Page 42 of Allure

“You didn’t miss anything. I used the partying and fucking different girls to overshadow the big problem that was at hand. It took getting suspended from the team until I got my shit together to realize it.”

“I heard about that but I didn’t know what happened and we weren’t speaking,” I replied.

“Yeah, I hope we can rectify that now. I would also like to apologize to your wife whenever you feel comfortable with that.”

I chuckled before responding. “I didn’t walk in on you fucking her. You can talk with her,” I joked.

Kole laughed. “All right. When I can, you mind if I call you?” he asked.

“Yeah, it’s cool.”

“Cool. I have one more thing. Give Mom a call, she really misses you.”

I rubbed my forehead and then looked out of the window before responding.

“I got you.”

“Aight, well, I have to go. This rehab center doesn’t play about getting us back on our shit here. You’ll be hearing from me. Love you, little—Niko.”

“Love you, too, Kole.”

Once the call ended, I felt a sense of relief fill my entire body. I hadn’t realized my shit with my brother was weighing so heavily on me. The first person I wanted to call was Lore, so I called her, hoping she wasn’t busy.

“Hey, babe, everything okay?” she answered.

That was always her answer every time I called around this time.

“Yeah, I just got a call from Kole again and uh, I finally answered. He’s in rehab for drinking. He basically called to apologize again, but this time, he sounded a lot more clear. Then he asked me to call our mom. I know what he is saying is the right thing to do, I just don’t know what to do after all this time of not speaking.”

“I love to hear you spoke and that he is getting the help he needs. Also, it’s okay not to know where to start, but just start, and the next thing you need will come. Just give her a call, and check in. Now, go do it, so I can finish this one last thing before we go look at the house you sent me.”

I smiled, shaking my head as we said our goodbyes. I looked at the phone and hovered over my mother’s name, unsure of where to go from there. So, I chose the most obvious step. I started the call. It rang a few times before quickly being answered.

“Niko, is that you?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s me. How you been?” I asked.

“Boy, don’t you how you been me. I’ve missed you, but I understand why you’ve been so distant. We, as your family, haven’t done what we were supposed to do when it comes to you. I know that and I am willing to take responsibility for that.”

I looked at the phone and then cleared my throat.

“I feel like I didn’t hear you clearly,” I told her.

“You heard me just fine. If you give us a chance to apologize to you and your wife, I would like to move forward. After what has gone on with your brother, I see we all have played a big part in making excuses for the things he did. But not only that, not respecting your choices and decisions. I caught your show on TV. You did so good, it’s like you’re a natural up there. It’s where you belong.”

I couldn’t find the words to speak, and now I knew why I didn’t know what I was supposed to say. This moment wasn’t for me to talk but to listen.

“Thank you, and if you’re open to it, I can stop by with my wife today. We have a few errands to run today and I’m sure she would love to come by. As long as it’s okay with your husband. I don’t want to bring her into a hostile situation if that’s what it’s going to be.”

“No, no, honey. It’s not going to be that this time around. Please stop by and I’ll even get your sister to come over. Just give us a chance to make this right,” she responded.

“No problem. I’ll be by later on today and I’ll let you know when we are close,” I told her.

I started to drive again, heading toward Lore’s place to pick her up so we could meet our realtor. They had been sending us different houses to view for the last couple of weeks but we couldn’t settle on a house that we both liked until this one.

“Thank you, honey. I’ll see you later,” she responded, ending the call soon after.

I finally made it to the house and Lore was walking outside to get into the car. I parked and walked around to open the door for her, but not before getting my kiss. Once I was back inside, I pulled away from the house.

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