Regenesis (Book 1): Impact by Harrison Pierce Read Free Book Online Page A

Ian considered a frail
constitution. She was, however, one of the strongest women he knew.
    She
smiled and asked about his day. Ian took a breath and told her about what
happened, how Rachel mistakenly insulted Nick, and how Nick stormed off. His
mother frowned, “That poor boy’s been through a lot…”
    “I
know.”
    “You
don’t spend very much time together though, do you?”
    He
shook his head, “I really only know him through Drake. Other than that I can’t
say I have any real connection to him.”
    “Yes,
but wasn’t his brother your English teacher last year?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then
there’s something.”
    He
only nodded, and tried the casserole.
    ---*---
    7:32 PM
    Lynnwood, Washington
     
    Nick
clutched two grocery bags to his chest as he slowly rode home. It was his first
attempt at riding with anything and as such his heart raced. He took the roads
slowly and took the turns with the utmost care. When he finally arrived home
though, he found only his stepfather’s car in their driveway. Nick’s heart
sank.
    He
opened the garage door, parked his bike inside, closed the garage door behind
him, and crept into the house. His stepfather was a heavy drinker and smoker,
and because of his habits, there was a wall of stale smoke and liquor in the
air every time anyone walked into their home. Nick made his way to the kitchen
and emptied the tattered bags on the counter near their fridge. A loaf of
bread, six cans of tuna in water, a head of lettuce, a few tomatoes, a brick of
cheese, a bag of frozen chicken, celery, six apples, and three cartons on
cigarettes.
    Nick
grabbed the cartons and went into the living room, where he found Paul with a
beer in hand and his glazed eyes fixed on their television. Paul’s hair receded
but retained its jet-black color, though Nick suspected he dyed it regularly.
Paul wore a dirty, stained gray tee-shirt along with a pair of tattered brown
shorts. The dancing light from the television cast distorted shadows across the
man’s face, partly due to the stubble across his face and neck.
    “You
get home from school this late?” he asked without removing himself from the
program.
    “N-No,
school doesn’t st-start until the fourth of September. I-I was out with Ian,
Drake, and Jordan today,” he answered, eyes locked on the man’s, whose were
locked on the screen.
    “You
get any food?”
    “Yes,
b-b-but only a f-few things un-until V-Victor g-gets paid.”
    “You
get more smokes?”
    He
handed the man the cartons and Paul set them on the recliner with him. Nick
turned to leave, but was stopped when Paul asked whether he bought anymore
alcohol.
    “N-No,
Victor gets that f-for you.”
    “Victor,
Victor, Victor…you always have him do everything for you…you need to work
harder,” he opened another beer and gulped it down.
    “P-Paul…I-I
think you’ve h-had enough of that t-tonight.”
    The
man scowled, “Do you drink?”
    “N-No.”
    “Then
how the hell would you know anything about drinking?”
    “Y-You’ve
got w-work in the m-morning, you need to stop–”
    “Damn
it I know!” he yelled and chucked the empty bottle at the wall next to Nick, it
shattered, and Nick shrank away. Nick shielded himself from anything further.
Paul continued, “It doesn’t do anything to me, so quit yelling shit at me and
get the hell out of here!”
    Nick
ran into his room and he slammed the door behind him. He took a seat on his bed
and shook as he let out a strained breath. His phone rang and he answered
weakly, “Hello?”
    “Nick?
It’s Drake. Are you alright?”
    “Y-You
mean a-about today?” He tried to laugh it off but knew it wasn’t convincing. He
couldn’t breathe but managed to mutter to Drake that everything was fine.
    “Alright,
I just need you to promise me something.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Don’t
turn this party into a disaster, okay?” Drake joked. “I can’t let Ian hold this
over my head, you know what I mean?”
    “S-Sure,
I’ll-I’ll-I’ll