Me: No, I stayed home so nobody would see it. I'm almost back to normal. The shit hurt, but I pushed through. No problem. You're a great bunch of guys, and you love your women.
James: We're a crazy bunch, I'll be the first to admit that, but we love each other something fierce, and we'd definitely go down for one of our own.
I thought about his words, and it hit me right in the center of my chest. They were definitely a family not to be messed with. I had my parents, but that was it. They supported me and my career in their own way, but they'd never go down for me like Cassie's family would for her. She had no idea how lucky she was.
The knock on my door pulled me from my thoughts. When I opened it, Cassie was standing there with a smile on her face. She was nervous too, I could see it in the way she stood. I moved aside and motioned for her to come in. She walked in slowly and looked around my place. It was different than the time before. She actually walked over to the wall to look at what was on it. Then she looked over the shelves that had a bunch of ball stuff on them. When she turned back to me, she had her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. It took all I had to hold myself back, but I did it.
“What?” I asked. “If you're thinking about making fun of me, don't.”
“Me?” she asked, as she put her hand to her chest innocently. “It's different seeing it all as one of your accomplishments and not as a crazy stalker fan.”
“Oh yeah,” I said.
“Very,” she said. “You really do have a pretty strong career. Any word yet?”
“Not yet,” I answered. “That's not something I want to talk about today though. What do you want for lunch?”
“Anything is fine,” she answered. “I'm actually starving though, so you picked a bad day to offer up lunch. Talking to James and the lawyers has taken a huge weight off my back. He's been so crabby these last few days, and I was worried about talking to him. I shouldn't have been though. I know that now.”
“You're pretty lucky,” I said. “You have a great team behind you.”
I heard the ding of her phone, and she pulled it out of her purse.
“We'll see if you're still saying that in a couple of hours,” she said, as she motioned to her phone and checked whatever message had just come through. “They message me all day long. I think they have some type of schedule worked out between them. My grandma is the only one I haven't figured out yet. She sends a text whenever she wants.”
“I'll order food while you answer that,” I said. “We wouldn't want them to hunt you down and find you here.”
“Parker,” she said. “It's not like that.”
“You sure about that?” I asked.
When the ding of her phone sounded again, I laughed.
“Just answer them,” I said. “They worry about you. There's nothing wrong with that.”
When I walked back into the living room, she was sitting on the couch and had just set her phone down.
“It should be good for a bit,” she said.
“Pizza is on the way,” I said. “I figured I couldn't go wrong with that.”
“Not at all,” she said.
I handed her the remote for the television after I'd turned it on.
“You're the guest,” I said.
“A romance movie it is,” she said, as she wiggled her eyebrows and laughed.
“Really?” I asked.
“I'm the guest,” she said.
She did pick a romance, but at least it was a comedy, so it wasn't too bad. We sat on opposite sides of the couch, just as I'd promised. Before long, the pizza had arrived, and we were both stuffing our faces. I was happy that she was eating, and seeing the smile on her face as she laughed at the movie was perfect. I went to the kitchen to get us each a drink, and when I came back, I sat down next to her. If she noticed, she didn't say anything.
Once the movie was over, I turned off the television and looked over at her.
“How do you feel about the lawyers?” I asked.
“Okay,” she answered.
“Be straight with me, Cassie,” I said, looking into her eyes.
“I only wanted one, but James would not let it go. He wanted one in Michigan as well. I told him I can't afford it. He said he's paying for that one. He seems really worried about Jeff, and that scares me.”
“It scares you that James is worried?” I asked. “Do you think he's wrong to feel that way?”
“I honestly don't know anymore,” she said, with a sad look in her eyes.
“Why's that?” I asked.
“I just don't know what to think,” she answered. “Jeff isn't the Jeff I once knew. Maybe he is, and I was just too dumb to see it.”
She turned her body, pulled her legs up onto the couch, and rested her chin on her knees.
“And,” I said.
“After seeing him report my cards stolen and lock me out of our accounts, I don't know what else he'll do,” she said. “I don't know what he has up his sleeve or what he'll do to make me look bad.”
“Has he said anything?” I asked.
“Not recently,” she answered. “He can't. I have a new phone.”
“And before?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said, and I was shocked.
When she didn't continue right away, I waited patiently.
“They don't know,” she said.
“Who?” I asked.
“My family,” she said.
I watched her lean over and go through her purse. When she sat back up, she had a phone and charger in her hand.
“Can I plug this in?” she asked.
“Of course,” I answered, and I stood up, went to get an extension cord, and came back with it already plugged in. “Use this.”
She took it from my hand and plugged her cord into it, as I sat back down next to her. Then she plugged the other end of her cord into the phone. She looked down at it for a few minutes before I heard the sound of it turning on. Her fingers moved around the screen. Then she looked up at me with a nervous look.
“You can't say anything to any of them. Do you hear me?” she asked. “If I show you this, it has to stay between us.”
“Cassie,” I said, giving her a questioning look.
