Page 161 of This is Why We Lied

Gordon said, “Sure, why not? Count me in.”

Paul asked, “Can we choose what type of donation we give?”

Sara watched Jon drop his face into his hands. He let out a sharp cry as he pushed away from the table. He ran across the room, almost barreling into Kevin. The door banged shut behind him. The sound echoed in the silence. Sara didn’t know what to do, whether to go after him or stay.

“My precious boy,” Bitty whispered in the silence.

Dave looked down at his mother. Bitty was still stretched across the table, reaching for Jon’s empty chair. She slowly sat back. Clasped together her hands. Dave’s gaze lifted to the door Jon had just escaped through. There was something unguarded in his expression. His lower lip started to tremble. Tears welled into his eyes.

Then just as suddenly, they were gone.

Dave’s demeanor changed so quickly that Sara thought she’d witnessed a magic trick. One moment, he looked utterly broken, the next he was enraged.

Dave kicked his overturned chair. The wood splintered against the wall.

He screamed, “You want my DNA, Trashcan?”

“Yeah,” Will said. “I do.”

“Take it from that baby I put in Mercy’s belly. Ain’t nobody else ever touched her. That fucking kid is mine.”

“There he is,” Will said. “Father of the year.”

“You’re goddam right I am.”

“You’re so full of shit,” Will said. “Mercy was the only real parent Jon ever had. She kept him safe. She provided for him. She put a roof over his head and food in his mouth and love in his heart and you took that from him.”

“We gave Jon those things!” Dave yelled. “Me and Mercy. It was always me and her.”

“Ever since you were eleven, right?”

“Fuck you.” He took a menacing step toward Will. “You got no idea what we had. Mercy loved me since she was a baby.”

“Like a good little sister?”

“You motherfucker,” Dave muttered. “You know exactly what we had. I was the one she loved. I was the one she cared about. I was the only man who ever fucked her.”

“You fucked her all right.”

“Say it again,” Dave said. “Say that one more time to my face, you stupid bitch. You want me to write it down for you? You want me to spell it out, Trashcan? Mercy loved me. All she ever cared about was me.”

“Then why didn’t she say anything about you?” Will asked. “Mercy was still alive when I got to her, Dave. She talked to me. She didn’t even mention your name.”

“Bullshit.”

“I asked her to tell me who stabbed her. I begged her. You know what she said?”

“She didn’t say it was me.”

“No, she didn’t,” Will said. “She knew she was going to die, and all she cared about was Jon.”

“Our Jon.” He slammed his fist to his chest. “Our son. Our boy.”

“She wanted Jon to get away from you,” Will said. “That’s the first thing she told me. ‘Jon can’t stay. Get him away from here.’ Get him away from you, Dave.”

“That ain’t true.”

“They argued at dinner,” Will said. “Jon was angry at Mercy for blocking the sale. He said he wanted to live with his grandmother in a house with you. Who put that in his head, Dave? Was it the same asshole who told him to call me Trashcan?”