Page 11

CHAPTER 11

blue

A nna sat on the edge of the bed, working on her biochemistry homework with AirPods in her ears. She’d left for a few hours this morning to shower at the hotel and get a change of clothes. Having her gone even for that long had left me feeling hollow. But the minute she walked back in, it was like the sunshine came with her.

She’d come back wearing a different pair of jeans and a fitted purple shirt. I didn’t know how anyone could make such a basic outfit look that good but she did. She straightened her reading glasses and the serious furrow in her brow made me smile.

“Anna.” I waved my hands so she would see.

She looked up, her eyes bright, and plucked out an AirPod. Her mouth broke into a full smile and it took my breath away. “Yes?” She tried to sound annoyed but she was way too happy for it to be real.

“Nothin’. I just wanted to see you blush.”

“But I’m not…” Right then she squeezed her eyes shut as if trying to keep the blush from erupting on her cheeks. It didn’t work. Not even a little.

I grinned.

“Blue.” She blushed even deeper.

The door opened and my dad poked his head in.

“Blue.” Annoyance flashed across his face. “Mom and Colt are waiting in the hall. Let’s go. Now .”

I felt my own face flush and I hurried out so Anna wouldn’t see.

“What?” I asked once the door was firmly shut.

Dad turned to address Mom. “Take that girl with you. She needs to get back to school. You can drop her in Sweet Grass on the way.”

My hands propped on my hips. “No. Anna’s staying here.”

“Shut it,” Dad snapped and put a hand right in my face to silence me.

My shoulders jerked and I clenched my jaw.

Mom’s eyes flicked from his to mine. I widened mine, pleading. I wasn’t ready for Anna to go. Mom held Dad’s stare. “Blue is twenty years old, Shane. If he wants Anna here, then she gets to stay.” She looked at me. “You never ask permission anymore. I know you feel fifteen, but you’re a grown man. You lead a team that plays on national TV. Don’t let him tell you what to do.”

But it was like Dad hadn’t heard or didn’t think it was worth his time to listen. He was watching Colt, who was sitting on the floor playing his Nintendo Switch. “Get off that thing.” Dad kicked him with the toe of his steel-toed boot.

“Ow,” Colt winced and shook out his hand.

A nurse cleared her throat and glared to let him know she’d seen.

Dad shook his finger at Colt. “If you stopped playing video games you might be as good as your brother someday. Maybe even better.”

I cracked my thumb knuckles, my stomach twisting with irritation. “Dad, Colt doesn’t even like football.” He only played because Dad badgered Mom about it so much that she gave in every fall. Unless something had changed in the last four years.

Dad’s glare darkened. “He’s gonna like it. No kid who can pass like that has any choice but to love football.”

Colt shot to his feet, his expression fierce. “I won’t be passing anything if you broke my freaking fingers.” Then he stormed off, knocking Dad out of the way as he went.

“Hey,” Dad snarled. “Get your butt back here and apologize.” Two nurses looked up, both giving him a heated stare.

“Shane,” Mom snapped. “Cool it.”

He swung his glare on Mom. “You need to teach that boy some respect. I oughta lean him over my knee and take a switch to his backside.”

“Pshaw. I’d like to see you try. He’s taller than you now.” Her brow flicked up. “And don’t you tell me what I should do. You’re not the one raising him. Physically or financially. Heck, you owe me child support for the past nine months.”

“What?” I gave Dad a pointed look. “I know for a fact that I gave you money to give to her.”

Dad sneered at me. “You know you gave me money? How would you know that? You can’t even remember your middle name.”

I rolled my eyes like every one of his words wasn’t an abrasion to my soul. “It’s Walker. And maybe I can’t remember a lot of stuff right now, but I have a banking app and a girlfriend who’s wicked smart at helping me figure things out. Now where’s the money you owe Mom?”

“Absolutely not.” Mom shook her head, the crows feet around her eyes hinting at exhaustion. “Blue, I told you not to do that.”

