Page 89 of Broken Player

“Mom?” I whispered before clearing my throat and straightening my spine. I wasn’t a helpless little boy anymore.

I heard her sniffle on the other end, followed by a soft sob. “I’m… I’m so sorry.” Her words rushed out, carried on her gentle voice laced with tears and regret.

“You’re sorry?” I didn’t know how to feel or what to say. My words were tinged with disbelief. I never understood why she left all those years ago and didn’t take me with her or even come back for me. I had a thousand questions all on the tip of my tongue.

“Can… Would you be willing to meet me? I’ll come to you. I just want the chance to explain, even if I don’t deserve it,” she begged, and my curiosity got the better of me.

“When?” I knew I was being short, but she’d fucking abandoned me. I wasn’t going into this with any illusions that we’d be one big happy fucking family. But still, the prospect of getting answers to questions I’d had most of my life piqued my interest enough to agree to a meeting.

“This afternoon? I can be there in two hours.”

“Fine. Come to the old house.”

Her sharp intake of breath told me she hated this place probably more than I did.“Russell’s gone so you don’t have to worry about that, and I remodeled, so it doesn’t look the same.” I didn’t know why I felt the need to comfort her.

“Fine. I’ll be there,” she agreed before hanging up.

I scrubbed my hands over my face. “What a weird fucking day.”

“I’ll text Ryan.” Connor’s fingers were already flying over his phone. My mind was spinning in so many different directions, I couldn’t focus. I needed her, and he was smart enough to see it.

I sat staring blankly at the wall for what felt like hours but must have only been a few minutes. When the back door opened and closed with a soft click, it broke me out of my trance, and my gaze settled on Ryan walking across the room toward me.

She kneeled in front of me, a soft smile on her lips. “Hey, Romeo. You look a little lost.”

I pulled her to me, breathing her in as my body instantly relaxed. She was better than a fucking Xanax. “I love you so fucking much, Freckles,” I murmured against her hair.

“I love you, too,” she chuckled, rubbing my back. “Come on, why don’t we sit and you can tell me what happened?” she offered, pulling me up by my arm and lacing her fingers with mine as we walked to the couch. She guided me to sit and then sat beside me, pulling off her boots and draping her legs across my lap. I rested my hand on the rough denim material covering her smooth skin.

“Tell me what happened.”

“Yates leaked the picture of my mom and Griffin,” I sighed.

Her eyes narrowed into slits. “Thatmotherfucker. I swear to god if I get my hands on him-”

“Whoa, Freckles. I saw the video, I think he got the worse end of the deal. That’s not the part that has me spun out.”

Her eyes softened as she reached up to play with the short hair at the back of my neck. “Then what does?”

“My mom called me.”

The silence stretched on as she stilled. “Monicacalled you?”

I nodded.

“Whoa.”

“I told you,” I chuckled softly, running my palm up and down her thigh. “Know what’s even crazier?”

“Crazier than your mom calling you after pretending you don’t exist for twenty-two years? Sure.” Her lips were pursed, and she was so fucking cute. I almost forgot to be weirded outabout the situation. All I wanted to do was kiss her and not think about any of the other shit going on.

“She’s coming here. Today.”

“What?!” Ryan asked, bolting upright. “Today? When?”

“In about an hour and a half,” I answered, checking the time on my phone.

“Wow. How do you feel about that?” Her eyes were now filled with concern as she watched me for any signs of distress. After what she’d done to Yates yesterday, if I hadn’t known it before I knew it now, Ryan was protective as fuck of me just like I was of her. We were equally matched in our defense and possessiveness of each other.

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