Savannah stopped me from closing the door at the last minute. “About my brothers… I know you never want to see me again and that’ll make potential family events awkward but I hope it works out for you. I’m sorry, too. I didn’t know all the history…”
“I was still a bitch.” I nodded at her. “Good luck.”
Cole leaned across her and blew out a harsh breath. “Wait, Cass, I-”
“What was it you said, Cole? I needed to move on and let go?” I gripped the door hard enough that it hurt. “Only an asshole gets what he wants and demands more.”
I slammed the door shut and made my way up the sidewalk. I managed to get inside before the anger I’d used to keep myself upright vanished. I slid down the front door and buried my face against my dirty knees and sobbed.
67
***Cash***
“You’ve known you want to blow off football for years and never thought to mention it? What the fuck, Cash? We share everything but this? This is the thing you decide to keep to yourself? You let us think we were all going pro together.” Hayes rubbed his face and then looked away. “I don’t get it. You love football. At least I thought you did.”
“I love playing football for fun with my brothers. The rest of it? I don’t care about it. I’d be happier opening a shop and mechanic-ing.” I looked around and frowned. I’d been so focused on facing the truth with my brothers that I hadn’t noticed everyone leaving. “Where’d Savannah go?”
“Opening a shop? What the fuck are you talking about?” West scowled. “Since when do you know anything about being a mechanic?”
“Since I took shop in high school and realized I was good at it. Who the fuck do you think has been changing your oil, West?” Frustration boiled inside of me “See, this is the shit thatmakes me mad. You’re pissed that I didn’t tell you I hate playing football but would it have killed y’all to fucking notice something about me?”
“Oh, you’re suddenly the king of noticing shit?”
I glared at Hayes. “I’ve spent the last year noticing everything about the two of you. I’ve been there through every drunken rage and every silent freak out. I’ve sat through hundreds of hours of misplaced anger and taken hit after hit from you two. I felt like shit the whole time because I knew I should’ve been the one who got hurt. I would’ve traded places in a fucking second. I wanted to tell y’all that I was done with football but I couldn’t. I felt like it would’ve ruined us if I’d admitted that I was voluntarily giving up the thing that was almost stolen from y’all and that you were fighting to get back.”
They were both quiet as they took in what I’d said. It was a nice change from how they’d both been shouting at me. It gave me the chance to notice just how silent the room was, though. I looked around again and saw that it was only Sam left in the room and he was sitting at the head of the table, smirking at us while smoking a cigar.
“Savannah left?”
He laughed. “Oh, yeah. Once you three start shouting at each other exclusively they left.”
The three of us all realized the same thing at the same time. My stomach knotted more than it already was. “Where’s Cassidy?”
Sam’s laughter grew louder. “Oh, she left even before they did.”
Hayes swore. “When?”
“About the time you announced that everything between y’all was fake and said you fuck plenty of women without loving them. I can’t imagine why that would’ve upset her but she looked like such a sad little broken doll when she ran out of here.”Sam grinned and tapped his cigar out in a crystal ashtray. “I have to give my boys credit. You fucked her like a whore and still managed to convince her she could mean something to y’all. Looks like you’re a chip off the old block after all.”
I yanked him out of his chair by this throat and slammed him into the wall. “Not a fucking chance. We love her.”
“Cash.” Hayes, ever the voice of reason, grabbed my shoulder and tugged me away.
“Don’t protect him, Hayes. He-” I cut myself off when Hayes pulled back his fist and hit Sam. The sound of the punch was loud in the otherwise silent dining room. “Well, shit.”
Hayes shoved Sam away and shook out his hand. “You’re finished speaking about Cassidy. This is done. Don’t call us here again, don’t expect to sit in the family section, don’t expect shit from us. You were always a shitty father but whatever shit you’re pulling lately has been too much. You’re not going to continue talking shit and hurting Cassidy. I-”
“I’m the only one in the room that didn’t hurt that girl tonight, you little shit. Your fucking mother was right to leave when she did. You’re nothing but a bunch of ungrateful little bitches who cry over every little thing. In my day, we were fucking tougher. We didn’t fall apart over pussy. You-” Sam stopped to spit out blood. “You know I still have the footage of your whore.”
“You’re an aging man who’s probably never been loved by a woman in his life so what the fuck would you know? You’re pathetic. I mean, look at you. You’re married to a social media influencer who just showed the world what an embarrassment you are. Good luck. You’ll need it when she realizes she can get more attention and money by leaving you and doing a dirty tell-all.” West roughly patted Sam’s face. “As for the footage of Cassidy? I think if you look, you’ll find that it’s fucking gone. All of it. Having friends can get you far in life, asshole.”
“H-How?” Sam jabbed his thick fingers at his phone and then threw it across the room with a roar. “This isn’t over. I’m not going to let you and some cheap slut fromLAbeat Sam Ford.”
“You already did. You should watch what you call Cassidy, by the way. Pretty soon, she’s going to be America’s football sweetheart. Just as soon as people see her for who she is, no one will be able to touch her ever again.” I backed away and blew out a harsh sigh. “Let’s go. She couldn’t have gotten far.”
We silently drove towards campus, searching for any sign of Cassidy but never finding any. By the time we were parked outside of her house, the tension in the truck was painful.
I scrubbed my hands down my face. “Goddammit. I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking saying that shit. I don’t even know why I said it. I just… I fucking saw her look so heartbroken over Cole and… She’s not over him, is she?”
