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304 pages, ebook
First published August 26, 2014
“Yes, Davis Luke Williams.”
“Ari, we’ll fill out the birth certificate for your records. Who should we name as the father?” Not looking at Luke or my grandma, who is watching me across the room in her wheelchair crying, I answer. “There is no father. Just me.”
“Honey, the draft isn’t just another weekend. Every year you sink into a depression and it worries us. We know it brings back memories.” “Jesus! He screwed me and then screwed me over! Why can’t I let it go? We all know I was a stupid twenty-one year old.” “ARIANNA!” “I’m sorry, Grams, he’s off limits. I want to enjoy the weekend, I really do.”
I was living the life. I had everything I’d ever dreamed of, providing for my mom and sister after the draft, a huge house near the beach, fucking endless women who wanted me. But what happened when the star went down? One hit—that’s all it took—one hit, to dislocate my shoulder and tear my ACL.
“I had to change my number. Your girlfriend threatened me, she threatened Luke, she tried to pull my scholarship!” My mind races to figure out the fucking shit she just said. My girlfriend?
“Motherfucking hell! I’m such a jackass! You have to know she didn’t mean anything to me, I wanted to make you hurt. As soon as you walked in, all I could think about was you and Luke.”
“I have to tell you, I was surprised it wasn’t Bailey considering she was your girlfriend.”
After Ari and I broke up, I was never into kissing. Shit, most of the time I could fuck and duck without ever touching the woman’s lips.
“Then why would you assume he’s going to see me with other women?” “Because I know your lifestyle.”
“Reed, I need to tell you something.” “Anything, baby.” “I haven’t been with anyone since we broke up.” “What?” I ask in disbelief.
I stare at her for a few seconds trying to let the words sink in. My gut clenches with regret thinking about all the women I’ve had over the years. While Ari was busy putting her life on track and raising Davis, I was playing ball and whoring around.
I feel sick thinking about him in this house with the barrage of women he’s had over the years. “It’s nice,” is all I can get out.
“I guess that’s why Tina had such a bitch fit last night. She heard Reed not only had a girlfriend, but a son.” “What do you know about Tina?” Shani spews.
“That bitch cornered Ari in the bathroom last night and told her all sorts of lies. Then she accused her of trying to lock down Reed with a kid that didn’t belong to him. I’d already decided I liked Ari, so I stepped in and told her to back her skanky ass up. I threatened to tell all the rookies she had an STD and have her banned from any other player party. Then I told her that player pussy never becomes wife material and her days were limited since she insulted a player’s woman. She tried to back talk but Sassy stepped in and explained that if she didn’t shut up, she would tell Reed everything.”
Sure, I’d fucked her once and let her suck me off a few times, but she never saw the inside of my car or my house. I didn’t even ask for her phone number.
“You don’t understand, I had to. Besides, I was doing it to protect him. It wasn’t like he was serious about her. His career was about to take off and she was still going to be in school. I couldn’t let her use him.”
“You know how many woman I’ve been with over the years? Too many to count.”
“You wanna know how many men Ari’s been with? Me; only me. I was fucking my way to forgetting her while she sat around carrying my child. Then when he was born, she did the best she could. She dated a few guys, but the assholes couldn’t take coming in second. So she put her personal life on hold. That’s not all, knowing what I do now, I can’t get the image of a broken Ari out of my head. It’s fucking with me. So yeah, I need a few minutes to think.”
A spoiled, rotten bitch manipulated you into playing the part of my girlfriend to breakup with the woman I was dating. Instead of talking to me, you believed a bunch of lies and hurt a lot of people in the process. I sat around miserable and you watched me suffer so you could join the popular sorority when you transferred. Then you let me go on a dark and dangerous path of drinking and partying right before the biggest event in my life because I was trying to outrun the pain. Does that about sum it up?” “You make it sound so sleazy. I really thought I was doing the right thing. Alex—” “Don’t—don’t mention that cunt’s name to me. And the reason it sounds sleazy is because it was.”
“Fucking A’, I was in that woman’s dirty ass bed. What a bitch.” Luke says referring to Sarah. “Me too, years ago.” Jack adds.
Today at four thirty-six pm, thirty hours after taking a bullet to save my son, Katherine Anna Williams died.