Jax chuckles. “Just saying.”
“You’re a good boy.” She pats Jax on his arm. “And you’re one of Dad’s favorites.”
Jax pops the potato wedge into his mouth and the grin on his face speaks volumes. Mom kisses his cheek, my cheek, then Maggie’s and is out the door. Somehow the room loses warmth.
“You know I’ve seen your dad a couple of times up at the strip mall.”
The knife in my hand pauses. “He’s probably wasting time before the bus shows.”
“He could be going to the bar.”
I viciously slice through another potato. “Have you seen him there?”
He’s silent as the blade of the knife thumps into the wooden board with each stroke.
“We don’t have the money for it,” I say. “And Dad doesn’t drink. At least not like that.”
“Beer at the bar is cheap.”
I slam the knife down and round on Jax. “My father wouldn’t give up.”
“Not the enemy.” He picks up my sister, who sits staring at us wide-eyed. “Come on, Mags. Let’s hide in the basement.”
Chapter 60
West
The principal suspended me for the rest of the day because I slammed Matt into a wall. I chuckle. That would have gotten my ass expelled at Worthington.
At the breakfast bar in my mother’s kitchen, I pile high another layer of ham and smash the bread on top. Haley’s been on me about weight. She’s threatening me with hours wrapped in plastic in a sauna if I don’t stop eating high-calorie garbage. I’ve got five more pounds to drop and ham shouldn’t kill me. The sandwich melts in my mouth. After the tournament, I’m eating everything in sight.
I’ve got thirty minutes before I have to head to the gym to train for the evening with Jax and Kaden. Haley’s taking the night off to watch her younger sister.
The rumble of wheels causes me to halt midchew. Rachel came home yesterday and I’ve managed to avoid her. I glance at the back door, the sandwich still in my hand, but Rachel’s fast in her wheelchair and I wouldn’t make it out without her noticing. She rolls into the kitchen and our eyes meet. My throat constricts and I have to force down the food in my mouth.
She doesn’t say anything as she coasts past me to the fridge. I shift my weight as she attempts to maneuver so she can open the door. Her movements become crisp and her eyes narrow on her wheels. I step toward her and she snaps, “I can do it.”
I step back and toss my hands in the air. Everything inside me twists as she moves the chair forward, backward and forward again until she can finally open the damn door. Her eyes fall to the right and my heart sinks when she lowers her head.
The housekeeper forgot to store drinks on the lower shelves. Just f**k.
She slams the refrigerator door and rolls over to the windows. Rachel blinks rapidly as she looks out at the garage. That building was her home. Whenever she became frustrated or mad or lonely, she went out there and tinkered with her car. Besides the fact she can’t drive anymore and that her beloved Mustang became toast in the wreck, Rachel can only touch a closed hood.
Rachel lost her home.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“It’s bad enough I’ve lost the ability to walk or stand, but did I have to lose you, too?”
The floor creaks and Rachel and I both turn our heads to see Dad standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He clears his throat and motions for me to follow him out. “West.”
A million words form in my mind. Rachel didn’t lose me. I love her. I would cut off my own legs and give them to her if it meant she could walk again. Because I’m an idiot, I say none of them. Instead, I open the fridge, grab a diet soda and leave it on the table.
Dad’s already at his mahogany desk when I enter his office and slink into the chair across from him. The table behind him is full of pictures of our family. Most of them are of Mom and their lost daughter, Colleen. It’s the loose picture of me and Dad stuck to the corner of an eight-by-ten matted framed picture that’s my favorite. I was eight in the photo and thought my dad kicked ass.
Dad’s in a white button-down shirt with no tie. His suit coat is hung on the back of his chair—an indication he just arrived home. He finishes typing on his laptop, then focuses on me. “Your guidance counselor called and told me about the fight.”
Prepared for this, I’d packed the moment I walked in the door. I’ve got three full bags ready to go and a wad of cash thanks to my job at the bar.
“Would you like to tell me what happened?”
“What?”
“Tell me why you got into the fight.”
Dad hasn’t asked why I’ve done anything since my second suspension in eighth grade. “The guy hurt Haley.”
“Haley’s your girlfriend.” It’s a question said as a statement.
“Yes.”
He reaches into a file folder and produces the report card I hammered to his office door. “You could have handed this to me.”
“Could of.” But nailing a straight B report card to his door was the equivalent of flipping him off. The suspension screams I’m a failure, while the report card is my “fuck you” to him.
Dad flattens his lips and stares at his desk. I know that look. He’s seconds away from losing his patience and tossing out the “You’re a disappointment” lecture. I scoot to the end of my chair, ready to leave.
“Is it possible for us to talk?” he asks.
“You know I got suspended, right? Still feel like sharing a feel-good moment?”
“I don’t remember the last time we’ve had a conversation.”
My eyes flicker back to the picture of us, and Dad follows my line of sight.
“It hasn’t been that long,” he says.
Yeah, it has, but I relax back in my seat. I’ll admit—I’m disarmed yet cautious. He’s never waved a white flag, but I wouldn’t put it past him to knife me in the back. “Let’s talk.”
“All right. Let’s talk.” Dad taps his fingers together. I search for the last conversation Dad and I had without it turning into a slam fest. I look over at the photo again. Dad and I had made a birdhouse together for a school project—the same day I first used a hammer and a nail.
“I fix stuff,” I say. “At a bar. It’s what I was hired to do, and I’m good at it.”
“I know what you’ve been doing. At the bar, at school and with the gym.”
