Page 209 of Broken Brothers

She was right, though. What else did I need to know? We both had similar goals. We both wanted to make things work. She had only stopped because she thought I had stopped.

It was time for the Chance Hunt of old to return.

“Layla,” I said. “I don’t care where you live. I want to make this work. I—”

But then my phone buzzed. I went over and saw Morgan’s name on the screen. I ignored it.

“Sorry,” I said. “Just, look, Layla, I like you a lot. I’m sorry for this silly game, and you’re right. I thought that by doing this, maybe I’d become a smarter, more mature man, but it’s just denying—”

Again, the phone rang. Again, Morgan was calling.

“You can get that,” Layla said. “I won’t go anywhere. I won’t be mad.”

I nodded, but I was determined to get off the phone as quickly as possible.

“Yeah?” I said.

“Chance.”

Morgan’s voice was wavering and emotional. I already knew what he was about to say.

“My father just died of a heart attack.”

84

FIVE YEARS BEFORE

Christmas time in the Hunt household always felt like an odd occasion for me.

It was the one time of the year when everyone’s presence, even Edwin’s, made me feel like we were a real family. In other ways, though, it reminded me of the fact that I didn’t have an actual family.

Edwin never bothered to include me in anything; whether it was decorating the Christmas tree, partaking in choir at our family’s church, or just being a part of the conversation, he never really did so. Mrs. Hunt did so, and Morgan did, but I was invisible to Edwin.

And yet it was the one time of the year when I knew Edwin would be there, smiling, hugging, and kissing his wife and his biological son. His cheer naturally made other people more comfortable around the house. It was in moments like these that I wished I had known my real parents for a Christmas like this.

Normally, I didn’t think much about my parents. As far as I was concerned, since they had put me up for adoption, they had lost the right to have my care and thoughts. But Christmas’ emphasis on spending time with family always made me wonderwhere they were; were they far from me? Were they just a few neighborhoods away? What were their backgrounds?

They had at least given me some intellect. I had the smarts to match Morgan in class; I wasn’t some pity project taken on that would wind up at community college. They had given me some good looks, too; although Sarah’s rejection was something that always stung a little, getting other girls in class had helped some.

But they hadn’t given me the love and care to remain in touch with me or to keep me around.

Still, on this Christmas Eve, sitting in my room, playing video games with a couple of hours to kill before we went to church, I couldn’t help but let my mind wander to the days when my parents had me. Maybe it was a difficult choice to give me up. Maybe, on this Christmas Eve, they, too, were suffering, wishing I was still around.

“Hey, shithead,” Morgan said, barging in and interrupting my thoughts. “Mom says if you don’t come help set the table, you don’t get any food.”

“Tell her I’ll be in when I beat this level,” I said. “I—”

“No, Chance, seriously,” Morgan said, suddenly getting very serious with me. “I was just playing. But Mom really wants to see you. She said to set the table, but…”

I looked at him, confused, but if there was anyone in the family I was never going to keep waiting, it was Mrs. Hunt. Edwin was someone I would passive-aggressively combat, and Morgan was someone I would call a shithead to his face, but Mrs. Hunt was too sweet and kind for me to do anything other than do everything she said. I paused the game, told Morgan not to touch it, and then headed downstairs.

When I got down there, the table was actually already set. Mrs. Hunt was in a small office by the kitchen, seated and staring at her phone.

“Come here, Chance,” she said.

I did so. She stood and shut the door behind me. She asked me to take a seat, and I just wondered why she was so melancholy.

“I just got a call that your biological father, Parker Givens, just died,” she said. “I know you didn’t know him. I know you’ve said that you never wanted to meet him. But… I just thought you should know.”