Chapter Thirty-Two
“What were you thinking, buying her a car?” Quinton said as soon as he was back inside with his parents.
His mom raised her chin defiantly. “She’s going for her learner’s permit in a few weeks. She’ll need transportation.”
“She has transportation. Her mom has a car. I have a car. She doesn’t need her own car.” Quinton didn’t raise his voice, but frustration sharpened his tone to a razor’s edge.
“Don’t talk to your mom like that,” his dad jumped in. “Is this because of Halle? What did I tell you? Don’t let her control you and how you treat your daughter.”
“Dad, did you hear anything I said the other night? Halle and I are Shania’s parents. We’re responsible for figuring out what’s best for her and what she needs. You two can’t come here and undermine everything we say.”
Dawn came down the hall. She gave the three of them a worried look. “What’s going on? Why are you all arguing?”
Quinton turned to her. “They bought Shania a car.”
Dawn’s jaw dropped. “No, they didn’t.” She came farther into the room until her chair was next to Quinton. “Mom, Dad, why did you do that?”
“It was a good deal,” his dad said stubbornly. “The girl will need a car. Let us do this for her.”
Dawn shook her head. Disappointment clear in her eyes. “You saw how Halle felt about the shoes. Why would you think she’d be okay with a car?”
Laura crossed her arms. “She should have at least talked to us about the car. There’s no reason for her to get so upset. I thought she was supposed to be calm and in control.”
Quinton stared at his parents. Could they really not understand this? “You completely went against her wishes,” he said. “Who’s going to remain calm after all of that? You’re going to have to take back the car.”
“I’m not taking back the car,” his mom said. “Me and your dad got it for her, and she can have it.”
Quinton ran a hand over his face. He tried to remain calm, but they were pushing him to lose his temper. “Why are you being so stubborn? I don’t get it. You never used to splurge like this. I know you wanted grandkids, but you’ve got to realize this is doing too much. You can’t just buy Shania expensive gifts.”
“Let us do for her what we couldn’t do for you,” his dad said.
Quinton pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I didn’t want cars when I was a kid. I didn’t care about material stuff. All I wanted was for you to support me and back me up. That was it. Just to listen and help. That’s all Shania wants and needs right now.”
“We did that,” his mom said. “We can do this now, too.”
Quinton dropped his hand. “No, you didn’t. You worked and you provided but you didn’t listen. Not then and not now.” Irritation and anger that they’d completely dismissed him kept him going. They’d been like this when he was younger. Just pushed what he said aside. “When I told you that Khris was bullying me, you didn’t do a damn thing until it escalated to him breaking my leg. Maybe if you would have listened then things wouldn’t have gone so far.”
His sister grabbed his hand. “Quinton, don’t go there.”
He snatched his hand back. “Why not? They didn’t listen then and they’re not listening now. They just ignore issues until they become bigger. I won’t let you do that with Shania.”
His mom pointed at him. “We did listen to you. There wasn’t much we could do back then.”
He tilted his head to the side. If she was going there then he would, too. “Oh really? Is that the other side of the story you don’t want to tell me?”
His dad scowled. “What story?”
“The story Khris told me to come and ask you about,” Quinton said. He’d forgotten all about Khris’s parting shot at the luncheon with everything else that happened. He wasn’t even going to bring it up to his parents, but today with them being so clueless again, Khris’s words popped back up. Khris said they knew why he’d treated Quinton the way he had. Had they known and let him suffer? Dismissing his pain like they pushed aside his words now?
“He said to ask you the other side of the story and then I’ll be ready to talk to him. So, what is it? What was the reason you couldn’t do anything back then that was so big you can justify buying Shania a car today?”
His mom threw up her hands. “I’m not listening to this.” She turned to go into the kitchen.
“Don’t walk away from this, Mom.”
His dad didn’t follow. “Just tell the boy,” Willie said in a tired voice.
Laura spun toward her husband. “What are you talking about?”
“You might as well tell him. Khris is going to keep on pushing. Better hear it from us than him.”
Quinton frowned. The fight from earlier pushed away by the shock of his dad’s words. “Wait, he’s telling the truth?”
Dawn’s hold on his hand tightened. “Mom, Dad, what’s going on?”
“Some things are better left unsaid,” his mom said.
“It’s too late for that now,” Quinton countered. “If you know the reason why he’s been bothering me then you might as well tell me. Otherwise, do you really think he’s going to quit? He never quit back then, and he won’t quit now. So, tell me the truth.”
His parents exchanged glances. His dad looked away first. His mom’s eyes became sad, and she looked at Quinton. “Khris is your half-brother.”
When Halle got the text from Quinton asking if he could come talk with her later, she’d considered asking him to wait until the next day. She hadn’t reacted to his parents’ gift in the best way. She didn’t feel like having another debate with him about how they messed up but meant well. But she didn’t want to push him off. If they were going to co-parent and be in a relationship, then they would be best served talking out their situation rather than ignoring the issues.
He texted when he arrived and asked her to meet him outside. She was surprised, but went out after checking on Shania, who was asleep in bed. She hadn’t been interested in talking to Halle since she was still mad about having to give the car back.
Halle went outside onto the porch. Quinton was already out there; he sat on the stoop and leaned against the stair rail. His head and shoulders drooped. She’d never seen him slouching. He was always confident, his back always straight and ready to tackle whatever came his way.
