Page 88 of Absolutely Pucked
There was a profound silence, then a sigh. “You really want to add an assault charge to everything else you?—”
“Oh my God, not literally, you jackass. I mean I’m done letting you fuck with my life. I don’t care who you tell or how you try to blackball me. I don’t care who you know. If you try and stop me from getting work or taking the bar here, I’m going to expose you.”
He was silent for a long beat, then said from behind a sigh, “I don’t care what you do, man. Go nuts.”
I froze. I was standing outside the arena, expecting to have to go to blows with this man who had spent months tormenting me, and now he was giving up. “What? Why?”
“Because I’ve got enough on my plate. That bitch of yours?—”
“Come on, man,” I said. “It’s bad enough you slept with her. You don’t need to call her that.”
He choked on a laugh. “Did she get to you already? Is she back in your bed?”
“Fuck no. In fact, the last time we talked, she told me her happy news. She tried to pin it on me until I demanded a paternity test.”
He sighed loudly again. “She said she was on the fuckin’ pill.”
“Yep, and instead, she trapped you. Karma is the bitch.”
I could almost see the face he was pulling. “I have ashitstorm going on with me right now. I don’t give a shit about you or your divorce, okay? I’m not paying for her representation anymore, so just…I don’t know. Tell her you’re done with mediation and set a court date.”
I had no idea what to say to that. “My credit cards?”
“Call your bank. They’ll fix it.”
I realized I probably could have done that the whole time. I’d let them cow me and make me believe they had total control. I felt like such a fucking fool. And yet, if I hadn’t been one, I never would have met Ford, and as much as it hurt me now, I couldn’t regret that.
“So, if that’s all—” he started.
Was it all? It wasn’t like he was going to give me an apology—not that I’d take one from him. And whatever happened between him and Delia wasn’t my business. Daniel had been my boss, not my friend. He’d taken sick pleasure in seeing me at my lowest and probably got a lot of attention from Delia for it.
He’d played games with the both of us, and for what?
“I hope you have the life you deserve,” I told him.
He snorted. “Trust me, man. I’m good.”
I knew he meant it. I knew he was going to be fine—at least, in his own mind. He’d never know what it meant to love and be loved the way I’d fallen for Ford. The way Tucker loved Deo. Probably the way Boden loved Hugo.
But I wasn’t sure a man like him was capable of that anyway.
There was nothing left to do except hang up, which was the easy part. It was in the ringing silence when it all hit me at once, and nausea overwhelmed me. Ishuffled backward until my calves hit a bench, and I sat down. Hard. I was inside the lobby—I’d almost forgotten where I was for a moment.
The sound of my breath was echoing around me, but there was no one there to hear it. The center was open, but the middle of the week in the afternoon, it felt like I was completely alone. I stared down at the phone in my hand, realizing that it was over.
At least the hardest part was.
I could move forward.
Pulling up my texts, I scrolled to Delia’s name and hesitated before sending my one, single message. The message that was going to end all of this.
Me: I know it’s over between you two and I’m done. No more mediation, no alimony threats, no child support. No nothing. I want my car returned to the parking lot you took it from or I’m reporting it stolen and I will have you arrested. I’ve kept all the evidence, and I will expose everything if you don’t comply. You have seventy-two hours.
After that was done, I hit the button to block her number, took a breath…
And then burst into tears.
It was finished.
