Goodbyes and Second Chances (The Bleu Series Book 1) by T.I. Lowe Read Free Book Online

little colorful truck, whooping and hollering for
Dillon to join them. He shrugs a shoulder at me again before gathering his
stuff and jogging over to the truck. He hops in the back with Mave. Who knows
what they have conjured up to do now?
    I
shout out to Kyle, “Don’t you dare break that truck!”
    He
grins and waves as he pops the transmission in gear and takes off down towards
the old sheds. I guess they are going on a new treasure hunt.
    I
lay back and take in the stillness of the early night sneaking up on me. I
still have that feeling that something awesome and exciting wants to happen. I
don’t like this antsy feeling. I feel like I’m missing out on something
spectacular and, that maybe, I’m just not good enough to obtain it. I
eventually drag my tired, disappointed body to our small trailer to wash the
condo cleaning off.
    After
my shower, I find Aunt Evie sitting at her normal spot at the small table with
her devotional book. I saved one carton of gelato. It’s cherry and my aunt’s
favorite flavor. I grab it from the hidden spot in the freezer and walk it over
to the table with a spoon to present her with my small gift.
    She
lights up when she sees it. “Awe. Thanks, sweetie. You scored big today.” She
opens the lid and offers me the first bite. I decline. She should enjoy the
treat, yet here she is thinking of me before herself—as always.
    “Enjoy
it. It’s all yours.” I sit beside her and prop my chin in my hands.
    “Are
you sure?” she asks as she works the spoon in the creamy treat.
    “Absolutely.
I’m not too crazy about cherries,” I lie. I want her to enjoy all of it. I
watch as she takes her first bite and her eyes roll to the back of her head
from the pleasure of it. That makes me smile. “The cabinets and fridge are
stocked, too. If we can keep the twins away, we should be good for another
week.”
    “Really?
That’s great, Jillian,” Aunt Evie says with much relief. I suspected she didn’t
have grocery money, and she just confirmed it for me.
    “We
really need to put our foot down about the past-due renters,” I say as I pick
at my nails angrily. They are looking pretty frail from the cleaning products.
I wear gloves as often as possible, but those suckers are hard to keep up with.
    “You
let me worry about that, please,” she says between bites. “People are having a
hard time making their ends meet right now.”
    “We
are barely making it, Aunt Evie. If they don’t pay, then how are we going to
make our ends meet?” I know what I’m
saying is going to make her worry worse, so now I wish I kept my mouth shut.
Being broke is no joke. The uncertainty and unrelenting nagging in your
thoughts, as to how to make things work, leaves you feeling totally hopeless.
    “Things
will get better.” She tries to reassure me, but I can tell she doesn’t believe
her own words.
    “No
worries. I’ve saved enough to handle our bills for the month.” I pat her on the
arm and fish out the money to hand it over to her.
    “Jillian...”
Her voice seems strained. I know she doesn’t want to accept it, but times are
tough and she has no choice but to do so.
    “I
like doing my part. It’s the least I can do.” I place a kiss on her cheek and
give her a warm smile before heading to my room. I drop the smile once my back
is towards her. I was hoping she would tell me that some people came through
with their rent. Of course that didn’t happen, so now I am left with no gas
money until my next paycheck. Worst part is I rolled up on fumes earlier. I
gave her every cent I had and now I’m flat broke, but that was the only way we
were going to keep our heads slightly above water this month. I will have to
bike it for the next week, and I’m not looking forward to that at all. By the
time I arrive to the condos, I will already be washed in sweat. And by the time
I finish cleaning, I will be way too tired to pedal a blame bike. I get that
these people are poor and struggling, because