Page 23 of Hurry Up And Wait

“Dad—”

“Don’t ever fucking call me that again.” The room went silent as my dad seethed. Spencer had pushed things too far.

I got to my feet, ready to intervene. I always listened to my dad and did as he asked, but this was going too far. “Dad, you can’t do this. That girl is innocent.”

“She’s a problem we have to eliminate.”

I understood my dad was upset, but who was this man standing in front of me? “Dad, what are you talking about? Eliminate her? She’s the victim. She’s hurt and if you switch those tests, she’ll go to jail. She’ll lose everything.”

“Son, you’re going to have to learn that in life, you have to remove the obstacles in your way or you’ll never get what you want.”

“You can’t do that by stepping on people,” I argued. “Isn’t that what you fight for?”

“And who’s going to continue fighting if I’m not there to do it?”

I took a step back, staring at my father in a new light. I always knew he had tricks up his sleeve and didn’t entirely play by the rules, but I never considered he might go so far as to set someone up for a crime like this. It would ruin her life. It would absolutely destroy her.

“I can’t let you do this.”

“You don’t have a choice in it. Everything will be fixed tomorrow.”

“Then I’ll go to the papers,” I argued.

He barked out a laugh, shaking his head at me. “Go to the papers?” Then his face turned deadly and the laughing ended. “This is my world and I willnot let either of you screw this up for me. If you think I’m screwing up her life, imagine what I could do to you if you mess with me.”

“I’m your son.”

“We were never his sons,” Spencer muttered. “We’re his pawns. I tried telling you that.”

My brother was sitting now by the fire, staring into the flames. For the first time, I saw what he had all along. My father wasn’t a good man. He was a crook who only cared about himself. And if I went to the college he chose for me, I’d only end up following in his footsteps. Something had to change.

I flung the door open and strode out, determined to come up with a new plan. I would never be like my father. I would carve out my own path in life, and then I’d never see him again.

“So, he set her up?”Red asked.

I nodded. “As expected, she lost her scholarship, her license, and ended up in jail. She was completely innocent.”

“Why didn’t your brother come forward?”

I shrugged. “He was a kid, and Alton Kavanaugh is a powerful man. He didn’t think anyone would believe him. Or that my father had too many people in his pocket to make anyone listen.”

“So, how did your brother really die?” Eli asked.

I swallowed hard, remembering the day I got the news. “Underground boxing match. He pretty much sank into a depression after what happened. And when he graduated, he moved out and got some shitty apartment with some friends. He wasn’t making enough money to pay the bills, so his friend got him involved in illegal boxing matches. I think it was the rush that he got from it. Or maybe he felt like he deserved a good beating. Either way, he started fighting injured and got a few too many concussions. And during his final match, his opponent knocked him out. It was just the right hit and knocked his brain loose.”

“Fuck,” Red muttered.

“The senator covered it up for years, and only acknowledged that his son had died when he needed a good tearjerker for the crowd. Hesaid Spencer died due to gang violence. It was a fucking disgrace to the family.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Eli asked. “I’m not judging, but you could easily get an investigation opened up.”

“I guess because of my mom. Hope that she might see the light and leave him. I don’t know.”

So, that was it. My shame. The whole fucking story for my teammates to mull over. It wouldn’t be long before they’d look at me and see the senator I had gone along with the coverup. It was just as much my fault as the senator’s.

Eli leaned forward in his seat, looking at me in confusion. “So…how does this play into your fear of mummies?”

Red got to his feet and tossed a pencil at me. “Not sure I can work with you if you can’t come up with a better sob story than that.”