Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
"You know why she's here."
"I don't, Coach. This isn't her business."
"Don't even start," Wymack said as he pulled in behind the unfamiliar car. "I know you didn't honestly think you could keep this from her for long. But bringing her along tonight wasn't my idea, so don't give me that look. I didn't know Abby invited her until we were on the road."
"I hate all of you," Andrew said, too cheerfully, and he got out of the car.
Their arrival hadn't gone unnoticed, and the front door opened before they were halfway to it. It took Neil only a second to recognize Betsy Dobson in the doorway and he ground to a halt in the grass.
Andrew stopped, too, and threw out his arms as if expecting a hug. "Oh, Bee! What amazing timing. We were just talking about you. I've got other things to do right now but Neil said he would keep you company in my stead. You don't mind, do you? I didn't think you would."
"I mind," Neil said. "I have nothing to say to her."
"I'm sure you'll come up with something." Andrew grinned over his shoulder at Neil. "You always do, right? It doesn't have to be the truth, you know. Bee's not expecting honesty from you. I told her not to trust a single word you said. Or have you started playing the secrets game with her, too?"
"I said no."
Andrew turned to face him completely and stuffed his hands into the oversized front pocket of his sweatshirt. "You misunderstand," he said, with a knowing nod. "I wasn't asking, Neil. You helped create this mess. The least you could do is help clean it up. Where's your sense of responsibility?"
A knife wouldn't hurt this much. Andrew's words punched the breath out of Neil's lungs; he took a stumbling step back in a desperate bid for balance. He wanted to say this wasn't his fault, but they both knew it was. Andrew hadn't told him about Drake, but he'd said Luther betrayed his trust. Instead of listening to that, Neil sided with Nicky's hopeful grief. He hadn't invited Drake to South Carolina, but he'd delivered Andrew into his waiting arms.
Guilt was a relatively new emotion for Neil, something the Foxes were teaching him through prolonged exposure to them. Up until this point he'd felt it in uncomfortable, fleeting bursts. Now it was a fierce, all-consuming heat that made him want to cut his own stomach out. He didn't know if he was going to puke or scream. Neither one was acceptable, so he clenched his teeth as hard as he could. Meeting Andrew's eyes was almost impossible. Looking away would be unforgivable.
He reached through the acid in his chest and found the only words he could: "Where is yours?"
Andrew tipped his head to one side, feigning confusion. Maybe it wasn't an act. Maybe he didn't understand. Neil barely recognized his own voice through the gravel in it. Neil swallowed hard against his weakening gag reflex. Every breath he took cut him open on its way down but his voice sounded steady when he spoke again.
"Why didn't you tell Higgins?"
"Wouldn't have worked," Andrew said blithely. "Pig wasn't ready to hear it back then. He and Drake were friends, you see. They met when Drake went through the PAL program and hit it off somehow or other. I knew he wouldn't believe me, so I didn't waste my time trying."
"So you did nothing," Neil said. "You almost put a knife between Nicky's ribs when he flirted with me, but you didn't lift a finger to protect Cass's other children. You knew what Drake would do to them, but you didn't protect them."
"There weren't supposed to be other children," Andrew said.
"But there were," Neil reminded him, cold and fierce and awful.
Andrew laughed and pulled a hand free of his pocket. He wrapped his fingers around Neil's throat, not tight enough to cut off Neil's air but snug enough to be a warning. Neil saw Wymack shift in his peripheral vision but trusted the man to stay out of their way. Until Andrew actually hurt Neil Wymack would let them fight this out on their own terms. Neil kept his eyes on Andrew's face and pitched his voice low enough to cut Wymack and Betsy out of the conversation.
"I hope she was worth it."
Andrew tilted forward and said, "Oh, Neil. You are far too heavy to tread ice this thin."
"Is this how you stayed quiet?" Neil reached up and took hold of Andrew's wrist. He couldn't feel the scars through the cotton sleeve but he didn't need to. He knew they were there. Andrew knew what he was talking about, judging by how still he went. His smile didn't even flicker but Neil wasn't fooled. "Did you do this so you wouldn't tell her the truth about her son?"
"Maybe I did."
"What were you trying to do, outlast him?" Neil asked. "He was a graduating senior intent on enlisting, right? All you had to do was hold out until graduation and then she would adopt you. So what went wrong?"
Andrew's fingers slowly tightened until Neil couldn't breathe anymore. He refused to shake Andrew off. The tightness in his chest started as simple discomfort but spread until it felt like every bone in his chest would break beneath the pressure. Neil's control started to crumble, no matter how fiercely he clung to it, and he'd just shifted to throw Andrew back when Andrew finally loosened his grip.
Instead of letting go, Andrew slid his hand around back of Neil's neck and pulled him in close. He put his mouth at Neil's ear and lowered his voice, but Neil didn't have to see his face to know Andrew was still smiling. He could hear it.
"Drake deferred his enlistment," Andrew said. "He wanted to make the most of his last summer with his baby brother. He even asked Cass if we could invite Aaron up for a couple weeks so we could all meet. Cass left it up to me, but whenever she wasn't looking Drake tried talking me into it. He wanted to get both of us in the same place. He could imagine what we'd look like in bed together, he said. It'd be picture perfect."