, as I expect it is for you.

It has been so long since I’ve seen you. I would really love for you to visit when you get some time off. What about after your birthday, when everything has settled down again? Jack will give you a ride if you ask him. I do miss your teenage sarcasm, despite what you may think.

That’s all for now. I look forward to your next letter and, as always, I am thinking of you and counting the days.

Love,

Dad



I slipped the letter back inside the envelope and placed it on the nightstand. I tried to shake the melancholia out of my head. Even after all my father’s letters, I still felt sad reading them, but I knew, too, that not to have them at all would be a thousand times more painful.

With a heavy heart, I propped my notepad against my knees and began my reply, censoring the negative parts of my life and highlighting the positives as I wrote. Even if the world was falling down around me, I would not tell my father, because he, above all the people in my life, needed good tidings in whatever form he could get them. And no matter how angry and frustrated I was, I would give him what he needed to survive.

Hi, Dad,

As I write this I am balancing my notepad on two skinned knees and writing with a sore hand. If you’re wondering why, it’s because on my way home from work last night I face-planted into the pavement.

A freaky shadow chased after me and knocked me to the ground. But it’s OK because I didn’t let him murder me (you’re welcome), and now I’m pretty sure that wasn’t his intention in the first place. He was probably just chasing after me like a maniac so he could ask why I was snooping around his driveway in the middle of the night on my own. Teenagers, right?

Luckily I have lived to tell the tale, though I can’t say my pride has survived. Still, I think it makes for a fitting opening to this letter, and I bet it made you smile a little.

I hope something good came of the incident, because I bolted home in a state of pain and paranoia.

It’s nice to know you are reading. I think writing a book is a great idea. They say it’s very therapeutic.

I don’t know who “they” are or whether that’s even true. And I really hope when you say book you don’t mean a biographical one, because I’m not crazy about having to relive the story of your murder trial in paperback format, no matter how soothing it is for your psyche. And I don’t relish the thought of watching Mom go through another anxiety attack anytime soon, either.

I haven’t gotten a chance to do very much other than work this summer, which I am getting used to.

I have resigned myself to the current monotony of my life.

Uncle Jack is great. He is still doing his best to step into your role, though he is a little grumpier than you. Maybe that comes with middle age? ;-) He goes back and forth to the city a lot. Millie and I have developed a theory that he has met a woman there, because what kind of “city business” would he be attending to so often? What do you think, our Jack, a Casanova? Hmmm … food for thought. If it is the case, then I don’t think we need to be worrying about his health, as long as his heart is doing OK.

Though, knowing Uncle Jack, I bet it’s more of a sordid affair than an epic romance. So far, nothing has coming close to filling the void you left in his life.

Thank you for saying I will have the last laugh when all my friends wrinkle up like prunes in later years for spending the time they have now in the sun.

I am flattered you implied I still have more than one real friend and I hope you really do think that. If you knew how many people turned on me, I think it would break your heart.

And, honestly, I am happy to be out of the sun, because I know my time indoors is all part of the end goal of buying a car. I don’t know what I will do to celebrate my 17th birthday, but it will probably be something low-key.