Sucker Punch (TKO #4) (11 page)

Chapter 20

Austin

I was a little concerned after I dropped Paige off at her apartment. I don’t know that I like the idea of an ex just popping up like that. He didn’t seem too friendly either. I can at least rest my mind and know nothing is going on between the two of them but I can’t help but wonder what the true history is. Has he physically or mentally hurt her before? If he has, I’m not sure I want to know because I won’t be able to keep my cool. I find myself growing protective over Paige and no one poses a threat to people I care about.

I pull into my typical spot at Lou’s and walk in to find the guys talking in the office. Lance is still fuming over his loss from the night before. It’s weird to see him like this. He’s not the typical happy-go-lucky guy I met.

“Hey guys,” I greet them.

“Hey, Austin,” Garrett and Howard reply almost at the same time. Lance just gives me a nod.

“We’re just going over the fights from last night real quick,” Howard informs me. There’s an empty chair in the corner so I go and sit down while they finish talking.

I almost put my two cents in, but I stay quiet and listen to Lance as he continues to beat himself up, over and over again, for not being more prepared. I still can’t figure out for the life of me how he even lost, because I watched the entire damn fight and there was not a single thing he did wrong.

Lance finally sighs and shakes his head. “I’m over it. I lost and that’s that. I’m ready to get happy again. Someone put some Taylor Swift on.”

“No!” Garrett, Howard, and I yell in unison.

Lance just starts laughing and he’s back to himself. “Let’s just get to work since you’re all a bunch of haters.”

Standing to my feet, I follow Lance out onto the mats. “I thought you did damn good last night, man,” I tell him.

“I did too. It just wasn’t my fight, I guess. I used to go out and get plastered after I’d lose, but going home with Hilary was all I needed. Her, Laney, and Tyler are my world now.”

“You’re growing up.” I grin at him.

“I’m trying. I have to remember I have responsibilities now. Those three depend on me and I’ll never let them down. How was your night with your nurse lady?”

“Paige,” I tell him. “And it was good. She stayed the night with me.” I grin, remembering just how it felt to be inside of her.

“Hell yeah.” He high-fives me.

“I had to bring her back this morning for work. An ex of hers was at her apartment waiting.”

“Inside?” Lance asks incredulously.

“No. He seemed like a fucking asshole.” I grimace just thinking about the encounter from this morning. That guy has some nerve.

“Damn. Think maybe he felt threatened you were dropping her off?” Lance asks me.

I shake my head. “No. He just looked like he constantly carries a stick up his ass.”

“Did he say why he was there?”

“He was saying something when I got out of the truck. Asked her if I knew about something, but she told him to get the hell out of there.”

“Did you ask her about whatever it was?”

“No, she just said he was nothing to worry about,” I tell him.

Lance raises his eyebrow but says nothing more. I want to ask him what he’s thinking. He’s like a brother to me, so his opinion matters, but I stay quiet. Part of me is scared he’ll say something I don’t want to hear.

Now my brain is all over the place. I’m not sure what to think, but I don’t want to press anything with Paige. I like her, the last thing I want to do is drive her away from me. My hand brushes my pocket and I can feel my phone bulging through. I walk away from Lance and go put it in my locker. Out of habit, I check it to see if she’s said anything but there’s only a weather notification. Sighing, I set the phone down, grab my glove and shut the door. Maybe once I’m done for the day there will be a message from her.

***

I walk into the apartment to find Ruston and Tamilyn making hamburgers and homemade fries. My stomach begins growling instantly.

“Hey Austin, you gonna hang around for dinner?” Ruston asks me as he grabs two bottles of beer from the refrigerator.

“Yeah, I have no plans,” I reply. He hands one of the bottles to me after opening it. I appreciate that small gesture.

Tamilyn walks away from peeling the potatoes and gives me a hug. “It’s good to see you, Austin.”

I grin and take a sip of my beer. “It’s good to see you too.”

“How’s the gym going?” Ruston asks. I think deep down he regrets quitting like he did, but he was right. He’d probably never have fought anyway. That’s not him.

“It’s good. There was a fight last night I went to watch,” I tell him.

“I noticed there was a, uh, piece of clothing in the washing machine this morning,” Ruston whispers.

My eyes widen and I know immediately what he’s talking about. Paige’s panties got mixed up with my clothes. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”

“What do you have to be sorry about? You weren’t in my bed, were you?” He laughs before suddenly turning serious.

