“I don’t understand,” I said. “What… why did he do this?”
“Because he’s a good, Christian man,” she said, almost defensively. “And because he saw someone who needed help, and he happens to be in the position of helping.”
I swallowed.
Cory was a good man. Hadn’t I just argued that point to my father? Hadn’t I wished the very same thing Mom had, that it was Cory in our life instead of Dad?
So why was my stomach curdling like bad milk?
“This is a good thing, sweetheart. And I can pay you back for what you sent, so you can pay off that loan before it even has time to accrue interest. It’s all working out, don’t you see?”
But I couldn’t see anything but red.
Because I knew that while Cory had the means to help many people, he rarely ever did without wanting something in return.
“Mom, I need to go.”
“Okay, honey. I love you. It’s all good now. I’ll be sending you a check, okay?”
I couldn’t even manage to acknowledge her further before I was hanging up with shaking hands, and immediately thumbing through my contacts for Maliyah’s number. I typed out a text.
We need to talk. Now.
The bubbles bounced on the screen, then went away.
I gritted my teeth as I marched the rest of the way across campus, and I’d just swung through my dorm room door when my phone buzzed.
I have class until six. Meet after?
I only responded with a thumbs up emoji and my dorm number, although I was pretty sure she already knew it, and then I promptly threw my phone down, dragging my hands back through my hair as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on. It was only four now, and I was going to drive myself insane trying to piece this all together in the time I had until Maliyah could meet.
I was just about to hop in the shower — a cold one — when my phone rang.
Cory Vail was the name staring back at me.
My throat thickened, and I forced a breath before answering. “Hello?”
“Hello, son,” his deep voice echoed back. “How are you?”
The emotions that warred inside me then were too much to bear, a cross between familial pride and the wariness of a cornered animal.
“I’m having an interesting afternoon,” I answered, leaving the ball in his court.
He chuckled. “I imagine so. Your mom said she called and told you.”
“She did.”
The line was silent.
I cleared my throat. “Thank you, sir, for… for helping her.”
“You don’t sound particularly happy that I did.”
I sighed, sinking into the old couch from 1972 that was assigned to each athletic dorm room. “I am. Truly, I am. I just…”
“You’re wondering why I did it.”
“Frankly? Yes.”
“You’re a smart boy,” he assessed. “Smart man, soon to be. You know nothing really comes for free.”
The hair on my neck prickled.
“Here’s the truth of it, son — Maliyah has been miserable this last month or so. I know you can tell. I know you know as well as I do that it’s because she misses you.”
“She broke up with me,” I ground out.
“I realize that,” Cory replied, calm as ever. “But young women do a lot of things they regret. And as she’s my daughter, it’s my job as her dad to try to help her undo those wrongs if I can.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s simple. I take care of your mom,” he said. “And you take care of my girl. It’s as easy as that.”
“No.”
“No?” Cory’s question back to me was incredulous.
“It’s not easy, for more reasons than one. I don’t want to take care of Maliyah anymore,” I answered honestly. “And she made it clear that she doesn’t want me.”
“And clearly, she lied.”
“Well, that’s on her. I’ve moved on. I’m with someone else now.”
“I think whoever it is you’re with can’t possibly have as much of a connection as you and Li now,” he said, laughing like I was a child trying to explain something I knew nothing about. “You two grew up together. You were in a relationship for years. You can’t have been with this new person for more than, what… a few months?”
“What Giana and I have is none of your business, respectfully.”
My neck burned with anger, but I held my voice steady and as calm as I could.
“Fair enough,” he said after a moment. “Well, my boy, the choice is yours. But if I were in your shoes, I know what mine would be.” There was the sound of papers shuffling before he continued. “You can take my offer, or you can continue putting yourself into debt to haphazardly patch up a hole in the boat without actually fixing the problem.”
I frowned.
“She needs rehab, Clay,” he said, his voice lower, more serious.
I closed my eyes against the tears that seared my eyes at his words, at the truth in them that I’d hoped to deny until my dying day. My next inhale was stiff and full of fire.
“I don’t expect you to know about this at your age. Hell, I don’t want you to know about it. I don’t want you to have to think about it — which is why I’m trying to…” He paused, like he caught himself rambling. “She’s a functioning addict, son, and she needs real help. I can get her that. We can get her that.”
I shook my head, even though he couldn’t see me, no one could see me. But I had to non-verbally communicate to the fucking universe that I couldn’t do this.
“I know it’s not fair. I know it’s hard. You’re too young to have to make decisions like this. But trust me when I say this is just the start of hard choices that will line your life. And what you decide to do with this first one will define you as a man.”
I choked on something between a laugh and a cry for help.
“Don’t turn your back on your mom, Clay,” he continued, his words hitting their intended target as my chest cracked open. “I watched your father do it, and I can’t watch you do it, too. She needs you. And this is as easy as it’s going to get to help her while also being able to keep what you want.” He paused. “Football.”
I swallowed, eyes glossing over as I stared at the floor.
“She hasn’t cashed the check yet,” he said quietly. “I just want to remind you of that.”
Ice seared my veins. “So, you’re blackmailing me.”
“I’m making you a fair offer,” he countered. “One you should take.”
My nose flared.
After a long pause, Cory continued. “Think on it. I’ll give you the night. Oh, and let’s not tell Maliyah about this, okay? No need to involve the women we love in how the sausage gets made. We can handle it. Yes?”
I didn’t answer, but he took my silence as affirmation.
“That’s my boy. Alright, I need to run. We’ll talk in the morning.”
With that, the line went dead, and I collapsed into a heap, mind racing with everything that had just unfolded in the last hour.
And in that quiet dorm room, the weight of responsibility crushed me like a boulder.