Anotherdeflating exhale escaped my tired lungs as I slumped into my seat.Whorewas such a harsh word, and the guilt of having accused my sister of being one myselfswept over me. Memories of the night she announced her pregnancy plundered mymind with the terrible things that were said. The knee-jerk reactions that camein the form of hurtful insults.
“Greyson…” Volume couldn’t reach my voice past the lump of foreboding emotion. “I hopeyou know that’s not true.”
“Yeah,well,” he sucked in his emotion, replacing his tears with a face of stone, “shewas fucking his dad that night, so I guess he would know better than me.”
Icouldn’t help my gasp. I knew Sam had been out with a guy that night, andthanks to the toxicology report, I knew she’d been drinking with him. What Ididn’t know was that she’d been with the father of a kid from Greyson’s school,and I twisted my lips with a quick snap of anger. My sister had gotten around, Godknows, but she’d always seemed to keep her impulses in check around the schoolparents.
Liftinga hand to my mouth and clutching my lips in its grasp, I stared out the windowtoward nothing at all, still gripping the in-school suspension notice in myhand.
“We’vehad one hell of a year, Grey,” I found myself saying, disbelief shaking myhead.
“Yeah,no shit,” he mumbled, dropping his gaze to the twisting fingers on his lap.
“Iwish I could tell you it was going to get better,” I replied ruefully. “But Ihave to tell you something.”
Greysonturned to me with the pain of someone beyond his years. “What?”
Ireached out with a trembling hand and brushed a spray of blonde from hisforehead. I made an attempt at a brave smile only to grimace in anticipation ofan outburst that would likely send our world into yet another crisis, and Iwhispered, “I found your dad.”
8
sebastian
Tabby had plannedto meet me at Poco Bella, theItalian restaurant in town. It was positioned only a few storefronts down fromher office, and as I walked from where I’d parked the truck, I noticed thedarkened windows of TC Real Estate. I wondered what she and Greyson were doingto occupy themselves in the stretch of time between school and meeting me atthe restaurant. I wondered where they lived, what their house looked like, and whatit must be like to have someone to come home to.
Openingthe restaurant door, I was struck immediately with the collision of garlic andtomato sauce. A low, grumbled complaint came from my stomach as I gave thehostess my name and the size of my party, and took a quick glance at the bar. Itwas tempting to spend the wait filling my gut with liquid bravery. But,remembering Tabby and her close-mindedness, I thought better of it. Last thingI needed was for her to accuse me of being a drunk.
So,instead I sat down in the restaurant’s dimly lit waiting area, tapping myfingers to an ironic cover of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” played only with anacoustic guitar. I glanced at my watch three times in a thirty second span,bouncing my knee and wondering if I should’ve brought something for the kid. Agift, a peace offering, a bribe.Something.
Irealized I was nervous. When the hell was the last time I’d honestly beennervous about anything? Sure, I used to be, back in the beginning of my musiccareer. I would look out into the crowd from backstage and want to puke onwhoever or whatever was closest to me. It was stage fright at its finest, butafter performing a few hundred times, I had worked my way through it until itwas now second nature.
Hell,even the brief situation with Sam hadn’t made me nervous. Panicked? Yes. Sad?Yes. Heartbroken? It was the only time I ever was. Butnervous? Nah. Noreason to be. What was done was done.
Butmeeting this kid … I was nervous about that. What if he hated me? I know Tabbysaid he admired me, and that I was the reason he took drum lessons. But, likingsomeone as a hero and as a person, are two completely different animals.
“Sebastian?”I looked up to find the hostess clutching three menus under one arm andsweeping the other toward the dining area. “Your table is ready.”
“Awesome,”I replied with a cheerful façade, standing up on jelly legs and following her throughthe open doorway.
Threeplace settings were presented to me at a round table and my heart sped up to acanter. No matter where I sat, I’d be next to both of them. Outnumbered. Tag-teamed.
“Iseverything okay?”
Iglanced beside me at the young brunette, her big blue eyes fixated intently onmy face. She was cute, most likely legal, and if I wasn’t focused so hard onholding the coffee I’d consumed earlier in my stomach, I probably would’ve hiton her. A little innocent flirting would’ve done me some good. Just to givemyself a distraction. But God, that vanilla cold brew just wouldn’t stopthreatening.
“Yeah,everything’s great.” I grinned confidently, pulling out a chair and sittingmyself down. “Could I maybe get some water?”
“Ofcourse,” she replied with her own smile and a bow of her head as she doled outthe menus. “I’ll send your waitress over right away.”
“Perfect.”I opened the menu with a grateful smile in her direction before turning my gazeto the items listed in scrawling cursive.Fancy. I guess Hog Hill neededits upscale joint to play contrast to Billy’s Beef & Buns. Billy’s wasprobably more my speed, to be honest. But I had let Tabby pick, and this placeseemed right up her high-brow alley.
Aftersettling on the filet mignon, I puffed out a sigh, and checked my watch for thesixth time since I’d arrived. Tabby said five and it was now a quarter after.The woman didn’t seem like the type to sleep in, let alone miss an appointment,even if it was with a long-haired hoodlum like me. I questioned if I shouldcall her and make sure we were still on, when the door to the restaurant openedsome feet behind me.
Mysense of hearing was acute, listening intently to the shuffling of feet and thehostess asking how many were in their party.
“We’remeeting someone,” I heard Tabby say, and that was my cue.
Witha tightly knotted bundle of nerves clawing at the walls of my gut, I pushed outmy chair and stood from the table. I might’ve been a dick, but I wasn’t withoutmanners, and I turned to face the door.
