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And she didn’t look back.
* * *
Saturday rolled aroundand I braced myself for my father’s hungover post-game tirade. He was slumped over his coffee, reading the newspaper.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” he grunted as I went to the refrigerator.
“Good morning to you too,” I muttered, grabbing the juice box and guzzling it down. I wasn’t in the mood to do this—be around him or my mom. But it wasn’t like I could escape since we all lived under the same roof.
“Morning, baby.” Mom breezed into the kitchen. “I heard congratulations is in order.”
Dad snorted. “Congratulations? I didn’t realize we were handing out congratulations for being second choice now?”
“Lew,” Mom sighed. “This is a big deal for Kaiden. It wouldn’t hurt for you to show some interest.”
“Big deal my ass.” He shoved his cereal bowl in the middle of the table, making the spoon clatter against the ceramic. “He got to play because the star quarterback was injured… It’s nothing to be proud of, Tina.”
“He was going to give me a chance,” I said, coolly.
“What the fuck did you say?”
“I said Coach Ford was going to give me a chance. Because unlike you he’s a grown man who can separate the past from the present.”
Dad flew toward me, grabbing me by the collar and slamming me up against the wall so hard my teeth rattled. “You got something to say to me, kid? Say it.”
“Lewis, stop… don’t.” Mom tried to peel his fingers off me, but he shoved her away. She stumbled back, catching her hip on the corner of the breakfast counter. “Lewis,” she cried, pain cracking her voice.
“Stay the fuck out of this, Tina. Well, Son,” he gritted out, “I’m waiting.”
“You’re a fucking disgrace,” I sneered, getting right in his face. I didn’t care that he was my dad or my elder, I’d lost respect for this man a long time ago. “You talk shit about Coach Ford, but at least he’s there for his family. At least he provides for them and looks out for them. What do you do, huh?” My body trembled with anger as I stared down a man I hated.
Because I did.
I hated the man who had given me life more than anything.
“What do you do except sit around all day getting drunk and acting like the world owes you something, when the fact of the matter is, you’re nothing but a sad, bitter man who’s jealous—”
He fisted my collar tighter, practically lifting me off the ground.
I could take him. Dad had an angry streak, but I was stronger. I just didn’t relish the thought of hurting him, of stooping to his level. Even if the cold-hearted bastard deserved it.
“Lewis!” Mom yelled, as we stared each other down. Father and son. A bond that should have been unbreakable but had only fractured wider and wider as the years went by.
“You can’t do it, can you?” I hissed. “One day you’re going to look around you and realize what a sad little life you’ve led. I’ll be at college, Mom will be off living her life, and you’ll be all alone. And do you know what? You’ll deserve it. You deserve every single thing you have coming to you.”
He backhanded me so fast I didn’t see it coming, my head snapping to the side, pain exploding along my jawbone.
The air crackled around us as I slowly faced him again, rubbing my jaw. “You really are fucked in the head, aren’t you?” My voice shook with anger.
“I didn’t… Fuck, Kaiden, I didn’t—” His grip on me faltered, so I used it to my advantage, slamming my shoulder forward, knocking him aside.
“I’m going out.”
I stormed out of the kitchen, Mom’s uncontrollable sobs following me down the hall. Something crashed, the familiar sound of glass smashing filling the air. But I didn’t stop. I grabbed my keys, shoved my feet into my sneakers, and got the hell out of there.
Before I did something I’d regret.
Chapter Twenty-Five
