Page 30 of Love Takes Home

Joker: Okay. That was a lie. I know what came over me. Can we talk about it?

Thursday

Joker: I really don’t want to do this over text. Will you call me?

Friday

Joker: Here’s the deal. When I found out that shithead laid his hands on you. I saw red. I was ready to go kill the fucker. Which, in hindsight, is probably why you never told us, isn’t it? But how could he hurt you and we never knew? How did you never say anything? Why did you hold all of that pain in?

Joker: And you told your friends like it was no big deal. You weren’t upset or angry about it. Until you saw me. I upset you. And that upset me. I don’t want to upset you. Or hurt you. Ever.

Joker: But I thought you might be upset because you’d just unloaded everything to your friends. So I had to come check on you. God, I hope you’re reading this. When I opened that door and you looked so…sad. I wanted to kill him again.

Joker: But then you started going off on me. You were yelling at me, telling me all the things. All the right words. It was more than the words Ginny. It was the look in your eyes. You felt what you were saying. You showed so much fucking strength. In that moment, you proved you had reclaimed your agency.

Joker: And I know I’ve told you that you are strong, and I know you’ve doubted me, but that night? You fucking showed it. God, I had to taste that strength on your lips. I wanted to feel it with my soul. And I did. I’m so sorry it happened the way it did. I took advantage of you because kissing you is something I wanted. I’ll understand if you can’t forgive me, but please call me? Anytime. I’ll always answer your calls.

I throw my phone onto the kitchen counter and grab a beer out of the fridge. Everything about this fucking sucks. She’s mine. She just doesn’t know it yet. She’s mine, but she has to believe she can be mine. And she’d never in a million years understand that I’m hers and have been since the first time I ever saw her. It was like something hit me over the head and I haven’t been right since. She has no idea how beautiful she really is or how strong. And watching her find her voice and stand up for herself? Fuck me, but it was the hottest she’s ever been. I was turned the fuck on, and I acted. Now she’s not talking to me and she’s avoiding me. There’s no way in hell I accept that I’ve completely ruined this and have fucked up so badly I’ve lost my chance to tell her everything. That I worship the ground she walks on and live for stories of her kids and her days playing cello on tour. And howbadly I want her to meet Annie, who knows everything about her.

I stopped to see Davis earlier this week and told him what happened. After he smacked me on the back of the head, called me an idiot, and laughed for a good ten minutes, he told me to keep trying. Ginny’s a stubborn one when she decides to be, and I have to wait until she’s ready. Waiting I can do. It’s what I’ve been doing for two fucking years. At least I don’t have to watch her with another man while I do it now.

I’m debating logging in to do some work when my phone dings on the counter. Rushing to grab it, I’m only disappointed for a minute when I see who it is. Then I read the message.

Davis: You’re on, buddy. Get to the bar. Ginny needs you.

Still blows my mind that he’s so on board with me as a match for his sister. I’ve never been the one picked before. But I’m not going to overthink it. I’m going to go get the girl.

Joker: On my way. What’s wrong?

Davis: I can’t get the whole story, she’s not speaking full sentences.

Joker: That asshole didn’t touch her, did he?

Davis: No! Something happened at the football game. With a student. But I don’t know what.

Joker: Be there in five.

I pull into the parking lot of Zach’s exactly seven minutes after texting Davis and rush inside. For a Friday night, the place is dead. Davis is sitting at the bar next to Ginny, holding her to his side. I can see her body shaking with sobs before I even get next to them. An empty shot glass sits in front of them with a bottle of bourbon sitting between them.

“Ginny, Beautiful, what’s wrong?” I ask, stepping up on her other side.

“Joker…” she sobs, turning from Davis and into my arms. I wrap her up.

“Shh, baby, shh. It’s alright. I’m here. What happened?”

“Jimmy…football game…heart attack…” she gets out between wails of pain and heartbreak.

“Who’s Jimmy?” I ask.

“Kid on the team. He dropped on the field during the game. The story is heart attack. But others are saying drugs.” Davis fills me in over the sound of Ginny’s cries.

“They think the kid had an overdose on the field?”

Ginny nods her head into my chest but doesn’t say anything.

“Fuck. Is he alive?”

Ginny shrugs her shoulders. She doesn’t know. Davis does the same thing, pulling out his phone and sending texts to try to get information. I remove one arm from Ginny and send my own text to Nate, asking him to look into it.

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