Page 90 of Chasing Shadows

Sam sighs. “Your mother and I were… friends in high school.”

“You dated.”

He nods. “We dated. She was my first girlfriend.”

“I don’t need your life story, Sam. You got my mum pregnant while your wife was pregnant, and then you just refused to take responsibility for your mistake. You refused to acknowledge you even had another child. Me. Why?”

“Conrad, there were a lot of extenuating factors around your mum’s pregnancy with you. I loved your mum, but I also loved Lily. When you were… conceived, your mum and Bill were having trouble with their marriage. I was there for her, to listen, to be a good friend.” I snort, and he narrows his eyes. “By the time she knew she was pregnant, she and Bill had sorted out their differences.”

My frustration grows, and I snap. “So you signed away your parental rights before I was born. I know all this, Sam. What I don’t know is, why?”

“The simplest reason is, I don’t know.”

I get to my feet. “I don’t know why I even bother. I’m glad you’re going to be okay. Hope you enjoy the kidney. Have a nice life.”

“I made a mistake,” Sam calls as I stalk towards the door. “I made a mistake,” he repeats when I pause and turn back around to face him. “I was young, and stupid. Selfish. Scared. I had a wife who was pregnant, and your mum and Bill… well, she told me they were working everything out. But I should never have signed the papers. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought your mum and Bill would give you everything you needed in life.”

“By everything, you mean a father who treated me as if I was the mud beneath his footy boots?” I can’t keep the bitterness from my voice.

Sam pulls a face. “I didn’t–”

“You didn’t know? How could you? You weren’t there. You didn’t see what I went through. The feelings of inadequacy, of feeling like nothing you ever did was good enough for the one person who was supposed to love you unconditionally. You didn’t know? Maybe you should haveasked. Maybe you should have tried to find out. Maybe you should havecared.” My voice breaks on the final word, and I jam my palms into my eyes. “All I wanted was a dad who gave a shit.”

When I finally pull myself together enough to pull my hands away from my face, I see the tears running down Sam’s cheeks.

“Son, I’m–”

My phone vibrates in my jacket, and Sam pauses as I slip it out checking the screen. “It’s Tom.” I accept the call, bringing the phone up to my ear. “Tom, finally, where have you been? I’m at the hospital. Sam’s awake.”

There’s a pause. “So am I.”

My brow furrows. “Did the hospital get a hold of you?”

“No.” There’s another pause. “It’s Harley.”

FORTY-EIGHT

HARLEY

THE HYPNOTIC SOUND of machines beeping is the first thing I hear when I come to. I groan, bringing my right hand up to clutch at my head.

“Herc?”

Lily?

“You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”

Why do those words seem so familiar?

My eyelids flutter as I work on opening my eyes, but the right one refuses to cooperate. Everything is blurry as I try to blink away the haze from my left eye.

I roll my head to the right, taking in Lily’s dirt-streaked, tearstained face. She’s still the most gorgeous woman I’ve seen. I clear my throat as I reach my left hand over to cup her face. More tears fall as she closes her eyes and leans into the touch.

Movement catches my eye, and I tear my gaze from Lily to see Tom and Lachy standing behind her. My brother has asplit lip and a bandage wrapped around his head. He steps forward and looks down at me, a million different emotions warring in his eyes. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

I swallow and clear my throat again before answering. “Like I went nine rounds with Anderson Silva,” I grit out.

Lachy snorts. “Dude, you wouldn’t even be able to last even one round with Anderson Silva.”

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