Chapter 4
Chapter 4
A shirtless guy with tattooed arms walked up.
He looked a little over thirty, tall and strong, with bleached yellow hair and a deep scar by his eye.
There was a half-burned cigarette in his mouth. Clearly, he wasn’t awakened from a nap-he was simply looking for trouble.
Stuff like this happened all the time in small towns. People with tough lives or timid personalities got pushed around by everyone, even strangers. Thugs like this guy loved picking on them.
Nina glanced around and locked eyes on a blackened firewood stick not far away.
Robert gave a nervous smile and said, “Sorry, Samuel. Yvonne’s making food. Why don’t you stay and have some?”
Samuel just snorted, looking like he didn’t care at all.
That made Lucy livid again. She stomped and yelled at Robert, “You useless loser! You only dare yell at me, huh? Where’s that fire now? If you’re so tough, then why don’t you-”
Just then, there was a loud thud. The Edwards family’s yard wall was low, and Samuel climbed over it like it was nothing.
He spat out the cigarette butt, picked up the firewood stick, and started dragging it along the ground as he walked toward them, his eyes full of threat. “What are you gonna do to me?” he asked.
The stick scraped against the ground with a nasty sound, like a dull knife slowly grinding on everyone’s nerves.
“I-I’m calling the cops!” Lucy’s fat face shook with fear. She turned and bolted like a tornado.
After spitting toward the now-empty gate, Samuel slung the stick over his shoulder and strutted over to Robert and Yvonne.
Nina frowned and clenched her fists. She didn’t care if Lucy got hit, but if Samuel laid a hand on her parents, she wouldn’t
let it slide.
But Samuel stopped in front of them. He sighed and said, almost helplessly, “Robert, you gotta toughen up. I know Lucy’s your mom, but you can’t just let her walk all over you.”
Nina blinked, surprised. Robert just smiled and said to her, “Nina, this is our neighbor from the west side-Samuel Turner.”
Nina snapped back to attention and gave a polite greeting. “Hi, Samuel.”
“Nice to meet you, Nina. Sorry if I scared you just now.” Samuel scratched his head and gave a sheepish smile, like he wasn’t used to people being nice to him-or not afraid of him.
Then he turned and hopped back over the wall toward his house. “Hang on. You found your daughter-gotta grab the good stuff and celebrate.”
The Edwards family’s house wasn’t big, and there wasn’t much furniture to speak of. But the mood around the dinner table was warm and easy.
“I lost my parents when I was little,” Samuel told Nina. “I grew up with my grandpa. Kids my age used to call me an orphan and gang up on me. Every time, it was your parents who protected me. They’re really good people.”
After just one drink, Samuel’s eyes started to turn red. He looked at Nina and said, “Nina, I’m really happy your family’s back together.”
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Chapter 4
“Thank you, Samuel.” Nina clinked her juice glass against his, her smile especially genuine. Anyone who was kind to her parents would get kindness from her too.
But Samuel wasn’t much of a drinker. After two glasses, he passed out, snoring loud. Robert chuckled and helped him back
home to rest.
That’s when Nina noticed something surprising.
Drunk people were heavy-and Samuel wasn’t exactly small. He weighed nearly 180 pounds. But Robert had his arm around him and walked like it was no big deal.
