Unspeakable Read Online Free PDF Page B

cocaine. The pills rattled in the bottle as she sat down on his bed.
    â€œWhat happened to you?” she asked. “You used to be so sweet. My sweet little boy, that’s what you were. What happened?”
    Sitting up in bed, Collin said nothing. His eyes avoided hers. When he was mad at her, he always had a hard time looking at her.
    â€œListen, I’m sorry about the party,” she finally said. “It was a crazy, last-minute thing. If I’d known we were having company, I would have sent you to stay with Grandpa and Dee for the weekend. . . .”
    Collin remained silent. Lately, he’d thought about asking if he could go live with his grandparents—full-time. Maybe then he’d have a normal life.
    A woman downstairs let out a screech of laughter, and the others joined in.
    â€œChrist, it sure is loud down there,” his mom admitted. She opened the bottle of pills and shook one out. “No wonder you’re so pissy tonight. You just need a little help falling asleep. I’ll try to hustle them out of here soon. Meanwhile, have one of these. . . .”
    He knew the pill was Ambien. She used to give him half a pill whenever he was too keyed up the night before a morning call on the movie set. He’d been ten years old at the time. She’d give him a whole pill when leaving him alone for the night. He’d once overheard her telling a friend on the phone, “Hey, I need to have a life, too. And where can you get a sitter? It’s either knock him out with a pill or tie him down in his bed until I return home. And I’d just as soon not tie him down, thank you very much. Besides, why do you care all of the sudden?”
    A few years back, Collin had read stories about some of the pill’s side effects—like sleepwalking, people preparing and eating food while asleep, sleep- driving , and even having sex while asleep. After that, Collin had refused to take any more Ambien.
    Tonight he didn’t want to argue with her. He reached for the glass of water on his nightstand, plucked the pill from her hand and swallowed it. A lot of those side-effects stories were pretty far-fetched anyway.
    â€œYou can sleep in tomorrow,” his mother said, twisting the cap back on the bottle. She reached over and messed his already messy hair. “Tell you what, Collie, tomorrow afternoon, we can finally go check out the Experience Music Project—just you and me. What do you say?”
    Collin wanted to say he was too old to hang out with his mother all afternoon. Why not just wear a T-shirt that said, I’ M A PATHETIC LOSER ? Besides, she and Chance would probably sleep until three in the afternoon tomorrow. There was no way in hell they’d get to the EMP in time to see anything. Though he knew it would never happen, Collin worked up a smile and nodded, “Sounds good, Mom.”
    She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “Sleep tight.” Then she got to her feet and retreated toward the hallway. The last thing Collin saw before she closed the door was her silhouette, and she was rubbing her nose again.
    Then the room was swallowed up in darkness.
    Collin told himself it was nice she’d checked in on him. The gesture reminded him that she genuinely cared about him—in her own screwed-up way. As much as he imagined a better life with his grandparents on the Kitsap Peninsula, he couldn’t leave her. Who else would take care of her, clean up after her, and protect her from herself?
    Collin’s father had tried to take care of her long ago. They’d met at a ski resort, where he’d been an instructor. They’d gotten married two days later. When Collin was four months old, his dad had left in the middle of the night—in his jeep and with all of his ski equipment.
    Collin had been three years old when his father came back—to ask for an annulment so he could remarry. His mom didn’t believe Collin when he claimed