Page 172 of Knot Their Starlet

Something about the way she says it has a bone-deep exhaustion settling into me.

“You’re gonna go and get tested to see if you’re a match,” Pops says, resting his hands on his hips in a way I’m sure would’ve been intimidating fifteen years ago.

His words wash over me. My gaze cuts to my momma, taking in her guilt-ridden expression.

But before I have a chance to say anything, Andi lets out a soft scoff by my side.

“You’re joking,” she says, her brows drawn up in surprise.

All of us turn to her, myself included, in absolute shock.

“This is a fuckin’ family matter,” Pops spits, taking a frustrated step forward.

“You watch your tone when you talk to her,” I snarl, matching his step with one of my own.

“Andi, dear,” Momma starts, reaching out to Andi. “This really is important⁠—”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Castillo, you seem like a... nice woman, but my priority here is Eli and you guys are asking him to give that—” she points to Pops, and I can tell she’s biting back a whole bunch of creative curses, “man... part of his liver? Eli hasn’t seen the guy in years!”

Pops lets out a guttural sound of frustration. “You have a responsibility to me as your father⁠—”

“You had a responsibility to me as your son,” I snarl back. “Last time I checked, you were chasing me out of the house saying I wasn’t a son of yours, so which is it?”

“I—”

“I’ll make the choice for you,” I bite out. “I’ll continue sending money for your treatments ‘cause the last thing I want is for Momma to have to stress herself out finding work, but the only thing you’re getting from me on top of that is me paying for your fuckin’ funeral.”

“Eli!” Momma chides, her voice trembling. “You can’t—you can’t mean that!”

My heart pounds in my chest. My resolve wavers for a split second under the face of my Momma’s obvious despair, but Andi offers my hand a little squeeze. God, I’m so glad I brought her.

Imagine I hadn’t, would I have agreed? Probably not, but it would’ve been a lot harder of a decision.

“I’ve made up my mind, Momma. And really, my mind was made up for me years ago.” I glance between them and shake my head. “I should go.”

The one person I feel bad for in this equation is Luce, who follows Andi and I to the front door like a lost puppy.

“Sorry,” I mumble, patting the top of her head awkwardly.

“It’s okay,” she says, sending me a wry smile. “I get it. You might not have been a match for him, anyway. Momma and I weren’t.”

“Thanks, Luce.”

She throws her arms around my waist, squeezing hard before flashing a bright smile at Andi.

“Sorry we couldn’t talk more, you seem really cool,” Lucy says.

“Damn, really? Thanks!” Andi says, seeming to take Lucy’s compliment to heart.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Yeah,” Andi nods. “Let’s.”

CHAPTER 35

Andi

My eyes are a little strained from how long I’ve been squinting at the small text on my screen. Reading divorce proceedings on my phone wasn’t the best idea I’ve had. Especially because they’re the divorce proceedings of my parents.