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"You should be honored and thankful. You don't know how many times I wished your dad cared enough to keep a watchful eye on everything I did."
No words in my head could adequately convey how I felt hearing her say that. She couldn't possibly mean it. My jaw was wide open, and my eyes were on the verge of popping out of my head. Meanwhile, she just mixed a little sugar in her coffee, shaking her head as if her words were gospel.
"Mom," I finally gasped, making her look at me. "You cannot possibly want me to feel manipulated and lied to by someone who claims to love me."
"I want you to realize that if you want a commitment, you better stick with the man who is willing to commit because they are few and far between."
My entire life, I'd known my mom was sick. It used to be something I thought I could catch, like a cold, but I realized it was probably worse than contagious as I got older. It was hereditary, and I would have to fight hard to ensure I didn't fall into the same self-loathing mindset that made her think it was acceptable to settle for less than she deserved.
Not just as a woman but as a human.
It was the reason I broke up with Hunter. I saw that same desperation inside myself that I saw in her, and I would have rather ended up alone than with someone like my dad.
"You know," she sighed. "You're seeing someone else, and that probably makes it easier to think you don't need Hunter. But trust me, Tatum, that man is nothing but a rebound and a mask. He is covering up your reality with pretty words and promises, but it all goes away. Just make sure you end up with someone that keeps coming back."
"How did you hear about all this?" She seemed to know more than I even told Colton, which made me ask, "What kind of man do you want Colton to be?"
"Colton will be the kind of man that always goes back, just like his father. And Hunter stopped by the house yesterday and told me about your troubles. He loves you, Tay. Give him another chance."
Without finishing her coffee or letting me respond, she leaned over and kissed my cheek, then stood and walked out. If she had a mic, she would have felt the need to drop it with how self-assured she looked.
So much so that I almost believed her.
ChapterTwenty-One
Tripp
It was a week from hell, with two games I didn't even play, traveling to Dallas, and being pissed at Hunter. Cruz still wasn't back, so we were also taking turns checking on him. Thankfully, he didn't live far away, so even though it wasn't my turn, I found myself walking down the beachfront to his place on Saturday morning.
The season was officially over, and I had a week to relax before off-season practices started. My original plan was to fly out to California to see Mom, but I never bought the ticket. In the back of my mind, I really wanted to spend that time with Tatum, which was fucking with me a little.
Not to mention, I needed to figure out my status with the team. There had been no word on any changes to the roster, so I assumed they would watch us work out for a few weeks and make decisions then.
Knocking on Cruz's door, I tried to be patient. It had only been a week since he walked off the field, and I knew now that it had been because his stepsister was in the hospital. It was the news delivered to him right then and there, in the middle of the biggest game of our season. Not that I blamed him. No one did. We all would have done the same thing, especially since he was so in love with her.
"Open up, Cruz," I knocked again. "This isn't about you."
He had already said everything about his situation he was going to say, but I thought maybe I could talk to him about what was going on with Hunter. It would make him see that he wasn't alone when it came to fucked up situations.
"Come on, motherfucker," I pounded, using the side of my fist to create a louder bang.
"What?" He finally opened up, looking like he had been in some kind of accident.
"Dude, have you showered?"
"She sucked my dick in that shower," he mumbled. "I can't go near it."
For fucks sake, I rolled my eyes, pointing toward his second bathroom. "You have options. It's better than looking and smelling like you've been on the streets."
"I thought this wasn't about me."
"It's not, but…" I pulled up my phone to see who was scheduled to check on Cruz later. He had been so out of it that we had started a group text. It wasn't my day, but whoever came later needed a heads-up to bring a bottle of Febreze. "Okay, Erin will be over later with something to make this place smell better."
Cruz just sighed and walked away, then tossed himself onto his couch. Taking the single chair he had, I started running my hands through my hair, trying to decide where to start when it came to my own issues.
"My mom brought food," Cruz grunted, nodding toward his kitchen. "You hungry?"
Shaking my head, I finally looked up at him and pulled the Band-Aid off quickly. "Hunter fucked me over."
