Page 116 of Hard to Score

While Gary may have somehow put the blame on my father, me being here is only going to complicate matters.

“This is a private matter, son. It’s to be discussed among our family.”

I see Drew tense from his words and hear his stifled laugh of disbelief. “This is my house. Are you fucking kidding me? You don’t get to stride in here and give me orders. I’ve lived by your rules my whole goddamn life and I’m done. Fucking sick of them. You don’t get to tell me what to do anymore.”

“Don’t do this,” his mother murmurs.

“Do what, Mom?” He throws his hands up. “Do what we should have done years ago but we were so goddamn afraid to upset the precious fucking peace?”

“Don’t you dare bring disgrace to this family,” Gary warns.

“Yes, right. I forgot. I disgraced you by playing football when you told me I shouldn’t. I disgraced you by not being good enough for the Bowman name. And I fucking disgraced you by falling in love with the enemy. That’s right,” Drew’s voice thunders. “I love her, goddammit, and the two of you can go to hell if you don’t choose to accept it.”

There is stunned silence in the house. One that’s suffocating and smothering. It makes me feel like I’m watching two cars in slow motion about to hit head-on and there is no amount of screaming I can do to stop it.

I shouldn’t be here. This is between them and my presence is only going to make matters so much worse.

I walk to the counter for my purse and grab it, needing away from this and wanting Drew to be free to say whatever it is he needs to say without fear of hurting me when it comes to my family.

“Brex?” Drew asks after he hears the jingle of my keys when I walk back into the room.

“I just . . . you guys need to sort this out. He’s right,” I say and Drew winces. “I shouldn’t be here right now.”

He opens and closes his mouth. The tears that well in his eyes break my heart. But he doesn’t speak or try to stop me when I get the courage to walk out the front door and right past Brenda and Gary. I meet their eyes but don’t say a word. It’s so damn silent you can hear a pin drop.

The calm before the storm.

Too bad I have a feeling the minute I leave, the thunder that roars will be deafening.

But as I pass by, no one says a word. No one stops me. And a small piece of me breathes a sigh of relief that even Drew doesn’t. I run from the house with the click of my shoes the only sound made.

My hands are trembling as I open my car door and start the engine. I’m not sure why tears threaten as I drive down the street, but they do.

A part of me fears what Drew’s about to go through. Fighting with your parents is never fun. The other part of me fears that this might be the last time I see Drew.

Yes, I heard what he said to his parents, but the pull of family is much stronger than the pull of a new love.

And then I feel selfish for feeling that way.

For thinking of me and us when more than anything, Drew needs this for himself. Answers. Closure. A new start.

I drive. Here. There. Everywhere through the suburbia adjacent to his neighborhood, hoping, willing, wanting, a text or phone call from him.

Anything to know that he is okay.

Anything to know that we’re okay.

Surely their discussion is over by now. But by the time I’ve wasted hours driving and have arrived home, I decide to take the plunge and call him myself.

He doesn’t answer.

I text him.

He doesn’t reply.

And that selfish feeling starts to return. The one that wants to know what happened. The one that fears he believes the ugly lies once again.

The one that warns me that a heartbreak just might be on the horizon.