Page 16 of Guarding Our Love
“Where have you been, Sloan?” Roy’s voice boomed as soon as I stepped foot into the house.
It wasn’t that late when I got home, but it was later than my usual time.
“Shh. Would you lower your voice?” I hissed through clenched teeth. I didn’t want the boys to hear us.
“Nah, fuck that. Where were you, Sloan?”
I scoffed because he had the nerve to have an attitude with me like he wasn’t out here living foul.
“No, Roy. The question is where have you been lately, and what type of shit have you been into?”
He stepped back and glared at me. He studied my face and body like he could figure out what I was talking about or where I’d been just by looking at me.
“Your kids and husband needed you.”
I laughed at his attempt at ignoring my question.
“Are the boys okay?”
Roy sucked his teeth. “Okay, Sloan. You want to play games, so we’ll play. I’m out of here.” He left out of the back door and slammed it in the process.
I shook my head and poured myself a glass of wine. I needed to get my attitude in check before I went upstairs to check on the boys.
After I chugged the wine, I turned off the kitchen light and went upstairs. Both boys were on the games with their headphones on, and I was thankful they didn’t hear anything.
Once I saw they were good, I went into my bathroom to shower. A nice hot shower would relax me enough to, hopefully, allow me to sleep. Roy had to come back home at some point, and we would talk.
I hadn’t beenable to get Sloan out of my head. The sadness in her eyes fucked with me the whole time we were together, and I tried to forget about it but couldn’t. I couldn’t be too sure, but I had a feeling it was her husband who caused her sadness. I was serious when I told her that I was coming hard behind her if I had the chance.
I still had to get to know her as an adult, but I wasn’t going to let her get away again. Things wouldn’t be easy since she was married and had kids, but I would show her I was good for her. My past might have said otherwise, and hell, even my life right now, but I knew I could change for the right woman. Sloan was that person. It was evident that not a lot about her had changed.
I wish we could have spent more time together, but her head wasn’t in it. I had an away game, so I went to the hospital to see my grandfather before I left. I hoped to run into Sloan as well. Hopefully, she will be in a better mood. I didn’t wish bad on her marriage, but at the same time, I wouldn’t be mad if she left him. If she did, I would be whatever she needed me to be.
I looked for Sloan as I walked to my grandfather’s room but didn’t see her. I could have asked one of the nurses but decided against it. I didn’t have too much time anyway. Once I saw my grandfather was okay, I would go home to get ready for the away game.
“Hey, Grandpop,” I greeted my grandfather when I walked into his room.
He sat up in bed, watching an old Western movie. I didn’t even know the hospital had that channel. If he wasn’t watching the news, he watched old westerns. I watched them with him sometimes, but I wasn’t that interested in them. I only watched because it gave us an opportunity to bond over something other than basketball.
“Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you had an away game.”
“I do, but I had to come lay eyes on you first.” I walked over to the chair near his bed and sat down.
I could tell my mother had been there because he had pajamas on, and there were fresh flowers on the bedside table. My mother always brought us flowers, even if we didn’t want them. It was her thing, so neither of us said anything. She came to my house once a week with new flowers. I couldn’t care less, but I wasn’t going to fight with her.
“Sure. As you can see, Sloan ain’t here. She did come by earlier, though.” He smirked.
“I wasn’t looking for her, but what did she say?”
Grandpop chuckled and lowered the volume on the television.
“She came to check on me and gave me some information about the agency she uses. She said they are working on two to three specific nurses for me.”
“That’s good. Has the doctor mentioned when you’ll be getting out of here?”
“Yeah, she said I can leave in a few days as long as everything is set up. She did mention something about going to rehab for a week or two, but it’s not definite.”
There was a knock at the door, and I got a little excited that it could be Sloan. When a nurse peeked in, I was disappointed.
