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“I don’t know. It’s weird.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Why?”
It was a long story, and he didn’t know how much she knew or if she even wanted to hear it.
He’d had a rough road, physically and mentally, these last two years. After he was injured, he’d spent a lot of time in the hospital, rehab, at doctor’s appointments, but he’d worked hard to recover. He was well on the way to a new life, or so he thought. Until Bianca left him and everything he thought he knew was gone. For the second time. He had to start over. Again.
He’d felt like he was stuck in a never-ending cycle.
“How can I move forward if I’m going backward?”
“Because you’re living with your parents?” she guessed, and he nodded. “But something like twenty percent of people aged twenty-five to thirty have lived or are still living with their parents.”
“Great. Exactly what I want to be, a statistic.” His voice was sharper than he intended, and he stood up, his hands on his hips. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”
“No. It’s okay. It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.” He swallowed down his guilt. Samantha was here, listening to him, and she didn’t deserve that. “I apologize. It’s…” He took a breath. “My life hasn’t turned out like I thought it would.”
She was quiet for a few moments, her gaze thoughtful. “I don’t want to pry, but you feeling this way… Does it have anything to do with someone named Bianca?”
Mike rolled his eyes to the tops of the trees on the outskirts of the park and crossed his arms. It was more than Bianca, but she was the reason his life was in its current state of affairs.
“How’d you know?” Although, he already knew that answer.
“I don’t know the specifics, but Jimmy called me a few months ago, asking if I wanted to take a road trip to egg Bianca’s house. He didn’t explain who she was but said something happened between you and her, and that he needed a driver.”
If Mike weren’t so frustrated over the situation, he would’ve laughed at his brother’s stupid but heart-in-the-right-place antics. He paced a few steps toward the jungle gym then came back to stand in front of Samantha on the swing again. “She was my girlfriend.”
“Was?”
“We were together for a while before I went on my last tour.” He skipped over most of the details, not wanting to rehash it all. “She’d come and visit me in the hospital, and even found us a place to live in together, but…” He shook out his fingers from where they had involuntarily balled into fists at his sides. “All the rehab and appointments got to be too much for her. When I decided I wanted to amputate my leg, I guess that was the last straw for her. She said she couldn’t handle it.”
“Couldn’t handle it?” Samantha repeated, her voice slow and tinged with anger. “Goddammit. I wish I’d taken Jimmy up on that offer. This girl sucks.” She waved her hand, reaching for her cell phone. “No. You know what? I’m texting him right now to get a carton of eggs.”
Mike’s bad mood abated, and he placed his hand over hers. “Everybody thinks Jimmy’s the troublemaker, but clearly, you’re not as innocent as everyone believes.”
She pursed her lips at him as she slipped her phone into her back pocket. “I take offense to that, sir. I’m always good.”
“Sure you are,” he said with a dubious eyebrow.
“I am, I swear,” she said, leaning back slightly to tip the swing forward. “But this Bianca chick deserves a lot more than a few eggs on her car and house.”
“What? You going to beat her up for me?”
Samantha angled her head, huffing as if he affronted her. “I would, at the very least, change out all her spices. Put cinnamon in the chili powder. Exchange cumin for the garlic powder. Coffee grounds in the pepper shaker.”
He bit back a smile. “You devious woman.”
She lifted one shoulder, accepting the title before tipping her head backward. “Push me?”
He stepped behind her, gently pressing his palms to the middle of her back, and she kicked her feet out and back in time with his pushes, gradually swinging higher and higher.
“Okay, okay.” She squealed. “Too high!”
He stopped pushing her and took two steps to the side to lean against the pole as she slowed down, brushing her sneakers along the dirt with every pass until she slowly rocked back and forth.
“You have big plans for the summer?” she asked.
