He fished in his wallet for a handful of bills for the coffee and threw them down on the table.
“I’m out,” he said.
“Ryan!” I called after him, but he walked away without looking back.
“Damn it,” I said. “What the fuck, Mom?”
“What?” Mom said, eyes wide.
“You couldn’t just let us have one lunch where you didn’t fuck it all up.”
“Mind your language,” Mom snapped.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You know what? I’m done with you. I’ve gone out of my way to help you when you didn’t deserve it. Not after what you did. Ryan was right; you ripped us apart.”
“Don’t say that,” Mom said softly. She glanced around to see who was looking. No one outright stared at us, but they were all listening.
I didn’t care. Mom did.
“It took a lot for Ryan to come here today. And instead of playing nice, so you could have your son back, you lost your daughter too.”
I stood, the same way Ryan had.
“You can’t leave,” Mom said. “We haven’t had lunch yet.”
I took some cash out of my wallet too. Mom wouldn’t have been able to pay for the food. I’d planned to cover it. The money would cover the coffee, and Mom could buy her own food.
Or not.
I didn’t care.
I left the café, feeling like I’d been hit by a train. I found my phone in my handbag and dialed Parker’s number.
He didn’t answer.
“Please, answer, answer," I muttered.
Nothing.
I typed a text instead.
Ryan knows. Mom ratted me out. I’m on my way.
I sent the text while walking to my car, then got behind the wheel.
What a day.
What a fucking day.
17
PARKER
Ilayontheweight bench, trying to hype myself up to do a last round of reps. I was almost at muscle failure and so ready to give up. Sweat dripped from my brow, and my muscles trembled.
I hadn’t gone to Ryan’s gym like I usually did, since he was with his family for a change. And pushing myself to failure with weights where I needed a spotter was dangerous. If I couldn’t get that thing off me, I would be in trouble.
Instead of getting myself into shit, I rolled off the weight bench and walked to the treadmill. My arms were numb after pushing so hard, the muscles jerking and trembling involuntarily. But my legs were fine, and I was going to push them hard with cardio.