Watch Me Read Online Free Page B

hit him, didn’t you?” he said.
    â€œHe deserved it,” I said. “He—”
    My mom sat down on the edge of my bed.
    â€œOh, Kaz,” she said.
    â€œBut, Mom, you don’t understand—”
    â€œThere’s no excuse for fighting, Kaz.” She sounded as tired as she looked. Worse, she sounded disappointed. “You used to be so happy. You never made any trouble. You never got into fights. You were always outside with your hockey stick playing road hockey, ice hockey...” Her eyes glistened with tears. Geez, was everyone going to cry today? “Remember, Kaz? Remember that boy?”
    Neil came up behind her and squeezed her shoulder.
    â€œI think what your mother is trying to say, Sport, is—”
    â€œI want to live with Dad,” I said.
    That took my mom by surprise.
    â€œwhat?” she said.
    â€œI want to live with Dad.”
    I thought about the old lady and her purse. I wished it had had lots of money in it. If it had, I would have used it to buy a bus ticket. I would have gone to my dad’s place.
    â€œYour dad has a new family now,” my mom reminded me, as if that were something I could ever forget. I’d been stunned when she told me. She hadn’t seemed happy about it either. A few weeks ago, I heard her complain to Neil that having a new baby was my dad’s latest excuse for not sending child support payments like he was supposed to. She said she hadn’t got a check from him in over three months. But I didn’t care about that.
    â€œHe’s still my dad. I can be with him if I want to.”
    â€œBut you haven’t seen him in years,” my mom said.
    â€œWhose fault is that?”
    â€œWatch the tone, Sport,” Neil said. He still had his hand on my mom’s shoulder.
    â€œYou think
I’m
to blame?” Mom said.
    â€œHe’s the one who decided to move so far away.”
    â€œHe moved after you wouldn’t let him have joint custody,” I said. “You never let him see me.”
    â€œIt’s more complicated than that,” my mom said slowly. “Your dad...” She shook her head. “It’s just complicated, Kaz. And now that you have a little sister...” There were more tears in her eyes now. “We can talk about this another time. For right now, you need to know that what you did today was wrong. I know you’re having a hard time in school. But you can’t take your frustration out on other kids. It’s not right. I know you’re a better person than that. I just know it.” She stood up. “Supper will be ready in half an hour.”
    â€œI’m not hungry.”
    Half an hour later when she called me to come and eat, I didn’t answer. She didn’t call again. I heard dishes clinking in the kitchen. I smelled food—I think it was Neil’s meatloaf. I didn’t like Neil, but he made good meatloaf. My stomach rumbled. Mymouth watered. But I stayed in my room until the next morning after both Neil and my mom had gone to work.
    My mom had left my lunch on the kitchen table in a brown paper bag. I peeked inside. It was a thick meatloaf sandwich. It looked so good that I ate it for breakfast. It put me in a good mood—until I got to school and found Jana waiting at my locker.
    â€œI just wanted to say I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said.
    She
was sorry? I was the one who had been mean to her. Why was she apologizing?
    â€œI guess I did sort of come across like some kind of know-it-all,” she said. “And then I got all emotional. I hate that. I hate when I cry in front of people. Especially people I don’t know very well.”
    She meant people like me.
    â€œI was embarrassed,” she said. “I mean, I
never
hit people. Never.”
    Unlike me.
    â€œAnd then...” Her cheeks turned pink. “Do you know Alicia Seretta?”
    I nodded.
    â€œWell, she said something stupid.