Page 161 of Remiss

He stared at the screen door with the torn screen and loose handle. Swallowing, he forced himself to knock, praying Skylar Rivers no longer resided there.

Then the outside light flickered own, bathing him in a single spotlight, the main character in his own tragedy. The thin door scraped open and a man in boxers stood there.

Gaunt except for his beer belly, unshaven, and reeking of smoke and alcohol. The smell of an unwashed body hit Diesel’s nostrils.

“Diesel?”

He swallowed, an anticlimactic moment that left him hollow inside. “Hello, Dad.”

He swept his gaze over Diesel, then hocked a wad of spit, finally stepping aside and indicating the inside of the place with a wave of his hand. “Come in.”

Walking into the living room was like déjà vu. It was filthy, cramped, just as their place had been after his mother left them. The air was stale and musty. This would’ve been his destiny ifluck hadn’t shone on Diesel and made his father turn his back on him. He would’ve stayed at his father’s side out of guilt and loyalty.

“Have a seat.”

“I, uh, I can’t stay. I was in the area.”

The floor creaked as Skylar walked to the torn leather recliner and sat, scratching his balls. Diesel frowned.

“You must be here for a fucking reason, boy.”

He no longer knew what that was. Looking back was never a good idea. It wouldn’t change what had happened. It wouldn’t change how miserable he was because his entire foundation had been shaken up again.

Diesel started to turn. “This was a mistake, Skylar.”

“Hey, you little shit. Respect me. I’m still your old man.”

“Biologically,” Diesel snapped. “Any other way? You were a fucking failure.”

Skylar jumped up. “Watch your fucking mouth.”

“Fuck you! You fucking left me, motherfucker.” It was true. Despite empathizing with his father’s predicament,heleft Diesel, too. “You deserted me just likeshedid. I was fifteen. I didn’t know what the fuck to do. The first three days, I didn’t even know where the fuck to get food.”

“You fucking survived, so stop whining. That’s all that cunt ever fucking did. Whine and complain. She should’ve kissed my fucking cock every fucking day for even keeping her after she refused to get rid of you. I didn’t want no fucking kid. I had enough problems with that bitch.”

“She was your fucking wife!”

“She was a fucking cock tease! Switching her ass around me, tempting me with her young pussy.”

“So it was true? She was what? Sixteen? Seventeen?”

“She was fourteen when we met, fifteen when I knocked her up.”

Rebel crossed his mind. Suddenly, Diesel wanted to throw up.

“And you were how old?”

Skylar shrugged. “About forty. That don’t matter. The cunts rule our cocks.”

“She was a fucking child, fuckhead!”

Skylar glared at him. “I told you once, I’m not taking your lip.”

Before he completely fell apart, Diesel needed to leave. But he knew so little about his parents and Skylar seemed to be in a talkative mood. “How’d you meet her?”

“Lived next door to her and her folks,” he said around a rancid belch. “Always saw her skipping around in those short little uniforms, pretending she didn’t want me to see her pussy.”

“She was a waitress?”