An Inner Darkness Book 5 Bay City paranormal

him. “Are they fighting again?”
The expression that crossed Adrian’s face told Sam he was right. He bit back a sigh.
    It wasn’t the first time Janine and Bo had gotten into a screaming match, nor was it the first time one or both of the boys had witnessed it. They tried to keep their interactions civil in front of the kids—or at least Bo did, Sam had his doubts about Janine—but there was still a great deal of anger and resentment between them, and sometimes it came out in less than ideal ways.
    Reclaiming his spot on the swing, Sam gestured to the empty space beside him.
“You want to sit out here for a while?”
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    Adrian hesitated. He glanced from Sam to the back door and back again. With a shrug, he shuffled over and plopped down on the swing, as far away from Sam as he could get.
    They sat in silence while Sean and the other boys chased each other across the yard in some wild game only they understood. Sam stole a sidelong glance at Adrian. He sat with his arms crossed over his belly, head down, frowning at the blue-painted boards beneath his feet. Something about him seemed different, though Sam couldn’t put his finger on it.
    “So.” Sam cast around for something to say that wouldn’t destroy the fragile peace between them. He couldn’t think of anything, so he asked the question uppermost in his mind at the moment. “What’re your mom and dad fighting about this time?” To Sam’s surprise, Adrian let out a harsh laugh. “Me and Sean. What else?”
    “What? Is your—” Sam cut himself off before he could ask if Janine was trying to screw Bo out of visitation again. No matter how much he might hate the woman sometimes, he refused to say anything against her in front of her sons.
    Adrian shot him a glance far too bitter and knowing for an eleven-year-old. “No.” Sam waited. Adrian scowled at the ground. After several seconds of mental back-and-forth, Sam decided to go ahead and ask.
“So what is it?”
“I told you.”
“You told me they were fighting about you and Sean. You didn’t tell me what exactly it was.”
Adrian darted a fierce glare at Sam from beneath his bangs. “It’s none of your business.”
If Bo had heard Adrian speak to Sam in such a way, he would’ve berated the boy.
Sam couldn’t bring himself to do the same. He could hardly blame Adrian for resenting him.
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An Inner Darkness
Turning sideways and curling one leg beneath him, Sam studied Adrian’s profile.
Adrian was a child who appreciated honesty. Maybe telling him the truth would earn his respect.
    “I understand why you think it isn’t my business,” Sam said, keeping his voice low and even. “Maybe you’re right. But I love your father. I plan on being with him for the long haul. You and your brother are more important to him than anything else in the world, and that makes you both important to me.” He risked a slight smile. “Besides, the more I get to know you and Sean, the more I like you.”
    “Everybody likes Sean,” Adrian muttered, kicking the toe of one black sneaker against the floor.
Sam didn’t contradict him. Insulting Adrian’s intelligence by trying to pretend what he’d said wasn’t true wouldn’t endear Sam to him.
    “He’s a likeable kid. But so are you. You’re just harder to get to know, that’s all. I’m kind of that way myself.” Sam started to reach out and touch Adrian’s arm, then thought better of it. “I know it must be pretty rough getting used to everything that’s going on. If you want to talk, I promise to listen, and help you if I can.” Adrian fixed Sam with a penetrating stare so like Bo’s it gave Sam chills. Sam gazed back, doing his best to look calm and relaxed. The silence hung heavy and charged between them. The laughter and shouting in the yard seemed far away.
    Hanging his head, Adrian studied the hole in the knee of his jeans. “Dad was mad at Mom because…”
He trailed off. Sam waited.
    “She said…” Adrian glanced at Sam from beneath a curtain of dark hair, and this time the misery and apprehension in his eyes was crystal clear. “She wants to—” The back door banged open. Janine strode out in a palpable fury. “Sean,” she called.

    “Lee and I are leaving now. Come say goodbye.” Sean’s head poked out from behind the gigantic oak tree in the back corner of the yard. He dashed across the grass, barreled up the steps and flung himself at his mother so