Page 42 of Pretty Broken Things

What we need is something good to hold on to. A future we can live for, because the present sucks. Here I am standing with the girl I love. She’s in my arms, but it seems like she’s miles away.

“A scout came to talk to me the other day. The principal set us up in the conference room so Coach Greer and I could meet with them. It’s a D1 school, but it’s not far from here, and I’d really like to get far away from here, but I can’t turn down a scholarship.”

“You deserve to get what you want,” she says sincerely.

“Does that mean I can have you?” She’s slipping away from me. I can guess why. Her dad wasn’t exactly thrilled about us being together when he confronted me at the hospital. I can only imagine the things he’s said to her.

Her eyes find mine, and the anguish inside her large brown eyes nearly brings me to my knees. “If you still want me when we’re through the gauntlet, then I’m all yours.”

My thumb rubs over her cheek, wiping away a stray tear. “You know I’m not understanding what you are trying to tell me, don’t you?”

She nods as much as she can while I’m holding her face. “I know, but remember that I will always have your back. When you doubt me, don’t doubt that.”

With those last words she extricates herself from my arms and lets herself out. For some reason I don’t fight to make her stay.

* * *

I didn’t manageto see Tessa again after school, and by the time football practice is over, she’s long gone. I am just about desperate enough to call her and demand she explains why she thinks I’m going to doubt her. She’s been acting weird since her dad wanted to talk to her at the hospital. I wish she’d talk to me.

I pull my phone out and see a text from her dad.

Your mom is being released today from the hospital. We’d like you to come over so we can have a family meeting.

I scoff. Wendell James doesn’t understand the true meaning of family. To him they’re people you can use again and again without retribution. Now he’s tangled my spineless mother into his web. I love her, but she also pisses me off. How can one woman make the same mistake over and over again without any self-awareness? First she chooses my father, and then Tessa’s. Wendell might appear more polished with his money and connections, but he’s just another abusive prick taking advantage of those he views as beneath him.

As much as I’d love nothing more than to tell him to fuck off right now, I want to see Tessa.

I’ll be there soon.

I shower and dress in record time, and drive the short distance to Tessa’s house. Her house is usually somber and devoid of life. I thought with more people here it might be different, but if anything the atmosphere is more depressing than when Tessa was here alone.

The house is nearly dead silent. The only sound is the repetitive tick-tick-tick of the pendulum swinging in the grandfather clock in the hallway. The tv room or even the kitchen would be the coziest locations in this mausoleum for a family chat, but since this is Wendell’s meeting that means they’re all probably waiting in the stuffy formal sitting room.

When I walk into the room Wendell is casually seated on one of the stiff backed sofas. His ankle rests on his knee while his arm is draped across the back. It’s as if he’s been here the entire time ruling over this house like his own personal kingdom. I guess in a way he has been here, but as a specter haunting every move Tessa has made for years.

“Have a seat, Ford,” he says and gestures to a matching sofa set across from his.

I cross my arms defiantly and remain behind the sofa. “I’ll stand.”

He grabs his phone and sends another text. “Contessa will be here in a moment.”

The clack of heels echoes down the hallway. Normally she changes into tiny shorts and a tank top as soon as she comes home. She sure as hell doesn’t walk around at home in designer heels. Tessa stands rigidly in the doorway, and I can see her internal battle waging. Something makes her feel like she is stuck, but that fire inside her I love so much still resists.

Like me, she chooses to stand, but not next to me. No, she stands across from me, and it feels like we’re on more than opposite sides of the room. We’re on opposite sides of a battle I don’t know how to fight.

“Contessa,” he says and she flinches a tiny bit. “You’ve been dragging your feet about doing as I’ve ordered you to do. Then I hear you met with Ford alone this afternoon at school. You know what is going to happen if you don’t follow my demands.”

“You’re the reason she’s been avoiding me?” I interrupt. I knew there was something off about the way she’s been practically allergic to my presence.

“She wasn’t supposed to avoid you. She was supposed to end things with you completely. Since that little bit of information is out there now, I guess I’ll have to handle things myself. The two of you will stop seeing each other. It won’t do to have my daughter dating my stepson.”

“Yeah? Considering you’ve ignored Tessa for years I’m sure she’s highly motivated to do something you want her to do.”

“Motivation can be manufactured. Tessa stands to lose everything.” He stares her down, and I can tell his words have a deeper impact than I expected.

I focus my attention on her. “Please don’t do this, Vixen. Don’t tell me that money and things mean more to you than what we have together. Remember how miserable you were here in this house all alone.”

“That’s the thing. She won’t be here alone. The two of you are going to break up, and I will be watching. Then you will come and live here. Your mother will get to have her son at home, and you will also have access to money. Hell, I’ll even get you a new truck. Life can be a lot easier for you, all you have to do is walk away from Tessa.”

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