Wrecked (Stories of Serendipity #8): #8 by Anne Conley

ran whose goat farm he’d taken Dad to yesterday. Where he’d found Renae hiding from him. He could only assume he’d done something to scare her. Maybe she was afraid of the intensity between them. If he thought about it too much, he would probably be afraid of it too. But he didn’t want to think about it. He wanted to experience it again.
    Jason had texted Renae the time and location for her to meet him. He just had to run by Dad’s place to check on him real quick, and then he’d be on his way to see her again. Pulling on his helmet, Jason straddled his bike, remembering the first time he’d seen Renae.
    When he’d come to, she’d been straddling him, leaning over trying to determine if he was alive. The scent of cinnamon had seeped into his conscious like rays of sunshine, waking him. He’d almost immediately regretted his rough treatment of her, all the yelling he’d done. He’d been thrown off, though, both literally and figuratively. As he kick-started the machine, he felt the rumbles radiate through him, the power surging as he took off from the curb.
    He was trying to go into this date with no expectations. She obviously regretted sleeping with him, but she’d held back in the greenhouse. She’d wanted to touch him, and he’d wanted her to. But it was her call. If she’d hugged him after he helped her up, he would have been helpless to hold back. His control was at a breaking point around her, and he’d never felt that way around any other woman before. He’d wanted to be kissing her instead of begging her to see him again. He’d wanted to be buried inside her instead of gallantly walking away.
    To that end, he’d cleaned his apartment over the shop, hopeful that she would want to come back for coffee and maybe more, but he wouldn’t push. She was scared of something, and he had no idea what. He needed to find out.
    He walked into his dad’s apartment, the anticipation of seeing Renae again putting a bounce in his step.
    “Dad? Mark?” The living room was empty, but Mark was at the kitchen table, staring at the empty meals on wheels tray in front of him, vacantly. “Where’s Dad?” Mark looked up at him, a vague expression on his face that sent a pit tumbling into Jason’s belly.
    “Bathtub, I think man.”
    “You think?” His response puzzled Jason, but he turned and went into the bathroom to find his dad in a tub full of water. “Dad? Why aren’t you taking a shower with the seat they brought you?” Joe’s lips had a bluish tint to them, and his eyes were filled with fear that filled Jason’s stomach with acid. He was having a hard time shifting gears from the anticipation of a night with Renae to the horror in front of him. His hand dipped into the water to find it nearly ice cold. Heaving his dad from the water, he sat him on the toilet and wrapped every towel around him he could find.
    “Th-that k-k-kid put me in h-h-here.” Joes’ teeth chattered helplessly while Jason tried to rub him dry. He realized he was spending a lot of time with his dad while the asshole who did this to him was sitting in the kitchen.
    “Stay here, Dad. Try to dry yourself off.”
    Stalking across the small apartment into the kitchen he grabbed the kid by his t-shirt and hauled him to his feet. “You son of a bitch.” Looking into his eyes, he saw they were glassy and the pupils dilated. “Are you high?” A goofy grin spread across his face, and Jason lost all semblance of control. Rage flowed through his veins and Jason punched him, letting out a primal roar. “That’s my dad, you asshole! I pay you to watch him! You. Are. A. Care. Taker.” With each word, Jason enunciated clearly, while landing punches on Mark’s face. He finished up with a left hook that sent Mark crashing against the wall behind him, knocking a hole in the sheet rock. The youth didn’t fight back, which in Jason’s head was an admission of guilt.
    So he kept hitting him.
    Jason picked him up and dragged him to the