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Zaff places his drink glass down as well. “It’s not a joke, Holden. You’re my son.”
I don’t know why I keep sitting there; running is what I should be doing. “You’re lying.”
Zaff takes out his wallet.
He takes out an old, folded picture and shows it to me. The picture is of a couple, and the woman looks like a lot like my mother’s old pictures and the man looks a lot like Zaff. Then I notice the boy in the picture—it’s strange but now that I see it, father and son both have the same eyes. My first thought, is that Zaff knows someone with Photoshop on their computer but then I see Zaff’s eyes; no wonder they looked familiar they were my own eyes on the face of that guy.
I get up. “I have to go.”
“Sit down, Holden. We’re not done yet.”
“Yeah. I think we are.”
I start walking, I don’t know where but I figure there’s got to be some way out of this shithole, but Ronnie blocks my path. “Get out of my way, Ronnie.”
“Holden.”
“Tell him to get out of my way.”
“No one’s going to stop you, Holden.” Zaff says, from where he’s sitting. “But you came here looking for something. You saw the photo. We can get a DNA test but I’m pretty sure it’s not needed.”
“Why should I listen to you?” I say, walking up to him. “You abandoned us!”
Zaff scoffs. “Is that what your mother told you?” he looks angry. “That I abandoned you?” He stands and looks right at me. “She took you away from me, Holden! She was the one who abandoned me!”
“You’re lying.”
“Am I?” Zaff says. “Before you accuse me of lying, why don’t you ask your mother the truth, Holden? And while you’re at it, ask her why she ignored all my requests to see you, why she never so much as let me talk to you! All because her husband was some hotshot who could force a father to stay away from his son!!!”
He has tears in his eyes.
I’m so completely dumbstruck I can’t form a single word.
Zaff hugs me out of nowhere.
Even though I basically stand there like a lifeless corpse, that doesn’t stop him. When he finally breaks away he pats my cheek. “I know all this is hard for you to accept right now, so I need you to go home and think about this. When you’re ready to talk, I’ll be right here. Harlow will take you home and he’ll give you my personal number so you can call me any time, Holden.” And just like that, Ronnie comes to blindfold me but Zaff stops him. “No,” Zaff says. “No more secrets. A son should know where his father is at all times.”
The Aftermath
SEBASTIAN
There are times when Teague sounds like the most reasonable guy on the planet. This is not one of those times. “I can’t believe you went through with it!” I yell when we’re in my car and I’m driving him back to his place. Teague is holding up his shirt, checking on the big bruise that has formed around his flank.
“What’re you going to tell Mia? She’s going to notice the bruise.”
“Can’t believe I got away with a bruised rib and a nosebleed.”
“Seriously, Teague?”
&
nbsp; “What!”
“What will you tell her?”
“She knows I train. Harder than usual sometimes.”
“Fuck.”
