Page 57 of Redemption
“Cool, man. Stay cool,” Campbell says just before Tanner bursts into the office.
“From now until I say otherwise, you have practice every Saturday bright and early.”
He narrows his eyes. “What if I don’t come?”
“I guess you’ll have to wait and see. Now get out of my office,” I say, not looking up at him. I’m barely holding on to my anger right now. I need to get out of here so I can take a deep breath and reset.
Tanner doesn’t say anything when he leaves, but I worry the window will shatter when he slams the door so hard it reverberates against the jam.
Campbell is still leaning against the back wall, and when I look up at him, he smiles. “Well, that was fun.”
“Yeah, Campbell, about as fun as pulling teeth.”
______________________
Hayes:Come outside.
MJ:Who dis?
Hayes:MJ, don’t pretend you haven’t had my number memorized since you were thirteen and stole it from your brother’s phone.
MJ:You can’t prove that.
Hayes:(eye roll) Just get out here.
MJ:You know they make an actual emoji for that, right? Like you don’t have to spell it out. Why are you so old?
Hayes:I’m a year older than you.
MJ:That may as well be the difference of a hundred years.
Hayes:Mallorie Jade
MJ:Oh look, the big scary police officer is using my real name. I’m shaking.
Hayes:I’m leaving.
MJ:No, wait—I’m coming.
The Harrisons’ front door opens, and MJ steps out into the night. The sight of her nearly steals my breath away. She looks like she was getting ready for bed with sleep shorts and a hoodie. A flash of what it would be like if we were married hits me right in the chest. My grip on the steering wheel tightens as I try to blink it away.
Her red hair falls around her shoulder, a beacon in the night.
A cold chill runs through my blood as I stare at her and wish not for the first time that things were different.
She pads towards my truck barefoot, and it reminds me of all the times she would run outside without her shoes, only to be yelled at by her mom when she came back in. MJ never could figure out how to be a lady, much to her mom’s dismay, but it never bothered me.
“It’s past my curfew. I’ll get in trouble for sneaking out,” she snickers as she opens her door and hops into my truck.
I roll my eyes. “You didn’t care about your curfew even when you did have one. Something tells me that hasn’t changed.
Her smile is filled with trouble, and it nearly makes me drunk.
“You’re right. It hasn’t. Why did you call me out here?”
The question sobers me.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said about Tanner.”
