Page 74 of Send It
Lincoln
Colson and I worked on quickly breaking down Reiss’ bike and writing down all the parts and manufacturers we could so that we can get the internal parts we need for the new race bike. But the entire time, all I could think about were Brian and Kim and whether or not to bring it up.
“How do you know it’s really over with someone?” I ask my mom the next morning at breakfast.
“What do you mean? That’s awfully vague,” she says.
“I just mean like when you aren’t in love with someone anymore, how do you know?”
She narrows her eyes at me but they’re soft and caring, “I don’t believe that you just stop loving someone.”
“Then people would never break up, Mom.”
She shakes her head, “People break up for all sorts of reasons. It’s hardly ever because they don’t love each other anymore.”
“I’m not following,” I say, causing her to sit her coffee down on the table and get passionate like she always does.
“I think you will always love that person in some capacity. I don’t think you just fall out of love.”
“So only the feeling dies? The spark?” I ask, and then shake my head. “I don’t know why I’m asking you anyway. You and dad have been together your whole lives.”
So had Brian and Kim, though.
“Why are you asking me this?” Mom says, looking around to see if anyone is here. “Does this have to do with Colson?”
“No,” I mean, “Yes. Sort of.”
She eyes me, waiting for me to speak but I’m not sure what I should tell her. “Please don’t say anything,” I breathe, trusting my mom. “Nana Raines told me that Brian and Kim are getting divorced.”
Mom drops her metal fork to her plate with a clank and she instantly begins fidgeting around. “Oh my God. That explains why he was here alone. I wonder why he didn’t talk to us about it?”
“I haven’t told Colson,” I ramble. “I don’t know if I should. It doesn’t really seem like my place but I also don’t want him to be blindsided.”
Mom grabs my hand and squeezes, “I think you need to let Brian talk to him, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea before Nationals. That is probably why he hasn’t said anything to Colson yet.”
Reiss struts into the kitchen in his underwear, placing a mug under the Keurig and starting the brew cycle. “What are ya’ll in here whispering about?”
“Nothing,” I say, pushing eggs around in a circle on my plate.
He grabs the mug and sits at the table with us, “I’m heading to town with Mira, but I’ll be back later. Does anyone need anything?”
Mom and I share a glance, but I can’t stop from blurting what’s on my mind.
“Why do you keep hanging out with her? The sex can’t be that good and her brother just fucked over our team. I can think of 17,000 reasons to stop hanging out with her. What happened to loyalty?”
Mom doesn’t intervene, opting to sip her coffee. I think she wants to know why too.
“She’s pregnant,” he says, causing my mom to choke on the bite she was chewing.
“What!” I rage, standing up to start pacing around like a madwoman. “What the hell do you mean,she’s pregnant?”
Reiss takes another sip of his coffee, and I can’t help but smack him in the side of the head, “You dumbass. You got our rival’s sister pregnant!”
I can feel all the color draining from my face but there’s another realization that sinks in. “I thought him buying Colson’s bike was because of what happened with Jackson, but it seems like you had a hand in it too! No wonder they wanted to fuck over our team.”
Reiss sighs, “They didn’t buy my bike.”
Fury builds inside of me, “Becauseyoudidn’t win.”
