Page 67 of Stealing Home

I spoke to both of them yesterday at lunch when they called to wish me a happy birthday. They’re supposed to be in town this weekend to celebrate with me, so he wouldn’t be expecting me to call today.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“You know you can tell me anything, son. Can it wait until this weekend? Then we can speak in person.”

“Not really. You’re probably going to get a call from Coach Rivera soon, and I wanted to talk to you first.”

I hear a door creak and click shut. “I’m in my office. It’s just the two of us. Talk to me.”

This is a lot harder than I thought it would be. “I got kicked off the team today. Well, Rivera kicked me off the team, the administration might not uphold it. He doesn’t exactly have the rules on his side.”

My dad’s breathing is loud on the other side of the phone. “Why did he kick you off the team?”

Here goes nothing. “He’s pissed off because I’ve been seeing his estranged wife.”

Silence. My dad isn’t prone to lashing out, so I wait for him to gather his thoughts. “The woman your mom and I met at the banquet?”

“Yeah,” I tell him without offering anything more.

“Were you dating her before they separated? Please tell me you didn’t break up a marriage.”

“Absolutely not. I saw some bruises on her leg at the banquet which made me start paying more attention. I will admit I was attracted to her from the moment I first saw her a couple years ago. She’s stunning, but I would never have acted on it. I started to see more things though and suspected he was hurting her. Then I caught him cheating on her at the game in Ellensburg.”

“So she left him, and then what?” my dad asks.

“I’d already been working with her on a youth baseball clinic. He made the university fire her so she could be more under his thumb. We became friends, and we kept talking after the clinic. I told her about the cheating, but she had already left him. I’ve been seeing her since they split a few weeks ago. He found out last night when he came to the bar we were at for my birthday.”

He groans. “Please tell me you didn’t bring your married girlfriend to the bar with your teammates.”

I stay silent, because I absolutely did do that. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. I wanted her there, but couldn’t exactly go with her. Two of her friends own the bar, and she came with a group I’ve become friends with as well. She knew I didn’t want to go and only went because I pushed it.”

“This sounds really co-dependent, Scott. What could you possibly have in common with a woman going through a divorce? She’s how old?”

“Thirty-three,” I say quietly.

“For fuck’s sake. She’s only eight years younger than your mom.”

“I know all of that, but I love her. You don’t have to understand, but I don’t want you to be blindsided when Rivera calls. He’s a vindictive bastard, and he’s pissed off because I said I wouldn’t give her up if she gives me another chance.”

“Wait, another chance? So you aren’t seeing her?”

I wince. “Uh, one of the jersey chasers recorded a video of us in a compromising position. I was drunk off my ass, and she took advantage of me. She’s relentless, she even snuck into my room a few weeks ago when I was sleeping. I don’t know what possessed her to film herself assaulting me, or why she gave that dickhead Campbell the video, but he used it to make it seem like I was cheating on Harlow.”

“How did he even find out you were seeing her?”

I sigh. “He fucking followed me back to her house a few days ago after practice.”

“You’ve been staying with her? So this is serious. When was the video taken?”

“I think like four months ago. And, before you want to talk about that, I’ve deleted it everywhere. I’m already sick about it, but I didn’t make the best choices after the whole thing with Mara.”

He exhales. “I’m not going to be a hypocrite here and judge you. I made some shitty decisions before I met your mother, and some dumb ass ones for a while after that too. I am worried that this will come back to bite you in the ass. You might think you’ve deleted it, but it’s hard to find every digital copy out there.”

“As long as Harlow understands I didn’t cheat on her, I don’t give a shit.” I do absolutely give a shit, but if I keep telling myself it doesn’t matter, maybe it won’t.

“Perhaps it’s for the best if the two of you went your separate ways. She’s got a lot on her plate right now. If Rivera is violent, you’re putting yourself in a dangerous situation.”

“So I should let the woman I love face an abusive man, who hit her in front of everyone last night, alone? Fuck that. Sorry dad, but this time I won’t do what you want. Should you have let mom face the people after her alone?”

---