A Fighting Chance by A.J. Sand Read Free Book Online

I didn’t know who to tell and how to tell them. Diane Kimble told me that she was the trustee of a small fund Mom and my grandma had established for me shortly after I was born. She also helped me sell the house, and once we paid off Mom’s debts with her life insurance, I was able to close the financial aid gap some.
    My old life was over. Just like Mom’s. And once the dirt covered the casket, I planned on never returning to Glory. So, all of it—Drew, my hometown, my past—ended up in a grave, too.

The PAST IS LIKE SHRAPNEL TO THE PRESENT
     
    Lydia makes chamomile tea for Henry in my apartment as she waits for leftover pasta to warm up in the oven, but I know she’s really just delaying her departure. Henry and I can’t have the type of conversation we need to have in front of her, so we sit at my kitchen table making small talk while we wait. I’m on edge, anxious to hear what he has to say, and more than ready to send him on his way right after. Every once in a while, his eyes drift around the room—to my splayed open textbooks on the coffee table, my poor attempt at decorating the place and, of course, my girlfriend’s ass. As he whistles, he taps on the wood and I can’t tear my eyes away from his mangled hand. Missing fingers? Someone did that to him, I know it’s why he’s here, and it’s nothing I want to be involved in.
    I take the pasta out and tell him he’s free to serve himself , just as Lydia walks out of my room with a bag full of makeup and girl shit and books on her shoulder. “Okay, I got what I need for the night. Did we remember to return the movies to Redbox? I couldn’t find them anywhere.”
    “ Yeah. I took them back yesterday…” I say, chuckling. She thinks she’s slick. She’s not listening to me at all. She’s rolling back and forth onto the balls of her feet, peering over my shoulder at Henry.
    “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” she whispers.
    “One-hundred-percent.” I really don’t want her to go, but I don’t want her and my father in the same room, either. My past and present are colliding, and I’m afraid that this life I’ve built will be the one left shattered.
    “Okay, but call me if you need anything…” Lydia strokes my face, with concern on hers. “It was nice meet ing you, Mr. Chance!” she yells, shooting a kind smile at him.
    Henry sips from his cup and his lustful gaze follows Lydia to the door. “You, too, dear.” His brain is still in his dick, that’s for sure.
    I lean against the doorframe and kiss Lydia good-bye to distract her from the attention she’s still giving my father. I know she has a million questions after meeting the man I told her wasn’t a part of my life. She’s the only reason he’s even in my apartment right now, because she invited him as she tried to mediate the confrontation outside.
    She presses her lips to mine one more time, and her reluctance to leave is clear on her face. “Do you have any idea what he wants? After all this time…”
    I rest my forehead on hers. “No, but I doubt I can help him with anything. And don’t you spend all night worrying. I’ll figure it out.”
    “You just…you seem different since he got here. Right now, you look…scared. It’s a lot, so that’s why I’m worried. Anyway, if you can’t help him, I’m sure he’ll be gone in the morning. I really hope so since I’m taking you to brunch!”
    “Can’t wait,” I say . “You want me to walk you out?”
    “No, it’s okay. I love you, babe,” Lydia says as she heads down the hall.
    “ I love you, too.” I stand there until I can’t hear her footsteps in the stairwell anymore. I get a sinking, uncontrollable feeling of loss. Lydia’s a beautiful woman, but what really drew me initially was the way she smiled at me, completely oblivious to the burdens I shouldered. And it still took me months after meeting her to finally ask her out. We’ve had our ups and downs, but our relationship has been