Chapter 7 #2
“The fuck! That was at a playground. Kids break shit all the time. And Jesus, you’re a cop. A fucking sergeant.” I legit didn’t understand. How his asshole parents would think they had a case against Dylan blew my fucking mind.
Hell, they hadn’t even attended Paula’s funeral.
The familiar bitterness and hatred I had for his folks clawed at my throat, but I pushed it down.
“Like they give a shit about that.” He shook his head. “Mom said she’s reached out to their lawyer, said they’re going to say Paula’s last wishes are worth shit as she was high.”
“The fuck they are. As if Paula would ever be on anything.” Hell, I’d known Paula almost as well as I knew Dylan.
As his little sister, Paula had spent many hours following us around and annoying us.
And as we’d grown, she’d become a friend, especially when she’d moved out of their childhood home as soon as she was able to.
Their parents were fuckheads. Super conservative and sat happily on their backward moral high grounds.
Hell, it had been one thing for Dylan to become best friends with me, a gangly Black kid—a handsome splash of color in their whitewashed world. Add in them finding out Dylan was gay, and their daughter following suit at sixteen, and they’d practically had heart attacks.
“I know, but fuck, what if they do?”
A holler from outside Coach’s office startled us both.
“I’m so sorry to come here. I just panicked. I should have just called.”
“Screw that. You did the right thing. If you were so worked up, it was better to come here, get your Cassius fix. That way, when you get home, you can focus on being the best dad to that crazy-ass kid of yours.” I smiled softly, even as my heart squeezed.
It did every single time I thought about Mikey.
“Let me call my lawyer,” I continued, my brain already going into planning mode. “We’ll get this fixed so your parents can’t come anywhere near him.”
Nodding a little numbly, Dylan stared back at me.
“No one is taking Mikey from you, okay?” I forced seriousness into my tone, something I rarely did. “Paula wanted you to be her kid’s dad, and you’re fucking amazing at it.”
His eyes closed at my words, a single tear dripping down his cheek. “Thanks, Cass. It’s just shit, you know?”
I bobbed my head. I was all too aware that in four weeks, it was Mikey’s third birthday, which would also be the anniversary of his sister’s death. This time of year was always hard.
“Do you believe me when I say Mikey’s yours and always will be?” I tilted my head and smiled.
He studied me a beat, softness entering his gaze, and his shoulders relaxed. “Yeah, Cass. Just let me know how much your lawy—”
“Fuck no. I said I’ve got this, yeah?”
As always whenever anything related to money came up, Dylan’s jaw tightened.
It was never my intention to shove my earnings in his face.
He worked his ass off in a profession that took so much bravery and dedication, and damn if he didn’t deserve to earn a lot more than he did.
But not a chance would I have him worrying about paying for a lawyer.
This was my responsibility as his friend. I shoved the other reasons way down below into the darkness of my conscience, like I always did. I didn’t have the capacity to deal with the dump of guilt that sat heavily on my chest if I didn’t.
“You need me to make the drive home with you?” I offered. While I was tired from the game, if Dylan needed the company to get home safely, I’d do so in a heartbeat.
“No, man. I’m good.” He huffed out a heavy breath. “I heard from my mom at the end of work, so I just drove straight here after talking to Helen about taking care of Mikey. I just couldn’t go home and let my kid see me wrecked, you know?”
“I know. Like I said, you’re a kick-ass dad.”
My words pulled a small smile to his mouth. “Thanks, Cass.” He stood, and I followed suit.
“Just let me know when you’re home, okay?”
“Will do,” he answered.
“I’ll talk to Granger, my lawyer, and let you know what he says. Then three more games and I’ll be over for a long-ass stay, yeah?”
A genuine smile split his lips. “You planning on hanging around for a while? You know my spare room’s always made up for you for as long as you want.”
Fuck, I loved this guy. Our friendship had gotten me through so much shit over the years—including coming out to the public, not long after League superstar Ryan Broadwater—and barely a day went by without us making some sort of contact with each other.
But a visit longer than a couple of nights was a luxury we usually had to wait until offseason for—ridiculous since he didn’t live that far away.
But this visit looked like it had come at a perfect time since he was dealing with his hateful parents.
I was just so damn grateful he’d moved back home to be near my folks when he became Mikey’s guardian.
“I’ll be there and hang around for as long as you want me.
I’ve no plans to rush off.” Sure, since he’d taken custody of Mikey on the day he was born, our downtime together didn’t look like it once had, but that was more than okay.
Mikey was amazing. It had only been four days since I’d last seen him in the flesh—and that was literally for an afternoon—and I was keen to see how much more he’d grown and changed.
I swore the kid grew faster than a weed.
“Okay, thanks, Cass. I best get back on the road, get some sleep before my shift tomorrow.”
“Just stay safe, okay?”
“Always,” he said.
With a bob of my head, I embraced him, relishing just how awesome his hugs were. “I’ve got your back,” I reassured him as he pulled out of my hold.
“I know you do.” He smirked this time, and I grinned, knowing full well he had mine too.
I walked him out, taking him as far as I could go without venturing into the public areas. By the time I made it back to the locker room, most of the guys had already left. Ollie, though, was dressed and waiting for me next to my locker.
“You good?” His brows were drawn together, and concern laced his words.
“Yeah.” I expelled a heavy breath.
“Was that Dylan?”
I bobbed my head. Before Dylan became a dad to his nephew, he’d been a frequent-ish face in the crowd and on nights out—when his work shifts allowed, as he had to fly out back then. “It was. He’s just heading back home now.”
“I didn’t know he was coming to watch the game.”
I scrunched my nose and tugged off my basketball jersey, needing to get my sweaty ass showered. “He didn’t. He just needed to see me in person.”
“Okay, well, if you need anything, you just let me know, yeah?”
I smiled, grateful Ollie was such a good guy. “Thanks, Ollie. Will do. You heading out for a beer?”
“Not tonight. I’ve got some stuff to do at home. I’ll see you in the morning, though.”
“Yeah, will do. See you tomorrow.”
Ollie stepped away, leaving me to get showered.
I’d been planning on going to our local bar to have a few drinks and kick back after the game, but after seeing Dylan, it was the last thing I wanted to do.
His parents would take Mikey over my dead body. Dylan had already lost so much, and I’d do whatever it took to make sure he retained custody. His parents needed to back the fuck off.