Read Online GRIND (The Silver Nitrate Series Book 1) by Tiana Laveen - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Tiana Laveen
Tags: Fiction
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and brought his thighs closer together.
“…And they’ve been stealing from me, too.”
“Your balls have been stealing from you?”
“You smart-alecky punk. You know what I’m talking about. These hens have been stealin’ my money.”
“You don’t have anything! What do they want, huh? Your impeccable lint ball collection from your five sweaters dating back to 1973, right? It’s the finest clothing collection in the world. Oh, I know!” He snapped his fingers. “Your Depends diapers! The ones you keep taking off and stuffing in the john, making it overflow. Yeah, that’s it, isn’t it?”
“The new nurse is a hunchback! Have you seen ’er?! I complained, but no one did a damn thing. They ignored me and I know she sprayed cleaning stuff in my beans! I been pukin’ and shittin’ ever since!”
Zenith looked over at the man’s lunch tray, on which stood an empty, clear plastic cup and a burgundy ceramic bowl of something that was long gone. Alongside these was a half eaten sandwich and a small dish of green grapes.
“Paw, they don’t want you dead. What sense would that make? They make money off of you bein’ alive, not deceased.”
“I don’t care what you say, with all your disregard and jokes. I may not be able to see as well as I used to, and my hearing is goin’, too, but I know what Lysol tastes like!”
“And how would you know what Lysol tastes like, Paw? What in the world would happen to cause you to know what somethin’ like that tastes like? Was there a cleaning product taste-testing contest you attended that I was unaware of? When it comes to you, Paw, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“I just do! Get me outta here… You better get me outta here, Zen. I can come live with you. I’ll keep quiet, I promise.” The man looked about the room, wild eyed, as if surrounded by ghosts.
“Bull! The last time I had you spend a weekend with me, my house was practically boiling you’d turned the heat up so high. I’m surprised the fire department didn’t come out and not to mention, the electric bill alone almost caused me to get a third job to pay it off. And then you went and put toilet paper around all the windows, talking about they were window treatments you’d purchased from the drapery store.”
“I did not!” the man scoffed, turning away, for he knew darn well it was true.
“Oh yes you did!” Zenith got to his feet. “I don’t like that you have to be in here, Paw, but your mind isn’t the same. You do things sometimes that aren’t right, and sometimes they’re even dangerous. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” He rubbed his shoulder to release some tension there. “Not only that, you got a bad heart. I can’t watch you 24-7; I work. I don’t have the money to hire someone to watch you. This way was cheaper in the long run because the state covers a portion of it. Len could watch you, but you don’t trust him.”
“If your father was still alive, he’d take care of me, no matter what.” The old man laid on a thick layer of manipulation, the gluey guilt had been worked like a mix of beaten eggs, fine sugar, and white flour—and he undoubtedly hoped the concoction would bake to unscrupulous perfection.
“But he’s not,” Zenith stated, his heart beating a bit faster. “He’s dead. My father is dead. Gone.”
“I… I know.” Paw dropped his head and ran his long fingers over his knobby knee. “You know, your father was—”
“I really didn’t come here for this. I don’t want to talk about it,” Zenith angrily interrupted. “Let’s not talk about my father or my mother, okay? Both are in the ground and you know how I feel about this. Now look, Paw, I know you’re unhappy here. You’re used to being independent and taking care of everyone else. You were the leader of the family, and you still are. Here’s the problem, though. You’ve only been in here eight months but you’ve been causing all sorts of problems. If I have to keep
“…And they’ve been stealing from me, too.”
“Your balls have been stealing from you?”
“You smart-alecky punk. You know what I’m talking about. These hens have been stealin’ my money.”
“You don’t have anything! What do they want, huh? Your impeccable lint ball collection from your five sweaters dating back to 1973, right? It’s the finest clothing collection in the world. Oh, I know!” He snapped his fingers. “Your Depends diapers! The ones you keep taking off and stuffing in the john, making it overflow. Yeah, that’s it, isn’t it?”
“The new nurse is a hunchback! Have you seen ’er?! I complained, but no one did a damn thing. They ignored me and I know she sprayed cleaning stuff in my beans! I been pukin’ and shittin’ ever since!”
Zenith looked over at the man’s lunch tray, on which stood an empty, clear plastic cup and a burgundy ceramic bowl of something that was long gone. Alongside these was a half eaten sandwich and a small dish of green grapes.
“Paw, they don’t want you dead. What sense would that make? They make money off of you bein’ alive, not deceased.”
“I don’t care what you say, with all your disregard and jokes. I may not be able to see as well as I used to, and my hearing is goin’, too, but I know what Lysol tastes like!”
“And how would you know what Lysol tastes like, Paw? What in the world would happen to cause you to know what somethin’ like that tastes like? Was there a cleaning product taste-testing contest you attended that I was unaware of? When it comes to you, Paw, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“I just do! Get me outta here… You better get me outta here, Zen. I can come live with you. I’ll keep quiet, I promise.” The man looked about the room, wild eyed, as if surrounded by ghosts.
“Bull! The last time I had you spend a weekend with me, my house was practically boiling you’d turned the heat up so high. I’m surprised the fire department didn’t come out and not to mention, the electric bill alone almost caused me to get a third job to pay it off. And then you went and put toilet paper around all the windows, talking about they were window treatments you’d purchased from the drapery store.”
“I did not!” the man scoffed, turning away, for he knew darn well it was true.
“Oh yes you did!” Zenith got to his feet. “I don’t like that you have to be in here, Paw, but your mind isn’t the same. You do things sometimes that aren’t right, and sometimes they’re even dangerous. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” He rubbed his shoulder to release some tension there. “Not only that, you got a bad heart. I can’t watch you 24-7; I work. I don’t have the money to hire someone to watch you. This way was cheaper in the long run because the state covers a portion of it. Len could watch you, but you don’t trust him.”
“If your father was still alive, he’d take care of me, no matter what.” The old man laid on a thick layer of manipulation, the gluey guilt had been worked like a mix of beaten eggs, fine sugar, and white flour—and he undoubtedly hoped the concoction would bake to unscrupulous perfection.
“But he’s not,” Zenith stated, his heart beating a bit faster. “He’s dead. My father is dead. Gone.”
“I… I know.” Paw dropped his head and ran his long fingers over his knobby knee. “You know, your father was—”
“I really didn’t come here for this. I don’t want to talk about it,” Zenith angrily interrupted. “Let’s not talk about my father or my mother, okay? Both are in the ground and you know how I feel about this. Now look, Paw, I know you’re unhappy here. You’re used to being independent and taking care of everyone else. You were the leader of the family, and you still are. Here’s the problem, though. You’ve only been in here eight months but you’ve been causing all sorts of problems. If I have to keep
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