“Parker,” Leo snaps, ripping the phone from my hand. I stumble back, feeling helpless as I watch him bring my phone to his mouth. “I thought I told you to stay the fuck away from us?”
I don’t know the right way to respond to this situation, and it almost feels as if my incompetence radiates off me, catching onto Leo’s frustrations.
Parker scoffs, and there is a long, silent pause before the lines goes dead. Leo’s jaw is clenched, chin quivering as he raises his eyes to mine—they’re aflame with rage. The way they flare when he studies my face tells me I’m giving off a similar expression.
“We need to tell Willow this is happening.”
Leo inhales deeply, eyes falling shut as he hands my phone back to me. He runs a hand down his face, but nods. “Just... I need to talk to a friend of mine at the police department and figure out what our options are. Please wait until I have plan, all right?”
I chew on my cheek. “I don’t feel right about keeping this from her.”
“You think I do?” He throws his hands up. “I’m at a fucking loss here, Weston. I need some time to figure out a plan, because I can’t sit my daughter down and tell her he’s doing this when I’m fucking helpless to fix it!”
Nodding, I swallow. “You’re right. I’ll...” I have no idea how to fix this, either. If Parker were standing in front of me right now, I’d fucking pummel him. I know well that the only resources I have against men like that are my fists. I can’t offer Willow much protection outside of that, but Leo has connections. He has money and status. He can do something to make Parker leave her alone for good, and I need to give him the chance to set something in place.
It’ll be better for Willow in the long run.
“You know what he said wasn’t true, right?” Leo asks, tone softer now than before. He gently places a hand on my shoulder as he guides us toward the stairs that lead back to the main house. “I don’t think that way of you, and neither does Willow.”
Yet, I can’t help but think that way of myself.
“Factually, he’s not wrong. I was charged with attempted murder and stripped of my title. That information is floating around in the world for anyone to find.” Information—a reputation—that will undoubtedly affect Willow just because she’s choosing to be with me, and that guilt slices deep.
“You think nobody ever unearthed my mistakes, my past, and printed them too?” Leo pauses halfway up the cliff, glancing back at me with quirked lips. “Comes with the territory when you’re the best of the best at something. Those who could never live up to your achievements in their wildest dreams will always look for ways to bring you down to their level, so they can feel more secure about themselves. You gotta learn to block out the noise. You’ve got to stop letting your history define who you are today, and who you want to become tomorrow.”
I nod, wordlessly following him back to the garage so we can return our boards.
“With all that being said,” Leo continues, holding the door open for me. “I think it would be in Willow’s best interest that nothing about your... relations be public until this shit withParker is resolved for good. I’d prefer you hold off on posting about each other online. Even with Parker being blocked, he’s clearly still finding ways to dig up whatever information he can to use against her, and unfortunately, you’re not exempt from that.”
I chew on my lip, stripping out of my wetsuit. I hadn’t thought too deeply about where our relationship stands publicly until this moment. She hadn’t seemed eager to post any photos of us online, and while it’s possible I could be interviewed after the Challenger this weekend, it’s not often that athletes are questioned about their relationship status. Though, if I ever were to be asked, I probably would’ve bragged about Willow.
“I understand,” I murmur as I place my board on the rack and Leo’s on the wax bench.
“Please let me know if you hear from him again,” he says sternly as he heads toward the exit of the garage while I get busy sorting through the duffle bag we keep the waxing kits in. “And go ahead and take the afternoon off. I’ll handle the surf shop.”
“I will,” I promise. “And thank you.”
His footsteps shuffle over the cement floor as he moves to leave.
“Leo,” I call back after him. “Let me know if there is something I can do to help. Please. Give me a chance to show you I can take care of her.” I can’t stop Willow from having a shitty ex, and I can’t take back the mistakes of my past or the toxic blood that runs through my veins, but I can fight like hell to ensure that she remains as untouched by as much of that darkness as possible.
He looks at me over his shoulder, offering a shallow dip of his chin before he wordlessly stalks away.
CHAPTER 25
WILLOW
“Willow, would you mind staying a little later this afternoon to help me organize some files?” Penelope asks, digging through her desk as students begin shuffling in for her lecture.
“Sure. How long?”
She perks up, green eyes whipping to meet my gaze. “Uh... not sure yet. Do you have plans?”
“No.” I shrug. “Just curious.”
I miss Westonis what I want to say, but that seems ridiculously needy, so I keep my mouth shut. Plus, Wes works until seven, and I can’t imagine Penelope keeping me here past then.
“I’m presenting that PowerPoint you made last week. If you can manage the slides while I’m speaking, that would be amazing,” she chimes, gathering a clipboard from inside her desk and walking toward the podium at the front of the room.