“I'm serious, Parker,” she said.
“Okay,” I said.
She turned the phone toward me, and my eyes went wide.
“What the hell happened to this?” I asked.
“I threw it, and it broke against Sammie and James' wall,” she answered.
I took the phone in my hand and scrolled through the messages, pissed at what I was reading.
“I don't get this,” I said. “He was tracking your phone.”
“All the time,” she said. “I had no idea until after I left. He was doing it the whole time, Parker. Do you know how scary that is?”
“That's fucked up,” I said. “Totally fucked up, Cassie.”
“What's fucked up is that I let it happen,” she said.
“You didn't know,” I said, as I continued reading. “This is bullshit. How could he talk to you this way? How could he threaten you? You should have said something. You should show these to James.”
“No way,” she snapped. “They know enough about Jeff already. There is no way I want them to see these too. I'm trusting you, Parker. Do not make me regret it.”
I narrowed my eyes at her.
“Please,” she said, as a tear formed at the edge of her eye.
“Did he touch you?” I asked.
“Parker,” she said, in almost a whisper.
“Cassie,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “Did he touch you?”
When the tear I'd seen slid down her cheek, I set the phone down on the table next to the couch. Then I leaned forward and wiped that tear away, along with another.
“He did,” I said. “Didn't he?”
She nodded, and I felt every muscle in my body tense.
“It wasn't the whole time,” she said, as more tears began to trickle down her cheeks
.
“Doesn't matter,” I said, ready to kill the fucker.
It was one thing thinking it had happened. It was another thing entirely to have it confirmed.
“It hadn't happened before the day I left,” she said, and that made me feel just a tiny bit better. “He grabbed my arm hard that day, and it freaked me out.”
“That was the only time then, right?” I asked, relief starting to fill me.
Then she shook her head, and every bit of my tension was back.
“When I met him at the hotel,” she said. “The day after Thanksgiving.”
“Seriously?” I asked.
“He smacked me in the face,” she said, and I thought I was going to lose my shit. “I was scared and wanted to get out of there. He grabbed my arm hard again, and when I pulled hard against him, he let go, and I hit the wall behind me.”
“Cassie,” I said, as I reached out and ran my hand up and down her arm. “That shouldn't have happened.”
It was taking all I had to hold back just how pissed I was to find out that he'd done even more. It could have been much worse, but he shouldn't have touched her at all, not ever.
“Thank you for telling me,” I said. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“You can't tell them, Parker,” she said. “Not any of them.”
I nodded, letting her know that I'd heard her request.
“What happens now?” I asked.
“I guess we wait,” she said.
My hand was still slowly moving up and down her arm. Her eyes were on mine, and tears began moving down her cheeks a bit quicker. I scooted in closer.
“What's wrong?” I asked her calmly.
“I don't know what I'll do if they give him my kids,” she said, and the tears broke free completely.
I'd done all I could not to wrap my arms around her, and I was done. I couldn't wait any longer. My heart was breaking for her. I leaned forward, wrapped my arms around her, and pulled her closer until her legs were over mine. When her head went forward and leaned against my chest, I ran my fingers through her hair over and over.
“It'll be okay,” I said, as I kissed the top of her head.
“How do you know?” she asked. “He has a lot of money, Parker. He's going to have more lawyers than we do. I know James thinks ours are good, but Jeff has proven to me that he is an evil man. He's going to try to prove I'm unfit, but I'm not. I know that I let someone else take care of our kids while I waited on him hand and foot, but I'm not the same woman now. I swear I'm not. My babies are my everything.”
“I know they are,” I said softly, as I continued to run my fingers through her hair. “They'll see that too. You're a good mom, Cassie. You love your kids. There is no way to miss that. You have a lot of people in your corner. You have to believe that they'll see what an asshole Jeff is. They won't take kids away from their mother and put them with a father that won't even be there for them.”
“I don't know what I'd do,” she said, as she pulled back and looked up at me. “I won't let it happen.”
The look in her eyes told me she was thinking something I wasn't going to like.
“What?” I asked.
“I can't be without them,” she said. “If they give them to him, I'm going back.”
I was right and so pissed at her words.
“You're fucking kidding me,” I snapped, losing my composure for just a moment, before taking a deep breath in and letting it out. “Do you want him?”
“What?” she asked. “No! I can't stand him, but I can't lose my kids. They are my life, Parker. I have to do what it takes to keep them.”
I shook my head.
“It won't come to that,” I said, and I knew I'd make damn sure of that, right along with the rest of the guys. “I get it. I feel the same way about my kids, Cassie. I'll do anything for them, but you cannot think things like that. You can't go back to him.”
She nodded, and I took the sides of her face in my hands, making sure her eyes were connected with mine.
“Please don't say that again,” I said. “They won't take the kids away from you. Everything will be okay. Do you hear me?”
When she nodded again, I felt myself beginning to relax. Then I felt her relax in my hands.
“You have twins?” she asked.
