Page 205 of The Champion
While I was in Talladega, Sway was in Knoxville with Axeland Casten. Arie was with Emma and Lexi at home.
“What’s up honey?” We just got off the phone with eachother so I was surprised she called again so soon since I was on my way toKnoxville to see them.
“I need you to go home instead.” She told me.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“Arie...” shesighed. “Emma called. Arie locked herself in the bathroom. She’s been cryingfor the last four hours.”
Sway and I never smothered our kids. If they wanted totalk about something, they came to us. This had its downsides. Arie was thedownside.
Axel was our levelheaded kid, patient and thought thingsthrough,mostof the time. Casten was out of fucking control most of thetime but he was a good kid and happy so that’s all we could ask for. I didwonder where he got all his energy at times but then I looked at Emma andSpencer and chalked it up to something he may have inherited from them.
Arie, well she was secretive. If she wanted you to know,she’d tell you. If not, you’d never know.
This is why we weren’t aware she even had a boyfriend.
I did not like the idea of her having a boyfriend for thesimple fact that I was a teenage boy once and all I thought about was my dick,aside from racing naturally. I wondered how the hell my parents put up with me,Spencer and Emma as kids. Now I knew that they just went with hoping to comeout alive by the time we all turned eighteen.
So I went home instead of to Knoxville to deal with Arieand this mysterious boyfriend.
When I walked inside, Emma was on my couch eating icecream.
“She’s in her bathroom.”
I slapped the back of her head when I walked past. “Thatshit will make you fat.”
“Fuck off asshole.” She mumbled with another spoonful ofice cream.
Making my way up the stairs to her room, I could hear hercrying from outside the door.
“Arie,” I tapped lightly. “Sweetie it’s dad.”
“Go away!”
“Nah, I think I need to come in there.”
It took me about an hour to get her to finally open thedoor. When she did, she was sitting on the floor next to the tub with thesleeves of her sweatshirt drawn over her hands, her face against her arms withher knees pulled up to her chest, crying.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
She didn’t say anything before she showed me her cellphone with a picture of the said boyfriend, kissing Shaylee, the same girl thatAxel knew.
Sighing, I sat down next to her. “Who’s the guy?”
“Ricky Hagen.” She answered softly, her tears coming onceagain. “I thought he...after we...well now apparently that meant nothing.”
Her phone I was holding cracked under my hands.Thatmotherfucker.
“Dad, you broke my phone!” she ripped it from my handsonly to have it fall apart.
I tried to remain calm and collected and not like Iwanted to find this asshole kid and show him just how scary Jameson Riley couldbe. Stupid little shit.
Arie moved closer to me, her head resting on my shoulder.“I’m sorry dad.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong Arie. He did. He’s clearlyan asshole and you can do better than that.”
“Why do all the guys go for the sluts?”
