Greco (Book 1.5) (The Omega Group) Read Free

away r-right now.” He took a tentative step
forward, in the hope that putting his toy away would keep things from getting
worse. But it wasn’t to be. His right foot caught on something sitting on the
floor, sending him tumbling.
    The screech that came from the
living room caused his blood to run cold. When he looked to see what had tripped
him, he found his mother’s purse lying on its side with its contents strewn
across the floor. Desperate to clean up his mess, Greco grabbed everything
within reach and shoved it in the bag. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Tears
were streaming down his face but before he could wipe them away his mother
grabbed his arm and jerked him upright.
    “Those are my things! How dare
you kick them across the room? What’s wrong with you?”
    “Nothing, Mommy. It was an
accident,” Greco sobbed.
    “ You were the accident.
You should never have been born. You’re an abomination.”
    “No I’m not. I’m a good boy.
Please, Mommy. I’m a good boy.” Greco tried to reach out and wrap his arms
around his mother but she grabbed him by the shoulders and squeezed. Hard.
    “You’re not a good boy. You’re
not,” she wailed, shaking him violently.
    “Gayle!” Greco’s dad stormed
through the still-open front door and pulled him out of his mother’s painful
grasp. “What are you doing? He’s just a boy.”
    His mother took a few gulps from
her drink then threw it against the wall, sending wet shards of glass flying.
“This is all your fault. He shouldn’t even be here. You want him? You can have
him.”
    Greco buried his face in his
father’s shirt as his mother walked out of the house, slamming the door behind her.
    “Are you OK?” Greco’s dad knelt
down in front of him and placed his hands gently on his face, wiping away the
tears with his thumbs. Greco just nodded his head, as words weren’t yet
possible for him. When his father pulled him into his arms, he hugged back with
every bit of strength he had. “I love you, son.”
    Moments later, still locked in
their desperate embrace, Greco asked the question he always asked. “Why doesn’t
Mommy love me?”
    His father answered with the same
lie he always did. “She does, son. She does.”
     

Chapter 5
    The drive to Savannah, where
Greco had been raised and his family still lived, took about two and a half
hours. In that time, he’d spoken only a few words. The tension his silence was
causing was palpable, but he couldn’t bring himself to alleviate it. This was
going to be a rough couple of days, whether his mother’s disappearance was
self-inflicted or not, and he didn’t see the use in pretending it wasn’t.
    “Are we getting close?” Mirissa
asked.
    He stole a quick glance at her.
“Just a couple more minutes.” They were winding their way through Skidaway
Island where his parent’s lived. It was a huge gated community with live oak
trees and paths running everywhere. As he looked around, he was struck by how
beautiful the neighborhood was, even though he’d never felt particularly happy
there as a child. Golf carts buzzed down the paths as the residents used their
preferred form of transportation to get from one place on the island to
another.
    “It’s beautiful here.” Asteria,
lying in her usual horizontal position across the back seat, was staring out
the window at the luxurious homes they passed. “This must have been a great
place to grow up. You’re so lucky.”
    Out of the corner of his eye he
saw Mirissa grimace at that last comment but, thankfully, she didn’t say
anything.
    “My dad’s house is just up
there.” They turned off the main street onto a short cul-de-sac and pulled into
the driveway of a large home with a manicured garden. It was a mixture of light
brick and stone, two stories tall, with a front porch that ran its entire
length. The golf course was just visible out back through the trees.
    Greco made his way to the front
door, with Mirissa and Asteria trailing