She quickly sat next to him on the top step. “What’s wrong?”
He lifted his head. He didn’t look at her but stared out over her front yard, not appearing to focus on anything out there. “My dad.”
She raised her brows and waited. When he didn’t say any more, she leaned forward to try to catch his eye. “What about your dad?”
“My dad is...not my dad?” His pitch rose at the end of the sentence, making it into a question and confusing her.
“What do you mean?”
He looked at her, hurt, confusion and shock on his face. He looked lost. Lost and vulnerable. Something she’d never thought she’d see when it came to Quinton, who was always steady. Always so self-assured.
“He’s not my dad. I was talking to my parents about the car. They weren’t listening. They never listen, they just do what they want or ignore things and hope they get better. I told them that. How they didn’t listen to me about Khris bullying me. That they ignored it until it was too late, and my leg was broken and my football career nearly ended. Then I remembered something Khris said the day of the luncheon.” The words came out of him in a rush. He took a breath, scowled and spoke again in a ragged voice. “Ask your parents to tell you the truth then come talk to me. That’s what he said. I thought he was bullshitting because that’s what he always does. I didn’t think any more about it and wasn’t going to ask them anything. But today, Khris’s words came back. I asked them what’s the real story and that’s what they told me.”
“That your dad isn’t your dad?” The shock she felt mirrored his stunned expression.
He shook his head. “He’s not my father. Khris’s dad is my biological father.”
Halle gasped. She reached out and placed her hand on his arm. Tension radiated through his body. “What? How?”
“My mom and Khris’s dad dated secretly. She didn’t know he was also dating Khris’s mom at the same time. When they both got pregnant, that’s when she found out she was just the one he was seeing for fun. He married Khris’s mom and denied being my dad. Apparently, it was about to be a scandal, but my mom also knew my dad...knew Willie. He liked her, he agreed to be there for her. They got married because of me to avoid my mom’s family and the church from turning their back on her.”
“Would her family have done that?” As soon as she asked she knew the answer. It was the reason she’d kept Shania’s origins a secret.
He nodded. “My maternal grandfather was a preacher and the definition of conservative. He was going to kick her out of the family and the church, but my dad married her. She only married him to save face.”
“Your mom seems to really love your dad.”
“Does she? Are they really in love with each other? Or are they just together because of what happened with me?” He rubbed his temple. “I understand what Shania was saying now. The idea of being the only reason for your parents to be together. To wonder if they’d be better off if you didn’t exist.”
She tightened her hand on his arm. “No, don’t say that. They would not be better off. The reasons why it happened or how you got here are one thing, but your parents care about you.”
“It explains so much now. Why my dad always let my mom take the lead. Why he seemed to be more invested in my sister. She’s actually his daughter. Why Khris’s dad treated me, my mom and my dad like we were shit.” Bitterness filled his voice.
Helplessness filled Halle. She could see the doubt in his eyes. The questioning of everything that made him who he was. The second-guessing. Each emotion tore her heart out.
She placed a hand on his cheek and forced him to look at her. “Quinton, stop it. Stop it right now.”
“But he’s not—”
“Your biological father. Your biological father sounds like a horrible person. You could have turned out just like Khris if he had claimed you. The fact that he didn’t claim you already shows what kind of character he has. Instead, you were raised by a man who loved your mom. A man who loved you. Even I can see that he’s proud of you and cares about you. Khris told you this to get exactly this type of reaction. For you to doubt and question everything. For you to doubt who you are. Would you want Shania to do that?”
He frowned, his eyes focusing on hers. “No. Of course not.”
“Then you can’t do that. She’s struggled after finding out you were her dad. She didn’t want what we learned to force you and I to be together. She could have questioned everything, too, but we showed her that she was going to be okay. You’re going to be okay, too.”
“How do you know that I’m going to be okay?”
“Because I’ve gotten to know you. You’re steady, controlled and you look at everything from all angles. You aren’t ruled by emotions and knee-jerk reactions. I know this is hard and you’re allowed to feel everything you’re feeling, but don’t doubt who you are. Take a day or two to process and then talk to your parents. Ask all your questions.”
“What if I don’t want to know the answers?”
She wished she could tell him not to ask the questions with answers that might hurt him, but she couldn’t. If he didn’t ask, the not knowing would eat away at him, or worse, he’d make up his own mind about the answer and that could hurt more than the truth.
“Not knowing and guessing will only make things worse. Figure out what you really feel and what you really need to know, then ask the questions.”
“Do you think I should call Khris?”
“Do you want to call him?”
He sighed and lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t need the answer to that right now. Figure things out with your parents first then worry about if and when you’ll call Khris. You’re not required to build a relationship with him just because you share a father.”
He sighed and then chuckled. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against his side. “Thank you.”
“For listening?”
“That and not pushing me to have an answer today. I just needed to get it out. I didn’t want to go to Cyril’s bar and risk being overheard.”
“That’s what I’m here for. Not just a girlfriend for great sex.”
He laughed and she was thrilled that he sounded happy for a moment. That the desolation was gone from his voice. “That’s good to know. I’m glad I subscribed to the listening and supportive girlfriend plan versus the just great sex plan.”
She leaned back and looked at him through narrowed eyes. “Are you saying my plan doesn’t come with great sex?”
“Never that.” He pulled her in and kissed her slowly. “You’re everything I could have asked for and more.”