Sucker Punch (TKO 4)

“Why were you afraid?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because I saw you ripping that guy a new asshole and I wasn’t sure you’d remember me.”

I laugh a little before replying. “That was an old issue from my past I had to handle. Nothing to worry about.” I don’t dare mention any details. I need to keep my personal life private for right now. Protecting Darla is all I care about.

“This is all new to me. Well, since the accident it is. I wasn’t this quiet kind of guy before.”

“Well, it’s okay.” I yawn. “Things like that make people change. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I can let you go if you want to get some rest,” he offers. I hate to take him up on that offer but I’m actually really tired. This is the first night in a long time I won’t have Darla coming to crawl in the bed with me in the middle of the night.

“I’m sorry, I feel bad,” I tell him.

“Don’t be. I’ll talk to you later?”

“Sounds great. Goodnight.” I yawn one more time.

“Goodnight, Paige,” he says before the phone call ends.

I set the phone back on my nightstand and keep this goofy grin on my face until I close my eyes and finally succumb to sleep.

***

My phone ringing wakes me up in the morning. I’m dead tired and can’t imagine who the hell would be calling at—what time is it anyway? I glance at my alarm clock and see it’s only seven in the morning. What in the hell? I grab my phone and glare when I see it’s Brendan. Why is he calling me?

“Hello?” I answer groggily.

“Have you simmered down from last night?” he asks.

“What do you want, Brendan? I thought I made myself clear.”

“Maybe you think you made yourself clear, but I’m making myself clear. Don’t ever approach me like that again in publi

c. I don’t know who you think you are–“

I’m wide awake now and livid as hell. “Oh, I know who the hell I am. I’m the mother of your four-year-old daughter you don’t support!”

“I never wanted kids, Paige. I bet she’s great and all but I want no part in it. You knew my stand on children when we were together.”

“Then maybe you should have worn a fucking condom!” I yell at him. “What the hell did you call me for again?”

“You have anger issues.” He laughs.

“And you’re a deadbeat dad. You don’t have to see her, but all I was trying to say last night was if you’re going to blow your money at the bar, you could at least financially support her.”

“All I’m saying is, don’t approach me like that again. You live your life and I’ll live mine. If you see me, just act like you don’t know me.”

“Fuck you, Brendan. You want to disappear so bad, lose my number. I’ve done fine without you for the last four years.”

He starts to argue more with me but I end the call and turn my phone off. I’m so pissed I begin crying. I can’t believe the nerve of him. The things he just said were so damn wrong. To him, she doesn’t exist at all. He doesn’t even know her to say he doesn’t want her. Darla doesn’t deserve this.

I try to close my eyes again and go back to sleep but I can’t. I get up and slowly start moving around. All I wanted to do was sleep late on my day off and now I can’t even do that. Brendan just seems to fuck up so many things in my life.

I have a few hours before I have to go pick up Darla, so I make a pot of coffee and turn the TV on. Nothing is on this early on a Saturday morning but infomercials and cartoons.

I find myself thinking about Austin, wondering just what he was like before the accident. I wonder if I would ever have run into him at the bar if I’d never met him in the hospital. Who knows? But I bet he isn’t anywhere near the asshole Brendan is. I sigh and stare numbly at the TV as I count down the hours until I pick up my baby girl.

Chapter 6