Page 1 of Knox
1
Knox
Crew,Grady, and I were sitting on the couch, watching TV together when I felt Crew’s phone vibrate against my side. He pulled it out, and I recognized Mallory’s mom’s name on the screen.
He pressed the green answer button and put the phone to his ear. “Hey, Mrs. Wade, wha?—”
His entire demeanor changed as he listened to whatever she was saying on the other end of the line. I watched as his body tensed, and the color drained from his face. He stood and I turned my head toward him.
“What is it?”
He didn’t answer me, just shook his head and said to Mallory’s mom, “I’m on my way.”
He stayed frozen in place after he hung up. In all of our time together, I’d never seen him so rattled. This was the guy who crouched behind the plate like a wall of steel, taking fastballs to the chest and foul tips to the mask without so much as a flinch. He called games with the kind of calm that settled an entireteam. But now, standing there with his hands clenched and his jaw tight, he looked like he couldn’t catch his breath, let alone a pitch.
“What’s going on?” I asked, my stomach tightening with dread.
“I ahh …” His eyes flicked toward Grady, who was still sitting on the couch engrossed inPaw Patrol. He swallowed hard. “Let’s talk in the bedroom.” He glanced at his son one more time before walking down the hall to the bedroom I’d been sleeping in every night since moving to Portland.
I followed, and the moment the door clicked shut, Crew turned toward me and exhaled slowly.
“Mallory was in a head-on collision. She’s in surgery right now.”
My breath caught. While Mallory and Crew had a long, complicated history, it hadn’t taken long after her reappearance in his life for us to become friendly. A wave of fear washed over me when I thought of her being seriously hurt—or worse—but I couldn’t let it show. I needed to stay strong for my boyfriend and his son. “Fuck. Do you know what sort of surgery?”
“I have no idea. Her mom didn’t have any details.” He ran a hand through his hair and tugged on it. “I need?—”
The words seemed to get stuck in his throat, and his eyes turned glassy. I reached for him and laced our fingers together. “Hey. Just breathe. Whatever you need. I’m here for you.”
“I have to go to the hospital and find out what’s going on. Debra’s flying out as soon as she can, but she wants me to go there now.”
“No worries. Go. I’ll handle things here.”
He gave me a wary look. “You’ve never watched Grady on your own before.”
I pulled Crew closer. “No, but I’ve spent a lot of time with the two of you. I think I can manage a couple of hours alonewith him. We’ll make dinner and watch a movie or something. If you’re not back before bedtime, I’ll tuck him in.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes, of course,” I said firmly. “Now go. Text or call me as soon as you know anything.”
He hesitated for a second, and I could see the worry and uncertainty written all over his face. I could only imagine that he was torn between dad duties and being there for the mother of his child. “Okay. I don’t even know what to tell him.”
“You don’t need to tell him anything right now. Just say you’re going to run an errand. We can worry about explaining things later when we know more.”
He nodded. “You’re right. I love you.”
I leaned forward and kissed him. “Love you too.”
We walked back to the living room, where he perched on the edge of the couch next to Grady. “Hey buddy, I’ve got to go run an errand, so Knox is going to hang out with you. Can you promise to be good for him?”
Grady shrugged but kept watching the dog cartoon. “Sure.”
Crew gave him a hug, then stood and grabbed his wallet and keys from the table in the entryway before kissing me goodbye and rushing out the door.
I took a seat next to Grady and checked the time on my phone. “Looks like it’s just about time for dinner. You hungry?”
That question caught his attention, and he sat up. “Yeah. Can we have dinosaur nuggets and tater tots?”