“That’s a big no.” I chuckle.

“Rus, will you please fry these fries? I don’t like frying in grease,” Tamilyn calls out.

“Of course I will, Tammy Lou.” He walks over and kisses her. For a second, I wonder what Paige is doing. I realize I still haven’t heard from her.

“Hey Rus, you think it’d be okay if I invited Paige over?” I ask, not wanting to just do as I please. I may live here but it’s really his apartment.

“Yes!” Tamilyn claps her hands. She’s looking a little too excited about this and I just laugh it off. I wait for Ruston to nod and when he does, I pull my phone out of my pocket.

Austin: I’ve missed you today.

A few minutes pass before she replies.

Paige: I missed you too. Work was insanely busy.

Austin: I’m sorry. What are you doing tonight?

Paige: A little laundry, then probably going to bed.

Austin: Oh, I was going to see if you wanted to come over.

Paige: I wish I could. I’m sorry.

Austin: Get some rest, I’ll talk to you later.

I don’t wait for a response. It’ll probably say nothing more than “okay” anyway. I toss my phone onto the counter and look up to see Ruston and Tamilyn both staring anxiously at me.

“She’s not coming,” I tell them. “She’s got to work in the morning.”

Tamilyn scrunches her nose. “Well, that stinks.”

“It’s okay. I’m hanging with y’all, so it’s all good.” I grin as I drink my beer. I’m so glad things are good between all of us now.

Chapter 21

Paige

I hate hiding my secret from Austin. I hate he doesn’t know about Darla. If he did, then maybe I could have gone over tonight, but I really do need to finish this laundry. I never let it back up this bad. At the rate I’m going, I’ll be up all night.

Darla just finally fell asleep. I missed her so much. I let her stay up a little later than normal so we could watch some cartoons and snuggle together.

While I wait for the next load in the washer to finish, I grab my phone and begin searching lawyers. Brendan has his lawyer, I need to get mine. I don’t care what it costs. I’ll use all my savings if I have to.

I go and grab a notebook and a pen so I can jot the numbers down. I’ll call around tomorrow on my lunch break and see about one of these. I can’t wait to get this taken care of. Once he signs his rights over, he’ll be out of our lives for good. It’s his choice. A shitty choice, but it’s all his. I would have never voluntarily asked him to do this.

The washing machine finally comes to a stop. I set my phone down on top of the notebook and go put the clothes in the dryer. There’s one last load to wash, so I get it going. I wonder if Austin is still up. I almost text him but I decide not to push it.

My scrubs for tomorrow are already cleaned and hanging in my closet, so I go sit on the couch until this last load is done washing. Somewhere in between my thoughts, I fall asleep.

I sit up abruptly in the middle of the night. I grab my phone and see it’s a little after two in the morning. Shit. Groggily, I pull myself off the couch and head for the dryer. I have to get that last load out of the washing machine. Once I start the dryer, I head towards my bedroom and plug my phone into the charger. I notice a message from Austin and I smile.

Austin: Hope you sleep well tonight, beautiful.

I climb underneath my comforter and stare at his words until my eyes begin to grow heavy again. He sure knows how to make me happy.

***

After a few cups of coffee, my morning has managed to drag by slowly. I’m exhausted but I have to get through this day. When it’s finally time for lunch, I head straight to my locker and grab the piece of paper out of my purse. I glance at the few numbers I wrote down last night and decide to call the first one on the list.

By the time I hang up the phone, I’m near hyperventilating. I was pretty much told just because Brendan is agreeing to give up his rights, doesn’t mean the judge will okay it. So between the two of us, we may end up shelling out a ton of money just to be told no. I guess after work I’ll have to talk with Brendan and hope we can just reach some sort of mutual common ground.

I sigh and toss my phone back into my locker. I’m not even hungry after that conversation. I had planned to get something out of the vending machine but not anymore. I’m sure I’ll regret this decision in an hour or two when my stomach really starts growling.

Nora comes into the break room as I’m walking out. She raises her eyebrow at me and I let out a long sigh. Quickly I fill her in on everything I was just told. She gasps and shakes her head, telling me how sorry she is. All I can do is shrug my shoulders. This is life.

***

After a long shift, I walk to the break room to grab my purse and phone. There’s a text from Austin but I don’t open it right away. I have more pressing matters I need to take care of first. I call my mom and fill her in on everything and ask if she can keep Darla a little longer. I’d like to talk to Brendan and try to sort this out like adults if he’ll let that happen. She agrees, thankfully.

