Page 51 of Bully's Second Chance
She snickered breathlessly. “I wasn’t—sure if you’d pick up during a time like this.”
I leaned forward. “How did you get this number?”
“I mean, I just called your office number, and it routed me here. Why?”
I narrowed my eyes. “How did you get my office number? That isn’t public—”
“Is it true?” she asked.
I heard the tears in her voice, and I didn’t know whether to feel sorry for her or be angry with her.
“Is your father really dead?” she whispered.
I was so stunned at hearing my mother’s voice again that I couldn’t even answer her question. After all these years—after she abandoned us both—she wanted to call and ask if he was actually dead?
“Way to throw gasoline on a fire,” I murmured.
She sniffled. “I’m sorry, it’s just—I saw it on the news, and I was so shocked—”
“If you were here, you wouldn’t have been shocked. Dad was riddled with cancer for years.”
She sighed. “Jackson, I know you don’t understand—”
I stood to my feet. “If you’re going to be asking me questions in order to get answers, then I’m going to get some answers of my own. That’s the only way this conversation takes place. Understood?”
She paused for so long that I thought she hung up. But when she spoke, I eased myself back down into my chair. “Fair enough. Go ahead and ask,” she said softly.
“You’re damn right it’s fair enough.”
The smell of food wafted up my nostrils before Lily walked in with a tray of tantalizing dishes, but I held up my finger. I put it to my lips before I put my mother’s phone call on speaker and dropped the receiver back into its holder. And after pointing where she could set the tray on my desk, she sat back down in her seat she occupied with her laptop.
Before I cleared my throat. “All right, Mom. I want to know what happened between you and Dad.”
Lily’s eyes widened so much that they almost popped out of her head. She clapped her hand over her mouth and squealed into it, which almost made me laugh.
Almost, anyway.
“That’s a pretty long and complicated—”
I leaned back in my seat. “Well, try your best because I want to know what was so terrible that you left your son behind.”
Lily scooted her chair up to my side as Mom gathered her thoughts. I wasn’t even sure if “Mom” were the appropriate word for her, but for the life of me, I couldn’t even come up with her real name. She left me at such a young age that I didn’t even learn her real fucking name. And she had hurt Dad so much that he couldn’t even speak it most days.
“Your father and I, we were…”
I reached for my water on the tray and took a sip before I handed Lily her iced tea. “Take your time; I’ve got all day,” I said.
She clicked her tongue. “Your father and I were one of those whirlwind romances. You know, like in the movies. We met, we clicked, everything seemed fantastic, and within a few short months, we were married.”
I nodded. “I know that. I want to know what happened inside of the marriage.”
“Are you really sure you want to know this? It might not paint your father in the best light, and considering the circumstances—”
“Just spit it out.”
Lily gripped my knee and squeezed softly as she sipped her tea. I placed my hand on top of hers, preparing myself for what was about to happen. Whatever she had to say, I could take it. All I wanted were answers.
The little boy who still lived deep down inside, with his hurt and pain and anger, needed to know.
