Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
But before I could even slip my pants off, Ellen was there, halting my progress.
“I think you need to call Big Papa, and then once you talk to him, call the school and let them know what’s going on,” she said. “What I don’t think you should do is go off half-cocked and make matters worse for either you or Linc.”
I gritted my teeth.
“She messed with my kid,” I growled through clenched teeth.
“She did,” I said. “And I think that you need to be very careful what you do right now.”
She was right. Of course, she was right, but I couldn’t wrap my brain around it all.
“Is there anything else?” I asked very calmly.
“No.” She hesitated. “Well, yes, but no.”
I turned around and looked at her.
She backed up until her knees hit the bed.
I kept coming, forcing her to sit down.
I went down with her, my hands going to either side of her chest as she fell backwards.
“What?” I asked, my face inches from hers.
“I saw them when I ran after my flier earlier.”
“When you chased that paper after the game?” I guessed.
She nodded.
“What happened?”
“Margot was there, talking with some man who was all decked out in Under Armour. He looked like a coach actually.”
“What did he look like exactly?”
“He was about your height. Skinnier, more of a runner’s build. He had dark hair, more brown than black. His skin was tanned, and he had really dark eyes and a scar on his nose.”
I knew instantly who she was talking about.
“That’s the special teams coach for Linc’s team,” I grunted and pushed myself up, standing by the bed and staring blankly at the wall.
“What did he say?” I needed to know everything.
This was bad.
“He was talking about throwing the game at first. He was pissed off that Linc didn’t do what he was supposed to do. I also think he’s the baby’s father. But when I mentioned some of this to Linc, he didn’t seem to know that the two of them had any connection at all.”
I rubbed my forehead thoughtfully with my hand.
“I’ve never heard about any problems on Linc’s end from him,” I finally settled on. “But this needs to be discussed tonight, and I need to hear it all from Linc before I make any more moves on my end.”
“I’m here.”
I looked over to find Linc standing in the doorway.
“I never knew Coach Rhodes knew Mom. He’s never once approached me about her or anything to do with throwing the game like Mom did to me yesterday,” he said.
He was staring at me like he used to do when he was in trouble and he knew it.
I gestured him forward.
He came, and I threw my arm around his neck and pulled him to me.
He may be nearly my height and just a few pounds short of me in weight, but the boy was still my baby. He always would be.
“We’ll figure this out, son,” I told him. “But you did the right thing. You knew what was right, and you didn’t fuck anything up too badly.”
“That pass to the other team. That was by accident, but nobody will believe me when they find out that Mom blackmailed me into throwing the game,” he whispered.
I looked into eyes so like my own.
“What did she hold against you to get you to follow her orders?” I asked carefully.
“She said either I throw the game or she’d kill the baby.”
I closed my eyes.
“She threatened to kill herself once a week when she was pregnant with you,” I told him bluntly. “But if she does that, then she fucks her leverage up,” I explained. “The one and only time I thought she was serious about what she said, I called the cops and told them what she threatened. They kept her in a psychiatric hold at the hospital for over a week.”
His eyes widened. “So yes, I’m sure she was betting on you not saying a word to me about any of this. That way, I couldn’t share what she used to do to me, and the ways I used to handle her.”
His head hung.
“You’re a kid, Linc. You shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of shit or with a mother who’s a dick head. Unfortunately, we don’t all get that lucky. But you, my son, were dealt a pretty shitty hand when it comes to mothers. You’ve got one of the worst, in my opinion. But from now on, I’ll deal with her. We’ll go up to the phone store in the morning and change your number.”
“But…”
I held up my hand. “She won’t be able to call you. You can give all your friends your new number, and it’ll be okay.”
He shrugged.
“And if see your mother coming around, I want you to go in the other direction. Also, don’t allow yourself to be alone with Coach Rhodes. I know you have practices, but walk away if he tries to talk to you by yourself.”