Read Online That Boy From Trash Town by Billie Green - Free Book Online
Authors: Billie Green
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refused to be tied up. He refused to be beaten. Tess didn't know what happened next. She didn't know what her brother was doing, but she knew it was bad because she heard her mother screaming for him to stop.
When Tess finally came out from under the bed, medical people were taking care of her father, the police were talking to her mother and Alvo was gone.
Tess's story didn't shock Dean. It made him sad and angry for both children. It made him want to strike out at something, someone, for the children's sake. But it also brought back memories that made him sick to his stomach. For a while, as Tess talked, Dean had become Alvo. He had been thrust forcibly back into the frustration and rage and pain.
But he wouldn't allow the feelings to take control. Not this time. As soon as he left Tess, he went to visit Alvo. And now that Dean was armed with the truth, it didn't take him long to find out that Jackson's threats to kill Alvo's mother and sister had kept the boy quiet.
Dean didn't pull any punches with his young client. He told Alvo that his stepfather wouldn't stay in jail forever. But Dean could make sure that he would stay in long enough for Alvo to get bigger and stronger. He would stay in long enough for Alvo's mother and sister to get psychiatric help. Dean had friends in the district attorney's office. He would make sure Jackson was put away long enough to give Alvo and Tess a chance at a better life.
All in all, Saturday had been a productive day, but after leaving Alvo at the jail, Dean had felt drained of energy and emotion. He'd made his way home, but as soon as he'd walked in the door, ghosts from the past rushed to greet him. He felt the presence of not only his mother and stepfather, but the presence of himself as a boy.
Back then he had been as wild and angry and frightened as Alvo was now. Until he'd found Whitney. Whitney had represented hope. She had shown him that life wasn't all dark, that there were bright spots to look forward to. She had kept him sane. She had kept him from turning on his stepfather the way Alvo had turned on his. As long as Whitney was in Dean's life, there was a reason to push forward, a reason to keep going.
As he'd sat in the empty house, Dean had felt a violent need for Whitney's company. He needed some of her brightness. He needed her to pull him out of the dark hole he'd fallen into. She would help him forget what he had been in the past. She would remind him of who he had become.
He'd almost called her then. He knew she would be beside him in minutes if he did. All he'd had to do was pick up the phone, but he wouldn't let himself do it. This particular hell was his own, and he wouldn't let it touch her. This was a battle he had to fight alone.
And that was when he had taken the first drink. He'd told himself he just needed a couple of drinks to help him sleep. There was nothing wrong with that But part of him—the logical, objective part—knew what he was doing. He wasn't simply taking a drink to relax. He was confirming that deep down, he was still that boy from Trash Town. He was still that wild, bad boy who did things decent folk didn't do.
And now, the morning after, Dean was paying for his little excursion into truth. Not only did he have the granddaddy of all headaches, but he felt diminished by his weakness. And he still felt those unbreakable ties with the past.
Pushing back the covers, he slid slowly to the side of the bed. Lying around regretting last night wasn't going to accomplish anything. He had to go see Jackson in the hospital, then start working on getting the charges against his client dropped. Alvo didn't care about Dean's ghosts. He had plenty of his own.
After Dean had it all settled, when Ins feet were planted more firmly in the present, he would call Whitney and tell her about the case. She would hurt for Alvo and Tess, then she would call him a legal genius and a true humanitarian, he thought with a slight smile. It was the kind of thing he
When Tess finally came out from under the bed, medical people were taking care of her father, the police were talking to her mother and Alvo was gone.
Tess's story didn't shock Dean. It made him sad and angry for both children. It made him want to strike out at something, someone, for the children's sake. But it also brought back memories that made him sick to his stomach. For a while, as Tess talked, Dean had become Alvo. He had been thrust forcibly back into the frustration and rage and pain.
But he wouldn't allow the feelings to take control. Not this time. As soon as he left Tess, he went to visit Alvo. And now that Dean was armed with the truth, it didn't take him long to find out that Jackson's threats to kill Alvo's mother and sister had kept the boy quiet.
Dean didn't pull any punches with his young client. He told Alvo that his stepfather wouldn't stay in jail forever. But Dean could make sure that he would stay in long enough for Alvo to get bigger and stronger. He would stay in long enough for Alvo's mother and sister to get psychiatric help. Dean had friends in the district attorney's office. He would make sure Jackson was put away long enough to give Alvo and Tess a chance at a better life.
All in all, Saturday had been a productive day, but after leaving Alvo at the jail, Dean had felt drained of energy and emotion. He'd made his way home, but as soon as he'd walked in the door, ghosts from the past rushed to greet him. He felt the presence of not only his mother and stepfather, but the presence of himself as a boy.
Back then he had been as wild and angry and frightened as Alvo was now. Until he'd found Whitney. Whitney had represented hope. She had shown him that life wasn't all dark, that there were bright spots to look forward to. She had kept him sane. She had kept him from turning on his stepfather the way Alvo had turned on his. As long as Whitney was in Dean's life, there was a reason to push forward, a reason to keep going.
As he'd sat in the empty house, Dean had felt a violent need for Whitney's company. He needed some of her brightness. He needed her to pull him out of the dark hole he'd fallen into. She would help him forget what he had been in the past. She would remind him of who he had become.
He'd almost called her then. He knew she would be beside him in minutes if he did. All he'd had to do was pick up the phone, but he wouldn't let himself do it. This particular hell was his own, and he wouldn't let it touch her. This was a battle he had to fight alone.
And that was when he had taken the first drink. He'd told himself he just needed a couple of drinks to help him sleep. There was nothing wrong with that But part of him—the logical, objective part—knew what he was doing. He wasn't simply taking a drink to relax. He was confirming that deep down, he was still that boy from Trash Town. He was still that wild, bad boy who did things decent folk didn't do.
And now, the morning after, Dean was paying for his little excursion into truth. Not only did he have the granddaddy of all headaches, but he felt diminished by his weakness. And he still felt those unbreakable ties with the past.
Pushing back the covers, he slid slowly to the side of the bed. Lying around regretting last night wasn't going to accomplish anything. He had to go see Jackson in the hospital, then start working on getting the charges against his client dropped. Alvo didn't care about Dean's ghosts. He had plenty of his own.
After Dean had it all settled, when Ins feet were planted more firmly in the present, he would call Whitney and tell her about the case. She would hurt for Alvo and Tess, then she would call him a legal genius and a true humanitarian, he thought with a slight smile. It was the kind of thing he
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