The Guy on the Left (The Underdogs 2) - Page 143
“Here,” He pulls a folded piece of paper from the mesh of his duffle and hands it to me.
“What’s this?”
I scan the paper. It’s a lab report with his name on the top. Results from a drug test at Combine the day after Dante found the syringe. Negative for all substances. “It’s your fucking proof.”
“Troy, I believed you—”
“No, you didn’t, and you’ll never fully trust me. Not the way I need you to.”
He walks over to where I stand and places his key in my palm. “In your eyes, I’ll always be the teenager who lied and got you pregnant, not the man you rely on.”
I feel myself rip in half as I search his eyes. “Troy, this has gotten way out of hand.”
He steps back. “I agree.”
I take one forward, and he shakes his head. “Don’t.”
“Don’t?” I swallow. “Don’t now or don’t ever? What are you saying?”
The decision in his eyes terrifies me. “I’m saying this isn’t going to work out.” He retrieves his duffle and shakes his head. “I’m saying it’s over.”
“Troy,” I cry as he opens the door and turns back, eyes watering, his resignation clear.
“You don’t mean it. You’re angry with me. Don’t do this. We’ve overcome so much to be together. I was upset. I had a right to be, but I was always planning on talking to you, hashing it out with you. I just had to calm down, get my bearings. Dante—”
“Yes, let’s talk about Dante. It’s been seven fucking months. Do you ever plan on telling him I’m his father?”
“Of course, I was just waiting—”
“For what? What in the hell are you waiting for?”
“For us to—”
“There is no us. Not anymore and not without him, so you better keep that shit in mind.”
Reeling, I feel my hackles rise. “What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means don’t even dream of keeping me from my son because of this.”
“Troy, I would never—”
“Oh, but you have, haven’t you?”
I have no defense. None.
“Just a heads up, those checks you cashed are a paper trail, proof of child support.”
“What?” I place my hand on my stomach, feeling kicked as bile climbs my throat.
“I don’t want things to get ugly, but Dante is all that’s between us now, and I refuse to let you hold that over my head anymore.”
I begin to shake uncontrollably. “Y-you d-don’t mean that.”
“Do yourself a favor and play fair, and I will too. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Blistering pain rolls through me as I try and grasp the events of the last few minutes. I’m face to face with Troy’s Gemini, and the hardest part is that I know I’m the one who is responsible for bringing it out of him.
“You would try and take him from me?”
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