“Mom.” My head dipped. “You can argue when my memory comes back. I have no idea why I decided to send money through Dad instead of straight to you.”

“Maybe you wanted to believe he’d do the right thing for Colt and me. But you need to keep your money far away from him .” She jammed her pointer finger at Dad. “Before you have none left.”

“Where’s the money you owe Mom?” I repeated, incensed.

His eyes flashed. “Where’s the money you owe Mom?” He imitated me in a high-pitched feminine voice that sounded nothing like me at all.

I threw my hands up. “Are you five? Where’s the money?” I refused to let him get under my skin. This is what he did. When you called him out, he tried to needle you until you snapped. I didn’t normally stand up to my dad. At least, teenaged me didn’t. It wasn’t worth it. My dad wasn’t going to change regardless of what I did or said. But when it involved Mom and Colt, that was worth the fight.

Dad’s face twisted in anger. “She’s not your girlfriend. She dumped you. Four years ago. Now suddenly she shows back up after you’ve made it big. You’re an idiot if you’re letting her see your financials.”

She dumped me? Adrenaline rushed my system and I took a large step toward him, curling my fingers around his shirt.

“Blue, no. People are watching.” Mom pushed me back, her tired eyes wide with a warning.

My head lifted. The nurses were staring. A doctor too. I stepped back but my blood was still boiling.

Dad smoothed his shirt, a slight upturn on his lips. He got a kick out of getting under my skin. Did I like him now that I was twenty? I couldn’t think of another reason why I would allow this d-bag to live near me as an adult. When I was fifteen, I couldn’t wait to move away from him.

Dad bared his teeth. “I’ve said it a hundred times, but I’ll say it once more. That girl is nothing but a distraction.” He pointed to my room. “I moved us twenty-three hundred miles to get you away from her. Your football career didn’t begin to take off until California. All she did was plant doubts in your head!”

Every patient on this side of the hall heard that. I’m certain Anna would’ve if she hadn’t had AirPods in. At least, I prayed she still had them in. A nurse picked up a phone and eyed us from her periphery as she talked into it.

I looked to Mom for confirmation, panic rising inside of me. Had Anna dumped me? Did she put doubts in my head? Mom’s expression was stone. But Dad was watching so maybe that was why. Listen to your gut. Dr. LaForce had pulled me aside earlier and said that to me. With everyone pulling me in different directions, I didn’t know who to believe. He’d said that was the best advice he could give me. Well, my gut said two things. One, my dad was a terrible human. And two, Anna was everything good in the world. She’d said we broke up because I moved. I made a choice right then to believe her.

I forced a smirk and folded my arms. “Well, I’d say you moved me for nothing, then. Because she’s back in my life and that’s exactly where she’s going to stay.” I shrugged. “And if you don’t like it, I really couldn’t care less. You can always move back to California. Now give Mom the money or pay me back so I can give it to her.”

A security guard stepped into the hall.

Without a response, Dad turned and stalked off in the other direction, escaping into the stairwell.

Mom gripped my arm. “You’re going to be okay if Colt and I head home?”

“Yes. Don’t worry about me. I’ve got Anna and Stilts. And all the coaches.”

“Madden, honey.” She laughed.

I smiled. “I like Stilts better.”

Colt walked back up, frowning. “He’s finally gone?”

It took a second for my brain to process he meant Dad. “Yeah. He’s gone.”

Colt tackled me in a hug. It was weird hugging him back. He shouldn’t have been five eleven or a hundred and sixty pounds.

He crushed me ’til I thought my lungs would pop. “I don’t know how you’ve put up with him all these years living right by you. Thank you,” he said in a thick voice.

A truth settled deep inside. I’d moved for Colt. At least partially. To get Dad away from him. And that’s why I kept Dad near me now. It kept him away from Colt and Mom.

I squeezed him back. “Love you, little bro.”

They gave me one last wave before heading in the opposite direction of Dad.