Forever My Angel Read Online Free PDF Page A

feels to Dad to be saying it. My eyes nervously dart to Warren, curious to see how he’s taking all of this. Chelsea is standing not far from him, and by the look on her face I’m pretty sure she’s the most in-control of all of us. Warren seems to be cloaking himself in anger. He looks like he wants to rip Vanessa to shreds, which makes two of us. Belatedly, I realize Dad is still speaking. Wait, what did he just say? I think he called my mom ‘his Joyce.’
    Oh shit. What the hell does that mean?
    Vanessa is the picture of composure as she points angrily to the coat closet. “Chelsea, get my coat. We’re leaving.”
    I’m not the only one looking to Chelsea to see how she’s going to respond. She’s not overly fond of her mother, but she tends to bow to her demands because it’s easier than arguing. And at the end of the day, she loves her. But there’s something about the way she’s studying Dad.
    “I think I’m going to stay here.”
    Holy hell. I’m pretty sure the universe has turned upside down on its axis today, and we’ve all gone bat-shit crazy.
    Chelsea keeps her composure as Vanessa storms out. She stands in the middle of the hallway, eyeing my father, my mother, and me in turn. Her expression is unyielding, like a commander readying her troops for battle. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so in control. Maybe it’s just because, in contrast, the rest of us are floundering. But I've most certainly never seen her go against her mother. She goes with the flow, except when she’s delighting in the chance to tell me I'm doing something stupid, like when I nearly ruined things with Angel. “You four,” she indicates my father and me, plus my mother and Warren, with a flick of her eyes, “go in there and talk to each other. I’m sure you’ve got a lot to discuss.”
    I can think of about a million things I’d rather do than be locked in a room with my mother—like standing barefoot on hot coals for days on end—but my father is already nodding and moving to comply. I'm carried away on the current of the moment, too shell-shocked to argue. I'd laugh at the way Chelsea and I have switched our normal roles, but I'm too numb. Angel slips out from beneath my arm and gives me an encouraging smile before moving out of the way so Dad and I can go to our firing squad.
    Dad takes a chair by the window, and I mentally take note of the fact that he didn’t choose to sit at his desk, leaving a barrier between him and the rest of us. Maybe I should sit there? No...that would just be too odd. My mother settles herself on the small leather sofa where I sat just a few minutes ago. Warren looks lost, like he’s not sure where to go or how he fits in here. That makes two of us right about now.
    “Please, sit. Make yourselves at home.”
    I don’t want to be anywhere near any of these people. I want to be far, far away, maybe on a deserted island, just me and Angel. I cross my arms in front of my chest as I lean against the windowsill farthest from my mother. “I’ll stand.”
    Warren shakes his head. “No, I’m good.”
    Dad chuckles.
    I try to look everywhere but at my mother, but her presence is a leash around my neck that keeps snapping my attention back to her. She softly strokes the empty spot on the sofa beside her leg. “I remember when we bought this.”
    My anger erupts without warning. “Nice to know you didn’t forget everything , at least.”
    Dad jerks his head, and his meaning is brutally clear: zip my lip and mind my manners.
    “I never forgot you, Axel. Never.” She lies through her teeth, because that’s what she does. She lies and says she’ll come back, and then doesn’t. She lies and says she loves you, then leaves. Her words mean nothing to me now. “Could’ve fooled me.”
    Warren takes a step toward me, his hands tucked into fists. He can fucking bring it.
    My father raises his voice. “That’s enough, Axel.” He sighs wearily. Then, in the next instant, he surprises