"I've heard he's a complete asshole, but I didn't think he would be so low as to get involved with his kids’ relationships." She shook her head. "Who does that shit?"
"I guess the great and mighty Scotts." I shrugged and started toward the back.
"What're you gonna do?" Her voice followed me.
"Fuck his daughter. What else?" I opened the door the garage and walked out as rage burned through me. I was just being a cock, too, but truth be told, I had no clue of what to do. If the man really had the power to turn my life upside down like he said he did, then I was screwed. The fact that he knew so much about me was insanely unnerving.
I couldn't just let Val go, though. Right?
She was more woman than I'd ever encountered and the idea of pushing her away again felt like it would be the biggest mistake of my life.
The memory of watching her with my mother the night before swept over me, leaving my heart hurting deep inside of my chest. Val had far too many layers to count, but after seeing her not only help me manhandle Daniel, but act kind toward my mother, I wanted to peel each one – to know her, to memorize everything about her. To love her.
"It's not in the cards," I mumbled to myself and put in my earbuds. The day was going to be spent trying to figure out what the fuck to do while I worked to fix as many cars as I could. I'd talk to Sam later before swim practice. He'd know what to do.
*
"He said what?" Sam was almost screaming as he sat in the truck next to me.
I ran my hands through my hair and closed my eyes. "Yeah, I know. I'm honestly not sure what to do about it. I can't go up against him. I'll lose. Fuck, my mom will lose everything, too."
"I can't believe that bastard said he would get Daniel a free ticket out of jail. What kind of guy does that shit? A monster. That's what kind." Sam pulled up to the gym and shook his head at me. "You need to tell her, Tate. She has no idea her fucking family is sneaking behind her, ruining her life."
"Maybe they’re not ruining it, but saving it. She's far better than me. We both know that." I shrugged and reached for the handle. "Thanks for the ride."
"Hey, you're wrong. She's a good woman from what you say, but you have the ability to make her a great one. Tell her what's up. Don't turn your back on his. I'm serious. You'll regret it." He gripped my shoulder tightly.
"Thanks, buddy." I got out of the truck and jogged up to the natatorium, trying to let all my angst go. Val had texted a few times that morning, and I'd responded more fully before talking to her dad, but only in short responses after. I hated to leave her thinking that something was wrong, but it was. I had to let her go, even though she really didn't belong to me yet.
I was grateful for her denying me sex the night before. It might have been trite, but I knew that if she'd let me take her to bed and hold her all night, I'd not be able to walk away. I'd have felt too connected to her.
"Hey, you." Martin lifted his hand to me as I walked into the warmth of the natatorium.
"Hey, man. How's it going?" I gave him a high-five before dropping my stuff beside everyone else’s.
"Good. We're just warming up. Get to it. Coach was asking where your ass was an hour ago." He smirked and nodded toward the group of guys we'd be swimming against. "They're at the top of our division right now. I think we can take them down."
"Yeah, we'll get them. No worries." I turned to find Coach walking toward me
with a less than pleasant look on his face. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Be on time or your ass is off the team. Got it?"
A couple of guys snickered behind me, but I ignored them. We were grown-ass men. I wasn't playing into their childish bullshit. I had real problems, which made my situation on the swim team seem like something I should simply walk away from.
"Got it. I was at work, so if it happens again, I'll just drop being a part of the team. My mom depends on me to help with rent and put food on the table, but it's no big deal. Just surviving and shit." I shrugged and hated how quickly I'd resorted to talking to the coach like some punk-ass kid.
"Watch it, Phillips. Communicating more effectively would have saved me from getting angry at you and give you a chance to act like a man, instead of a kid. Get dressed and don't talk to me like that again. Period." He patted my chest and walked off.
"Right." I turned and picked up my bag before jogging to the locker room to change. I wasn't surprised to see Val in the stands with some of her friends when I walked back out.
She waved, and I returned the gesture, unwilling to be rude. I would let her down easy later that night, but for now, she could believe that everything was fine – that we were fine.
I had to concentrate to keep myself from grabbing my shit and going home. Nothing really mattered anymore now that someone had their hand clamped around my throat. It wasn't Val's fault, but I couldn't help but feel the same concern I had the first night we met.
The rich would always be in power. The rest of us would just limp along and hope that we stayed out of their way.
I wasn't sure if I was going to follow the rules this time or not. It seemed far too much was at stake no matter which choice I made.