Page 65 of The Slapshot and the Single Mom
She makes the sound again, and this time I recognize it as a sob. “This. Us. I don’t think I can keep dating. Between the court case and Brock—” The sound cuts off, and my adrenaline surges. I stand, though it’s not like I can do anything over the phone.
“Maggie? Are you there? What’s going on?” My heart’s pounding. “What did Brock do? What did he say?”
“Nothing. Never mind. Don’t worry about that. Just … thank you for this summer. It was the most fun I’ve had in longer than I can remember.” She’s full on sobbing now, the words hard to make out. “I’m sorry,” she says on a choked whisper. “I have to go.”
“Maggie? Maggie.” I keep the phone pressed to my ear, but then it beeps three times, letting me know the call has ended. “Fuck!” I shout, running a hand through my hair, catching on the hair tie holding it in a small ponytail at the back of my head. “Fuck!”
What’s going on? This can’t be it. Furious, I open my phone again, my thumb hovering over Max’s name, ready to call him and tell him that I’m going to sue Brock Savage after all. He did something to Maggie. I know it.
But what?
I can’t sue him until I know Maggie’s safe, though. Fuck it. Max isn’t my lawyer. It’s not like telling him will get the ball rolling today.
I hit his name, and when I get his voicemail, all I say is. “I’m suing.” He’ll know who I am and what I mean.
After I hang up, I yank on a shirt and stuff my feet into shoes. Before I do anything else, I need answers. And I need to tell Maggie to send Molly her resume. Even if she genuinely doesn’t want to date me anymore, at the very least I can do this one last thing for her. I’ll reassure her that I don’t often interact with the front office, and I’ll make sure to tell Molly that all communication should go between her and me and not Maggie and me—assuming she gets the job, of course. This whole time, my goal has been to make sure that Maggie gets what she needs. And I’m not stopping now just because she thinks she needs to break up with me.
Because I don’t believe she’s doing this because she genuinely doesn’t want to see me anymore. We talked just last night. We said I love you before hanging up. She said it first, even. That’s not the behavior of a woman who doesn’t care about me or want to see me anymore.
Something happened, and I need to find out what.
I pound on the door to Maggie’s apartment. “Maggie! Please come talk to me. I need to tell you something important, and then I promise I’ll leave you alone.”
I raise my hand to knock again, but the door opens. Only it isn’t Maggie standing there. It’s Liam.
He looks up at me, eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why are you here?”
Swallowing hard, I try my best to offer him a smile, though it’s difficult given the fact that I want to rip the door off its hinges and tear the place apart to get to Maggie. I know that won’t end well, though, so I stuff my shaking hands into my pockets and clear my throat. “I need to talk to your mom.”
He shakes his head slowly. “I’m not sure she wants to talk to you. She told me we wouldn’t be seeing you anymore. And even though she thought she was being quiet, I heard her on the phone telling you she can’t see you anymore.” His eyes narrow more, and he crosses his arms over his chest. “I know you were dating my mom.” He lifts his chin like he’s daring me to contradict him.
I rub the back of my neck, mind racing as I try to figure out the best way to respond to this. “Do you?”
He nods emphatically. “I saw the video of you kissing her on the cheek at the baseball game. And I saw you kiss at that barbecue you took me to.” He shrugs one shoulder. “Plus, my dad told me.” Shaking his head, he lets his arms drop. “I didn’t care. You seem nice. And you brought her to pick me up that one time so I wouldn’t be left waiting by myself at my dad’s house.”
My throat seizes at the forlorn quality in his voice as he says that. “Your mom didn’t want you to feel abandoned,” I tell him. “We were together, and it was important to her that she get to you as quickly as possible. I wanted to make that happen.”
His eyes narrow again. “Why?”
“Because your mom’s important to me. And you’re important to her. So making sure she can take care of you is also important to me.”
That seems to be the right answer because he finally relaxes out of the suspicious stare. “I dunno why she didn’t just tell me you were her boyfriend,” he grumbles. “I’m not a baby.”
Taking a deep breath, I rub the stubble on my face. “I think she wanted to be sure you felt okay about me as a person before telling you that. Not because she thinks you’re a baby, but to give you the space to decide what you think for yourself without being worried you’d upset her if you didn’t like me very much.”
He tilts his head to the side, thinking that over, then shrugs. “I dunno why she thought that would matter. You seem nice, though. You took us to the movies. And you drive a cool car.”
I can’t help grinning at that. “Thanks. I’m glad you think so.” But my smile falls when I glance at my phone and see that Liam and I have been talking for several minutes. It’s not like Maggie to let Liam answer the door and talk to some random person for this long. “Where’s your mom?”
Shifting on his feet, he pulls a guilty face. “She’s been crying in her bathroom for a while. When I asked her why, she just said she was sad. But it was after she said we wouldn’t be seeing you anymore.” He frowns, confusion pulling at his features. “I thought you must’ve said you didn’t want to see her anymore. But then why are you here?”
Swallowing hard, I shake my head. “Something happened, and I’m not sure what. I think it has to do with her job. Can you go get her for me? I just want to make sure she’s okay.”
The kid must be pretty concerned too because he doesn’t hesitate. “BRB.” And then he disappears, leaving the door cracked behind him.
I’m tempted to step inside, but I stop myself. I’ll save that for if she refuses to leave her bathroom.
Fortunately, I don’t have to wait long. Maggie steps outside sniffling and red eyed, but with her chin raised, her back against the door like she’s barricading her home with her body, her arms crossed, and a tissue clutched in her fist. “I think I was pretty clear on the phone.” Her voice is quiet but firm, no hint of shaking.