“You’re a good boy.” She pats Jax on his arm. “And you’re one of Dad’s favorites.”
Jax pops the potato wedge into his mouth and the grin on his face speaks volumes. Mom kisses his cheek, my cheek, then Maggie’s and is out the door. Somehow the room loses warmth.
“You know I’ve seen your dad a couple of times up at the strip mall.”
The knife in my hand pauses. “He’s probably wasting time before the bus shows.”
“He could be going to the bar.”
I viciously slice through another potato. “Have you seen him there?”
He’s silent as the blade of the knife thumps into the wooden board with each stroke.
“We don’t have the money for it,” I say. “And Dad doesn’t drink. At least not like that.”
“Beer at the bar is cheap.”
I slam the knife down and round on Jax. “My father wouldn’t give up.”
“Not the enemy.” He picks up my sister, who sits staring at us wide-eyed. “Come on, Mags. Let’s hide in the basement.”
Chapter 60
West
The principal suspended me for the rest of the day because I slammed Matt into a wall. I chuckle. That would have gotten my ass expelled at Worthington.
At the breakfast bar in my mother’s kitchen, I pile high another layer of ham and smash the bread on top. Haley’s been on me about weight. She’s threatening me with hours wrapped in plastic in a sauna if I don’t stop eating high-calorie garbage. I’ve got five more pounds to drop and ham shouldn’t kill me. The sandwich melts in my mouth. After the tournament, I’m eating everything in sight.
I’ve got thirty minutes before I have to head to the gym to train for the evening with Jax and Kaden. Haley’s taking the night off to watch her younger sister.
The rumble of wheels causes me to halt midchew. Rachel came home yesterday and I’ve managed to avoid her. I glance at the back door, the sandwich still in my hand, but Rachel’s fast in her wheelchair and I wouldn’t make it out without her noticing. She rolls into the kitchen and our eyes meet. My throat constricts and I have to force down the food in my mouth.
She doesn’t say anything as she coasts past me to the fridge. I shift my weight as she attempts to maneuver so she can open the door. Her movements become crisp and her eyes narrow on her wheels. I step toward her and she snaps, “I can do it.”
I step back and toss my hands in the air. Everything inside me twists as she moves the chair forward, backward and forward again until she can finally open the damn door. Her eyes fall to the right and my heart sinks when she lowers her head.
The housekeeper forgot to store drinks on the lower shelves. Just f**k.
She slams the refrigerator door and rolls over to the windows. Rachel blinks rapidly as she looks out at the garage. That building was her home. Whenever she became frustrated or mad or lonely, she went out there and tinkered with her car. Besides the fact she can’t drive anymore and that her beloved Mustang became toast in the wreck, Rachel can only touch a closed hood.
Rachel lost her home.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“It’s bad enough I’ve lost the ability to walk or stand, but did I have to lose you, too?”
The floor creaks and Rachel and I both turn our heads to see Dad standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He clears his throat and motions for me to follow him out. “West.”
A million words form in my mind. Rachel didn’t lose me. I love her. I would cut off my own legs and give them to her if it meant she could walk again. Because I’m an idiot, I say none of them. Instead, I open the fridge, grab a diet soda and leave it on the table.
Dad’s already at his mahogany desk when I enter his office and slink into the chair across from him. The table behind him is full of pictures of our family. Most of them are of Mom and their lost daughter, Colleen. It’s the loose picture of me and Dad stuck to the corner of an eight-by-ten matted framed picture that’s my favorite. I was eight in the photo and thought my dad kicked ass.
Dad’s in a white button-down shirt with no tie. His suit coat is hung on the back of his chair—an indication he just arrived home. He finishes typing on his laptop, then focuses on me. “Your guidance counselor called and told me about the fight.”
Prepared for this, I’d packed the moment I walked in the door. I’ve got three full bags ready to go and a wad of cash thanks to my job at the bar.
“Would you like to tell me what happened?”
“What?”
“Tell me why you got into the fight.”
Dad hasn’t asked why I’ve done anything since my second suspension in eighth grade. “The guy hurt Haley.”
“Haley’s your girlfriend.” It’s a question said as a statement.
“Yes.”
He reaches into a file folder and produces the report card I hammered to his office door. “You could have handed this to me.”
“Could of.” But nailing a straight B report card to his door was the equivalent of flipping him off. The suspension screams I’m a failure, while the report card is my “fuck you” to him.
Dad flattens his lips and stares at his desk. I know that look. He’s seconds away from losing his patience and tossing out the “You’re a disappointment” lecture. I scoot to the end of my chair, ready to leave.
“Is it possible for us to talk?” he asks.
“You know I got suspended, right? Still feel like sharing a feel-good moment?”
“I don’t remember the last time we’ve had a conversation.”
My eyes flicker back to the picture of us, and Dad follows my line of sight.
“It hasn’t been that long,” he says.
Yeah, it has, but I relax back in my seat. I’ll admit—I’m disarmed yet cautious. He’s never waved a white flag, but I wouldn’t put it past him to knife me in the back. “Let’s talk.”
“All right. Let’s talk.” Dad taps his fingers together. I search for the last conversation Dad and I had without it turning into a slam fest. I look over at the photo again. Dad and I had made a birdhouse together for a school project—the same day I first used a hammer and a nail.
“I fix stuff,” I say. “At a bar. It’s what I was hired to do, and I’m good at it.”
“I know what you’ve been doing. At the bar, at school and with the gym.”