I let go of her face and sat back against the couch.
“I do,” I answered, and she scooted in even closer to me. “A boy and a girl. They're a bit older than Jenny.”
“Why don't you see them?” she asked. “You're really good with kids.”
“Tell that to my ex,” I said, as I leaned back and closed my eyes.
“Parker,” she said.
“I don't talk about it much,” I said, as I thought about how she'd just told and showed me things nobody knew. “It's hard. She's not the woman I thought, and she does everything in her power to hurt me through them. Every chance she gets, she uses my career against me, while at the same time, enjoying every penny she gets from it. That about sums it up.”
“I'm so sorry,” she said. “Is there anything you can do about it?”
“I've taken her to court, but she just seems to get more out of me. It makes no sense. She hasn't been letting me see them when she's supposed to, so I'm thinking about taking her back to court again.”
“That's not right,” she said. “How can she not let you see them?”
“She's full of excuses and takes them out of the state,” I answered. “They'd put my ass in jail if I did that.”
“So crazy how it works,” she said. “Jeff wants nothing to do with the kids anymore. He hasn't asked about them once since I left or before that for a while really, and he's trying to get full custody. You actually want your kids and can't see them.”
The ding of her phone had her reaching for it.
“I have to go get the kids,” she said. “I can't believe how long I've been here. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to take up your whole day.”
“Don't be sorry,” I said. “I'm the one that invited you over. I'm glad you're getting things moving with the divorce. Everything is going to be fine. Before you know it, it will all be over and you'll be able to get on with your life.”
I walked her to the door. When she reached forward and wrapped her arms around me, I was surprised, but I wrapped mine around her too.
“Thank you for lunch,” she said.
“Thank you for talking to me, Cassie,” I said.
“I'll see you later,” she said, as she pulled out of my hold and hurried out the door.
Then she was gone, not even looking back at me once. It took all I had not to get on the phone with her brother and let him know that we needed to pay that fucker another visit. I couldn't do it though. I'd promised her I wouldn't repeat what she'd told me, and I was a man of my word. There was no way I would give her a reason not to trust me. She needed to know that there were still good men in the world, even if it was as just a friend.
Chapter 15
Cassie
The following two weeks had me on pins and needles every single day. Not knowing what was going to happen was stressing me out more and more. I worked all day, played with the kids at night, and went to Sammie's place with them on the weekends. Between all of that and talking to Parker, my parents, and my grandma, I didn't have much time left.
No matter how busy I kept myself, Jeff and the divorce was on my mind every second. What was going on? When would I hear back from either of the lawyers? What was Jeff thinking about what I wanted? Was he going to give a little, or was he still going to fight for the kids? When would it be over?
I was standing on the field with the kids at Sammie's place when I heard my phone ring. Of course, I hurried over to check it like I had every time it rang. When I saw the name of my lawyer, I felt like I was going to be sick. I'd been waiting for him to call, and there he was. You'd think I would have been relieved, but I wasn't. I had no idea what he was going to say. Would it be good? Would it be ba
d? I was nervous. I looked up to see Parker looking at me. Then I took a deep breath and began walking toward the back, so I could hear.
“Hello,” I said.
“Cassie,” my lawyer said. “I've got some news for you.”
“Okay,” I said, feeling more unsure than ever.
“We've heard back from Jeff's lawyer,” he said. “He's giving up his fight for custody.”
“What?” I asked, not at all believing that I'd heard him correctly.
“I was just as shocked as you are honestly. I don't know what happened,” he said. “He's also agreed to give you your choice of house, your vehicle, and five million dollars.”
“You're kidding,” I said.
“Not at all,” he said. “We never even went to his lawyers. They came to us after going over the papers. I'm thinking we can get a lot more, Cassie. If he gave you that without an argument, we can definitely get more.”
“No,” I said. “That's perfect. I'm not fighting. I'm good with that. What do we do now?”
“You let me know which house you want,” he said. “It will be about six months from that date. You'll have to go to Michigan once to finalize everything, but that's all. I can go too, or you can just have the other lawyer there. Either way is fine since he's not fighting.”
“I guess James was right,” I said. “Having two lawyers made all the difference.”
“I don't think that's it,” he said. “It took us time to get it written up, and once they got it, they responded right away with these terms. Either he thinks you're going to want exactly what we originally said, or he isn't fighting at all. Either way, you're getting what you wanted. He hasn't even asked for visitation.”
“I'll get back to you tomorrow on the house. I honestly didn't think I'd even get one, so I hadn't even thought about it. I don't know what's gotten into him.”
“Neither do I,” he said. “I'll be waiting to hear back from you.”
“Okay,” I said. “Goodbye.”
I hung up my phone, and tears began slipping from my eyes. Was it real? Could he change his mind? Was he really letting me have my babies? I turned around and jumped when I saw Parker standing there. His eyes widened instantly.
“What is it?” he asked. “Why are you crying?”
Out of My League: Complete Box Set Page 26