Girl Get Rid Of That Jerk by Melissa Johns

Chapter 379

Joshua lingered outside the door, ears tuned in, but ultimately decided against going in. The sky was brooding, a soft rain beginning to fall, steadily drenching everything beneath it. As he walked to the hospital entrance, he cast his eyes upwards toward the heavy, gray sky, his mind adrift.

He and Allison—perhaps there really was no future left for them. His father, Ben, was only fifty-two and already knocking on death's door. Joshua remembered being just five when Ben's affair became the talk of the town. His mother had been set on divorce, but the weight of family expectations kept the marriage intact.

Those memories had sunk deep roots in his heart. He vividly remembered every injustice his mother endured, the image of her crying alone, the endless arguments, and the indifference in Ben's eyes. The truth was, Ben hadn't loved his mother and certainly hadn't loved him. Joshua never felt the warmth of a father's love.

Their relationship had always been distant, and he'd thought Ben's passing would leave him unfazed. Yet, faced with the reality, he found he couldn't be indifferent.

he reached Joshua,

unable to look away. The boy was just

on the chest form,

was

man's hands, rough and calloused, yet they handled

face was etched with worry and concern-a look Joshua rarely, if ever, saw on Ben. Oh, wait there was that one time. The year Ben brought Chris back, pleading with the grandparents to acknowledge him. They wouldn't budge, not even letting them in the door. Ben knelt outside, Chris in his arms, unwilling to leave. The weather had been just like today-overcast, stifling, and oppressive. Rain poured