Page 108 of The Game Plan
I type and delete three different sentences before I finally hit the call button. He answers on the third ring.
“Sup, G? Everything good?”
I step outside, closing the front door quietly behind me. “Nah, man. Everything’s fucked.”
I explain everything to him in detail. From rage to fear and anxiety. To finding her crying on the bathroom floor and turning into a shell of my wife. How I found her looking for houses and apartments.
“Fuck.” Q exhales a heavy breath, and I can picture him scrubbing a hand down his face. “B and I will be out tomorrow instead of Friday.”
“You don’t have—”
“Fuck off,” he interrupts. “You’re my best friend, and your family is our family. We’ll be there. Don’t do anything stupid in the meantime.”
His words do little to calm me, but I appreciate their willingness to help.
I only hope it isn’t too late.
The soft cries of my daughter wake me from where I’ve fallen asleep on the couch. I sit and crack my neck before pushing up. A blanket falls to the floor, and I walk on autopilot to the kitchen to make a bottle. Twisting the knob, I step into her nursery as her cries are rising.
“Hey, Lemon,” I whisper, lifting her from her bassinet. “You hungry, baby girl?”
She settles into my arm as I sit in the glider. It’s time for our nightly visit. With her in one arm, bottle in the other, Lennon seeks out the nipple before latching. Her tiny fists try to grip the bottle as bright blue eyes stare at me.
“Ahh, someone’s wide awake,” I say. “You know, your mom was a total wild child in college.”
She sucks lazily, and I swear she’s listening, focused intently on my voice.
“She’d probably kill me for telling you this, but we can keep a secret.” I wink. “Your mom is smart as hell and spent a lot of free time in the library, but damn, could she have a good time. One night, we were walking home from the Eagles Nest, our favorite college bar. Your mom had lost a bet over a game of flip cup. Instead of backing out like a sane person would do, she stripped down to her bra and underwear, keeping her boots on as she sprinted down the sidewalk, yelling, ‘God bless Texas.’ I had to throw her over my shoulder and carry her off the main sidewalk before she was arrested.”
I pause, chuckling at the memory. “Don’t get any ideas, though. You can have your fun; lord knows your mom and I have, and I’ll try to be the cool dad, but please don’t be as wild as your mom and your Aunt Brynn. Bad hearts run in my family.”
A soft shuffle at the doorway pulls my attention. Looking up, I spot her. She’s leaning against the doorway, a long tee hanging at her thighs, showing off her sexy-as-fuck legs, her arms crossed, and her eyebrow quirked.
Busted.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
She shakes her head. “You didn’t. I rolled over and heard you chuckling.”
She slowly walks toward us before leaning down and pressing a kiss to Lennon’s forehead. “I love the sound of your laugh.”
My chest warms. Maybe there’s still hope for us.
Sav kneels beside the glider, her head resting against my thigh as I rock and burp Lennon. Nothing else is said between us. We sit in silence, and Lennon lets out a big burp. I start humming another John Lennon song I learned and the three of us rock to the tune.
I don’t know how to fix this, fix us.
What if loving her isn’t enough to make her stay?
Will I ever recover if I lose them both?
Soft snores fill the silence, and I run my thumb across her cheek.
“Please don’t leave me.” My words are whispered in the darkness. I hold my girls tight and pray this isn’t the last time.
Aknock on our door startles me from my mindless wandering as I stare at two loads of laundry that desperately need to be folded. Standing, I glance at the clock and see it’s a little after ten. Lennon went down for her morning nap, and I took a few minutes to get myself ready—some light makeup, a few curls, and a new ripped lounge set. I pull down the top, which falls mid-thigh, with side slits that sway when I move, and tug down the biker shorts peeking out from underneath.
With one hand on the knob, I stare through the peephole and spot a very familiar face.
