“Who’s him?” she asks, moving my hair away from my face.
“The guy I told you about the other day.”
The look on her face almost makes me laugh. She’s putting two and two together, and I’m waiting for her ah-ha moment to hit. Her eyebrows pinch together, and she says, “That you dated from high school?”
I nod, letting the tears flow heavier down my face.
“Warroad is the father of your son?”
“Warroad?” I say in disbelief. “Is that his club name?”
Of course, she knew this entire time what his club name was. The thought makes me ill. If she had just slipped once, or if I found his paperwork on accident when we were going over club business. I can’t even imagine what I would have done.
“Yes. Why? Does it mean something to you?”
I shake my head in shock. That’s why he never wanted me to know his club name. “Yes, it’s the town we grew up in,” I whisper out.
My legs get weak, and I fall fully into her arms. She holds me tightly and walks me into her house, guiding me to the couch where she sits me down and holds me into her chest.
I cry till I have nothing left.
“Did you really not know it was him?” she asks softly, I’m sure in the same shock I am about the entire situation.
“I know, right?” I sit back, wiping my tears. “But, ugh, he’s changed a lot. I meana lot. In high school, he was on the skinny side. He never lifted weights. I told you, more of a book nerd. Now he’s built with muscles almost twice the size they were back then. He shaves his head now too where he always wore it longer back home. And remember how I told you he spoke differently like he was trying to disguise his voice? Well, now I know why. He must have known the entire time.”
The thought makes me sit up straighter, suddenly pissed. “Shit. He knew the entire time! His mask, it covered most of his face and,fuck, he got a new one right after the night I first met him. He knew! How could he do this to me?”
Images of all of our times together flash through my head, and now I’m more pissed at myself. Here I thought he was playing a game, being secretive to make my experience more exciting, and the whole time he was only playing me for a fool. I was so stuck on the excitement of not knowing who he was that I didn’t see past his façade.
“I feel so stupid,” I say, burying my face in my hands.
Kamii reaches out to me. “No, sweetie, don’t say that. You didn’t know, and for some reason, he didn’t want you to. At least not then.”
I bite my lip, looking up at the ceiling, trying not to cry again.
“So how did you finally find out?”
“It was his game. Shit.” I stop, shaking my head as I think back to us being together. “He was dropping hints left and right. He wanted me to figure out it was him.”
“So did you or did he say something?”
I look up at her, tears forming in my eyes again. “I did.”
Kamii’s arms wrap around me again. I can’t believe I knew it was him just by his touch. Shit, by his kiss. That’s why I’d get so lost. Even Cole saw it, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it then.
“Wait, but I forgot to tell you about Cole,” I say, throwing the pillow off me that I grabbed for comfort when I first sat down.
“He wasn’t there tonight, right? He wasn’t on the list, so he shouldn’t have been,” she confirms.
“No. He wasn’t, but he was waiting outside. But that’s not what I’m getting at. He knew.”
“He knew what?”
“He knew Carter and I had a past. That’s why he was trying to get him kicked out. So I wouldn’t figure out who he was.”
Anger fills me again, and I stand up, not able to sit anymore.
“Holy schmoly!” Kamii says in shock.
