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Her head whips around as her wide, shocked eyes stare back at me. “What do you want?”
“A word?” I ask, again as civilly as I possibly can.
“I have nothing to say to you,” she snaps, lifting her jaw and looking away.
“You don’t?” I ask, confused once more. Why are they here? “I thought with it being senior night and you here—”
“You think we’re here for you and your kid?” she demands loudly. “You tried ruining our son’s life!” she yells, most likely catching the attention of anyone nearby.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t—”
“It’s Fiona and Harry’s granddaughter’s senior night, so we’re here to watch her play in the band.” Allen just stands to the side, barely paying me any attention.
My heart seems to crack and bleed right here on the gravel walkway. They’re not here for Brody. As much as that gives me relief, it makes me incredibly sad at the same time. “Oh.”
Helena starts to laugh, but it lacks any humor. “You’re still playing this farse, I see. Telling the world my son is the father of your child, even after all these years. Well, you’ve always been nothing but a liar. A calculated storyteller, trying to ruin my boy’s life by claiming he’s the father. Once a liar, always a liar I see.”
My cheeks burn with mortification, and all I want to do is turn and run. Run away from the people who continue to spit venom at me, when my only crime was believing the guy I was dating when he said we didn’t need to use a condom.
“Don’t you call my mom a liar.”
My stomach drops into my shoes as I spin around and stare wide-eyed at my son. My very angry son.
“Excuse me, young man, but you don’t talk to adults like that,” Helena demands, hands on her hips and a very unpleased look on her face.
“Maybe you should take your own advice then,” he argues, stepping up beside me. “I know this woman better than anyone else on the planet, and I assure you, she’s not a liar. The fact you’d think that says more about you than it does her, actually.”
Helena’s cheeks darken the same way her son’s would back in school when he’d get upset. “Listen here, you—” she starts, but is cut off.
“No, you listen to me. You have no right to disrespect my mom like this. I don’t care what you think you know about her. You’re wrong, and I won’t stand here and let you call her names.”
Tears burn my eyes as I realize we’ve drawn a crowd. If it were possible to disappear forever, I’d choose to do it right now. I hate the scrutiny, the judgment in their eyes as they watch the exchange. On top of that, we’re at the school, surrounded by families and my son’s teammates, and there’s no escaping this scene. I wouldn’t be surprised if cell phones are pointed at us, documenting the entire ordeal.
I reach out and place my hand on Brody’s arm. “Let’s go, Brody,” I say softly, begging with my eyes to let it go.
That’s when I feel another presence step up beside me, a protective hand on my lower back. As if this moment can’t get any worse, now TD is here to witness my mortification.
“No, hold up, Brode. I have something to say too.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
TD
The moment I saw Ellie standing over by Helena Davidson, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
The moment I heard Brody defending his mom, I saw red.
Not at him, of course, but at the audacity of Rusty fucking Davidson and his parents.
The woman staring back at me now is shooting daggers from her cold eyes, and if I were any lesser of a man, I might back down a little bit. I can see why her husband is standing back, not getting involved in the exchange. He’s been well trained over decades of marriage to stay back and remain silent, letting Helena wear the pants in the relationship. But that’s not who I am, so I won’t let this woman walk away without at least hearing what I have to say first.
Ellie turns, refusing to meet my gaze. There are tears swimming in her eyes, which pisses me off even more. At times, she’s been through hell over the last eighteen years, no thanks to this woman and her son. They denied her any help where Brody was concerned and called her a liar for the entire town to hear. “Let’s just go, please,” she whispers, her beautiful green eyes cast down in embarrassment.
Oh, fuck no.
“In a minute, El,” I reply gently, keeping my hand on her hip when she tries to pull away. She’s looking to run, this I’m certain. Ellie’s always been the people pleaser and having all this attention directed her way—especially for confrontation—is the last thing she wants. In fact, she’s searching for her escape route right now.
With my hand on her side, I give my attention back to Helena. “I was hoping you could pass along a message to Rusty for me, Mrs. Davidson.”
