Chapter 23

Archie snuck into the house at exactly ten thirty p.m., shutting the sliding door gently so that it wouldn't give that satisfying creak that it usually had. He was trying to protect himself from being scolded.

"Where the hell do you think you're coming from, young man?" His mother queried and he almost jumped out of his skin in fear.

That was all the proof that she needed to know that he was doing something that she wasn't going to be proud of.

"Well, Trent called me today to inform me that you have been skipping work. Not only that, your second boss also told me that you take excuses at whim. Imagine my shock when I'm being told all of these?"

Archie stared at his mom, gauging her expression. She wasn't mad, only inquisitive. She was the only one who could bring him to his knees. He didn't joke with her. "Mom, I promise you it's not what you're thinking at all. I just,..." He shrugged, not knowing whether to tell her what he had been experiencing the last few weeks. "I don't know