Page 76 of Go Deep

“We obviously have a lot to catch up on, but I’m not allowing you to bully my son into doing this. You want to pull your support? Fine.” Dad wipes a few sweat beads from his forehead. “But this doesn’t involve Vince. I’m not dragging him into it.”

His breathing shallows. Eva shoots me a panicked look.

“You are seriously giving up the White House so your son can go prancing around with another man?” Bob yells. “Consider this campaign over, Michael. When I’m finished with you, you won’t get another cent from anyone with influence.” He flips around to lance me with a glare. “That goes for you, too. I’m pulling my investment and taking your clients. Good luck rising from the ashes. Lightning never strikes twice, Vincent.”

“Fuck off, Bob. You needed him so you made him your goddamn puppet. Go find someone else who’ll let you pull their strings. And when he does make it into the White House, fucking watch your ass because we’re gonna rake it over the coals.” I flip him off. “Now get the hell out of here.”

He swivels on his heel and storms out of Dad’s office.

“Vince,” Eva hisses.

I turn to see Dad hunched over on his desk. “Dad, sit down.” I rush over to the mini refrigerator set up in the corner of his office and grab a bottle of water out of it. I twist of the cap and run itover to him.

“I think part of me always knew,” he mutters before taking a long sip. “And I was so blinded by my goals that I didn’t care about what all of it might mean to you. I’m sorry.”

An uneasy feeling pings my gut. “It’s okay. And we can get through this. I have plenty of cash, and I’m not the least bit worried that anyone is leaving my company to follow that fucknut.”

Dad guzzles some more of the water. “Your mother would be so pissed at me if she saw what I’ve done.”

I glance up at Eva. Her eyes are wet with tears. “Daddy, relax. It’s all going to be okay.”

Dad shakes his head and tries to stand up again. “It’s not okay. I made a lot of mistakes. I’m a sellout. And I alienated my own son. How could the American public respect me, much less vote for me? It’s over.”

“It’s fine, Dad. We can work through this.” I put my hand on his arm. “Please just sit down, okay?”

Dad looks at me, his eyes glassy. “Do you care about him? Or was it just a fling?”

“I do care about him.” A lump lodges in the back of my throat. “A lot. I want to be with him, but I don’t want to lose you over it.”

Dad shakes his head. “No. Never. I just want you to…” He slips and stumbles backward into the wall. Eva yelps and turns to help him. Dad clutches his heart and crumples to the floor, his face now ashen, voice barely audible. “Be happy.”

His sorrow-filled eyes droop closed. My heart clenches when Eva cries out.

Because like me, she knows that sounded like goodbye.

Chapter 31

Gabe

Going out is the last thing I want to do tonight, but I can’t leave Lucas hanging. It was pretty clear he needed someone to talk to after the game, and even though I’m not in the best state of mind right now, I won’t cancel.

I know how hard it is to find friends you can trust.

And even when you think you can trust them, I’m too damn familiar with how they’ll sledgehammer your heart when you put in the trust they won’t ever deserve.

I’ve spent way too much time wallowing in self-pity over losing Vinceagain.

Enough is enough.

I finally drag my ass off the couch with about twenty minutes to spare and dress quickly so I’m not too late. Luckily, when I roll up to the O Bar, I don’t have to stand in line. The bouncer recognizes me right away and eagerly opens the red velvet rope like he’s a puppy I’ve just rewarded with a treat. Not that I’m in any rush to be social tonight, especially with the stress knot permanently lodged into the base of my skull.

And lucky for me, he doesn’t seem to have heard the news about me and Vince and the fucking video. Maybe there is hope that it’ll all blow over. After Vince left me for the last time, I stayed home and huddled on my couch with a book, avoiding network television, the Internet, and my phone.

Jesus, I really thought we had a shot. I’d just gotten my test results back, then the man who captured my heart and soul came to tell me he loved me and wanted to be with me. For that small sliver of time in our love and lust-filled bubble, everything was perfect in my life and I felt like I was on top of the world.

Ironically, the last time I felt so free and excited for the future was when I made my coming out announcement to the world, and then my father’s rejection pretty much decimated every last shred of happiness.

This time, it was Vince who pulverized my heart.

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