Page 53 of Foul Line

That’s something alright.

Leslie’s beaming. I take a sip of my water as casually as can be and match my dad stare for stare. “We actually already bought a place.”

My stomach sinks even further.

“Wow,” Ryan says again. It’s the only word he knows right now. He glances over at me. I cross my arms over my lap, digging my nails into my skin to keep from overtly reacting. If they stayed together any longer, I knew something like this was going to happen, but there’s something to be said for knowing something is going to happen and actually having to live through that something happening.

Dad nods. “You actually know the place, Tessa.”

I clear my throat. “Oh yeah?” The sound I make sounds so fake to me.

“It’s just a couple blocks away from our—your mom’s house. The place the Harris’s used to live.”

I blink at him. They’re buying a house near mine? Let’s face it, he’s buying another house near our old house. There’s no way Leslie could afford anything like that on her own.

“I wanted to get a place near you,” he says, clearly proud of himself.

“That’s great, Dad,” I say through a forced smile.

“It’s got a pool, Ry,” Leslie says, smiling at her son with glassy eyes. It almost makes me feel bad for not being happy about all this. Clearly, this is a big deal for the Linc’s.

“Awesome,” Ryan says.

Dad and Leslie look at one another. I can tell we’re not giving them the reactions they wanted, but come on, it hasn’t been that long since they’ve been in high school. They’re blending two families with same aged kids. What the hell did they think was going to happen? That we’d all hug and kiss, skip from the table holding hands?

I peek at Ryan. I want to kiss Ryan, but not in the brotherly way. Far, far from it. Maybe that’s why this seems so much worse than it should.

Leslie takes a deep breath. Her gaze switches from Ryan to me. “I know everything hasn’t been perfect, but this is what Tim and I want. And, I want you to know, Tessa, that I don’t blame your mother at all for kissing your father the other day.”

My jaw clenches. The nerve of her. “Well, that’s good,” I say, my voice high. I definitely don’t even sound like myself anymore. Electricity shoots up my veins. I try to tell myself to let it drop, but I just can’t. Not anymore. “I guess I don’t blame you, either. You know, for kissing my dad before my parents were even divorced.”

“Quintessa,” my dad snaps.

I turn my glare on him. “Or for moving in before you’re even divorced, too.”

“Your mother and I are working on it. Not that it’s any of your business.”

“And like I told you yesterday, you keep bringing me into your business. You want me to be happy about this? You tell us at dinner like it’s some sort of special occasion? Come on,” I plead. I can’t be the only one who’s thinking this. Or maybe I’m just the only one that’s not a hundred percent behind their pairing.

Leslie’s face is beet red. She’s looking into her lap. My dad puts his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. “You, young lady,” my dad starts.

“Tessa’s right,” Ryan says.

All eyes move to him. He looks at me. My brows are in my hairline. I didn’t expect him to agree with me at all. Especially since I just insinuated his mother’s a whore. I didn’t quite mean it like that, but they really shouldn’t be expecting me to be happy about all this so soon.

“I think you guys forget what all this means for her.”

His mom’s eyes are pleading. “Ryan, we’re not forgetting. I feel for Tessa. I do.”

He shakes his head. “Obviously it’s not coming across that way. I’ve never known Tessa to be mean-spirited, but yet, this is driving her to be.”

Holy shit. Ryan fucking Linc just stood up for me.

My dad leans back in his chair. His gaze darts from Ryan to me. Leslie sits forward, her forearms resting on the ivory tablecloth. “Okay,” she says, nodding her head. “What do you two want us to do then? You don’t want us to live together? You don’t want us to be together? What?”

Ryan looks over at me. His gray eyes dull. I can tell he wants me to take this question. I run my hands down my face. “I don’t care if you’re together. I don’t even care that you’re moving in together. I understand that my parents aren’t going to be together anymore. All I ask is that you please, please, don’t try to make me feel like I should be excited about something that I don’t even know how to process yet. I’m glad you’re happy. I’m glad my dad’s happy. That’s all you’re going to get out of me though.”

“And what you said about Mrs. Dale was insensitive, Mom.”

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