Fold

“At the gambling table, there are no fathers and sons.” ―Chinese proverb

My fingers curl around the edges of the chair I'm sitting on, almost as if my grip alone can stop the last shred of my composure from unraveling.

I mentally go down the checklist of everything that's happened over the last few hours. Sometimes it's easier for me to break things down in timeline form before I can process it all and act accordingly.

I found out the baby isn't mine—check.

I was informed by the medical staff that my father is nothing more than a vegetable—check.

I finally confronted my brother's girlfriend about setting up Asher, along with her good-for-nothing father and crazy Kyle, only to be proven wrong about her involvement—check.

Then, moments later, I watched that very same obsessed psychopath, Kyle Sinclair, run down the hospital hallway with a gun, in an attempt to kill Breslin, before being dragged away in handcuffs—check.

My brain pulsates as I recall the cherry on this fucked-up cake.

When I overheard Asher tell the police during his questioning that my father and Kyle had a relationship. One that began when Kyle was just a teenager—check.

Acid churns my stomach and another wave of nausea hits me.

Guess I'm not his only victim.

Granted sixteen is far from a child...but it's still wrong, right?

Then again, at fourteen I was receiving blow jobs from the girls in my brother's fan-club under the school bleachers during his football games. And by fifteen, I was having sex with them, so what the fuck do I know.

I drag a hand through my hair and look around the waiting room. It's only then I realize Breslin never came back from the restroom.

I'm getting ready to check on her because Asher will blow a gasket if I don't, when he appears.

“Have you seen her?”

I'm pretty sure my expression has busted written all over it. “She told me she was going to the bathroom.” I check my watch and stand. “About twenty minutes ago.”

A

I want to argue that I technically did...approximately one minute ago.

He starts walking and I decide to come clean. He's already mad at me, so I might as well get it all out in the open.

“I told her about Kyle blackmailing you, but in my defense, I thought she already knew.”

He looks at me like I've committed treachery.

On second thought, maybe I have. Seeing as Breslin didn't know about Kyle blackmailing Asher when I confronted her...it means he never told her.

Shit. I'm pretty sure that's another checkmark.

Thing is, I don't understand why he never told her. Then again, I don't understand much of anything pertaining to his relationship with Breslin or Landon.

“I also thought she had something to do with it up until an hour ago.”

“What?” The vein in his forehead bulges. “Breslin would never—”

I cut him off, even though I was wrong, I don't want to hear him defend her like she's some biblical figure. I just want him to understand where I was coming from. “Yeah, I know that now. I just figured with her piece of shit father behind it maybe—”

“How do you know about that?”

I could ask him the exact same thing.

Suffice it to say, this is not the reaction I expected from him upon hearing the news that Breslin's dad was the co-conspirator.

However, the look on his face makes it clear this little cross-examination is a one-way street.

“To make a long story short,” I begin, giving him the CliffNotes version of what I told Breslin earlier. “I ended up ru

I run a hand down my face. “I tried to warn you that night but you didn't pick up your phone. And I didn't tell you it was Breslin's dad behind it, because the last time we talked about Breslin was before you left for college and you lost your shit. I didn't want you contacting her. I was trying to protect you and do what I thought was right. Turns out I was wrong.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

I want to reiterate that I thought I was doing the right thing, but he charges for the exit. “I need a lift.”

I follow him out to the parking lot that's now coated with a good seven inches of snow. “Where are we going?”

Obviously, I assume it's to find Breslin, but fuck if I know where she is. I'm also not too keen on driving through a blizzard to find out.

He opens the car door and gets inside. “Seeing as Breslin knows that Kyle blackmailed me, and her dad leaked the tape, there's only one place she could be.”

The snowy wind whips around as I pull up to the trailer park where Breslin's dad lives.

Asher's been silent during the drive, which means he's either lost in deep thought or thinking of creative ways to kill me and get away with it.

Given the events of the night, I'd go with the latter.

His gaze is scrutinizing. “Sure you're not keeping anything else from me?”

I grip the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turn white.

Asher has a right to be angry with me, I'll give him that. But he's not the only one who has things going on in his life.

I'd be more than happy to trade my problems for his.

“Nope. Sorry to disappoint, big brother, but I've been preoccupied with my own shit lately.”

“Right,” he seethes. “Guess that means I better get my shovel ready so I can clean it all up for you again.”

I slam the brakes so hard the car slides to a stop. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You know, you could have at least said thank you to me for wi

I snort, I find it downright amusing how arrogant he can be. “I should have said thank you? Fu

He fixes me with a glare. “You really don't get it, do you? What if I lost? What if things didn't turn out for the best? What then?”

“I don't know.” I inhale deeply, hating the trace of concern in his voice. “I would have figured out another way to settle the score. I always do.”

“How? By placing another bet? One that you might lose. Christ, when does the bullshit stop? Where do you draw the line, Preston? When someone you love gets hurt, or when they've taken your life?”

I'm about to tell him he's making mountains out of molehills, because I intentionally lost the bet with the Dragonis in order to get him to play football again, but he swings open the car door and says, “You're going to be a dad soon, brother. It's time to grow the hell up before you end up fucking an i

His words punch through me like a physical blow. “No, I'm not.”

I close my eyes as the finality of it sets in. “There's a reason I didn't answer my phone when you called me about dad earlier today. I was getting the results back from the paternity test.”

It's not exactly accurate, seeing as I ignored his calls before I got the results, but I'm not in the mood to argue with him about it.

He exhales sharply. “You dodged a bullet.”

“I wanted the baby to be mine.”