The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Cody said, "They would invite that lady and her kid over, then they'd ask me if she and my dad would make a good couple."

The more Cody spoke, the angrier he got. He snarled, "They simply wanted to set my dad up with the lady, and they wanted my help! If I rejected them, they would say I wasn't as mature as her son!"

Steven thought it was inappropriate for elders to say such things to a child, but he wondered if people really did things that bizarre.

Just then, the phone rang again.

Cody answered coldly, "What do you need from me?"

Gary and Julia spoke in unison. "Your dad hasn't been in touch with us. Do you know where he is?"

Without hesitation, Cody said, "No."

Even if Cody knew, he wouldn't have told them. He continued, "When Mommy and I moved out, you told us never to return and swore you'd never contact us. So what now? Do you regret it?"

Cody didn't want to sound harsh, but he no longer wanted any ties with his grandparents—he just wanted to end the call quickly.

His grandfather, Gary Gibson, said, "We wouldn't have contacted you if we knew what to do."noveldrama

Julia Glynn, his grandmother, added, "Yeah. We wanted him to be with Ruby, but he disagreed and then left home. Now, none of us can contact him. We know he loves you..."

Cody cut them off and said, "That's your problem. It's none of my business."

He hung up. Steven looked at Cody sympathetically, but Cody just shrugged and said, "It's nothing. I'm used to this anyway."

Steven asked, "Don't you think it's unfair?"

"No. Some people have it worse than me in this world," Cody replied firmly.

"Every time I feel miserable about my life,

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would look around and

that I'm having it much better many other people."

Steven was surprised by how

mature Cody was, and he asked, in that case, if your grandparents change and are willing to treat you well, would you accept them?"

Cody shook his head when he heard that and said, "They will never change."

Steven continued to ask, "What about your dad?"

Cody replied without hesitation, "I was never angry at my dad. He treated me well and protected Mommy."

At the mention of his parents, Cody had a lot more to say.

"My grandparents never liked Mommy, and they refused to treat her well. Dad knew he couldn't change them, so he moved out with us. Later, Grandpa and Grandma cut off his financial support. Even when they threatened him, he never gave in.

"Eventually, they stopped paying him, even though he still worked for them."