When I would normally just text Brendan, I dial his number. This conversation needs to be heard, not read.

The phone rings for a second before he answers. “Hello?”

“Hey, Brendan, um, can we maybe meet up to talk?” I ask him, trying to hide my nerves.

“About?”

“This signing away of your rights.” I unlock my car and sit down.

“What about it?” Brendan asks. My gosh, he’s making this more difficult than it needs to be.

“Are you busy or something? I understand if you are. I know this is short notice but I just got off of work and I was hoping we could meet up and talk in person.”

“I’m not busy, Paige. I was just wondering what it was. Where do you want to meet? Do you have her with you?” It breaks my heart that he won’t say her name.

“No, she’s with my parents. Can you meet me at my apartment?” I should push for somewhere more public, but I know he’s not going to try anything with me so I feel safe.

“Yeah, I’ll head over there,” he agrees. I’m wondering if he hit his head on something. He’s never this nice to me.

I end the call and drive home. I pull up and sit in my car until Brendan pulls up beside me. He looks a little nervous. He’s got his baseball hat on like usual and he lets out a sigh. I get out of the car and give him a smile as I go unlock my door. He walks in and closes the door behind him.

“Want something to drink?” I offer politely.

“No thanks. So what do you need to talk about? I told you I have a lawyer ready.” He runs his hand over his hair.

“Yeah, I know. I called a lawyer today for myself and I was told even though you’re willing to give up your rights, a judge could still say no. We’d be shelling out a small fortune for our lawyers just to be in the same spot we’re in now.” He nods in understanding. “What I wanted to talk to you about was maybe just keeping things how they are now. I won’t ask you for anything when it comes to Darla.”

He raises his eyebrow and I’m waiting for him to argue with me. “I know I’ve been an asshole about all of this. I can’t help it, Paige.” I grab hold of the counter to steady myself. My nerves are waiting for this to all head south. “I knew I’d never be a good father. My dad was shitty, still is. Why would I want kids to bring around that? I’m sure she’s a great kid. I know you’re doing a good job with her. If what you’re saying is true, then I’ll do this one thing for you. I know I haven’t made the last few years easy.”

“No, you haven’t,” I agree.

“I’ll drop my lawyer then. I’ll just stay away,” Brendan tells me.

“Really?” I ask, almost puzzled. I was getting all worked up waiting for him to show his colors but he’s proven me wrong. I was ready for a fight but there isn’t going to be one.

“Yeah, Paige, really. I’m about to move anyway. I took a job in Mississippi and I’m leaving in a few weeks,” he informs me.

“Oh. Well, good luck over there.”

“Thanks. I just found out about an hour ago I got the job. If that’s all you wanted to talk about, I’m going to head back home.”

He’s being too nice; it’s kinda creeping me out. He walks towards the door and I follow him. I have to go get Darla. “Thank you, Brendan,” I tell him as I open my car door.

“You’re welcome. You know, I did love you, Paige. Maybe I should have made better decisions when we were sleeping together. See, I can take responsibility for my actions.”

He’s being the Brendan I loved before I got pregnant. Why couldn’t he have stayed this way? I wipe away a tear before it can fall, praying he doesn’t notice.

He notices, because he wraps his arms around me. “Don’t cry, Paige. I’m sorry for the last four years and what I put you through. I have to live with that for the rest of my life.”

“It’s not too late to get to know her,” I whisper, knowing I probably shouldn’t say that.

“I know, but I’m leaving, Paige. Why start something that’s only going to be short lived?” He continues to shock me when he kisses the top of my head. I look up at him, my vision blurry from the tears.

“I miss this side of you,” I tell him.

“I know. I’ll always regret how I treated you.” His lips move towards mine but I don’t budge. I let him softly kiss my lips and when he backs away, his smile is sad. “Has Darla asked about me?”

This is the first time he’s ever really said her name. The shock continues to hit me. “She asked not long ago. I was nervous about what exactly to say to her.”

“Did you tell her I loved her even though I never met her? Tell her the truth. I can’t be mad at you for that,” he tells me as he releases me from his arms.

I watch as he walks towards his vehicle and gets in. The tears stream down my cheeks as I get into my car and start it. I’m so baffled by today. I’m not sure what to even think anymore. But one thing’s for sure—Brendan’s about to be gone for good and I’ll never see him again.