Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game (14 page)

“Wow…” he shook his head slowly. Then when the
realization finally sunk in, he started bouncing around. “Wow, I
can’t believe this!
You’re
Joe Preston’s son. That is
so
cool!” He then ran across the room to his desk and
grabbed up an autograph book. “Can I have your autograph?”

“Josh,” Maddie scolded.

“What?” he questioned.

“Maybe Noah doesn’t want to sign your autograph
book.”

“No, it’s fine,” I said.

The doorbell rang. “Pizza’s here!” Josh cried and
then ran out of the bedroom.

Maddie smiled at me. “I’m sorry about that.”

“No, he’s fine.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“If Joe Preston is your father, why do you go by
Sullivan?”

Oh Jesus. She just had to ask that question. I didn’t
know what I was going to tell her since she had no realm of
understanding. I mean, her parents were the ideal couple. But, she
wanted an answer, so I drew in a deep breath. “Because I don’t
really have a relationship with my father. He was twenty-one when
he got my mom pregnant, and he really hasn’t had much to do with
us. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a total deadbeat. He does pay a
little child support.”

“Oh, I see.” Her face flushed the color of the red
spread covering Josh’s bed. It made me feel like an ass. “Then I’m
really sorry for what Josh did—and for all this,” she said,
gesturing around the room.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize.” I cleared
my throat. “Um, can I ask you something?”

“He has leukemia,” she replied anticipating my
question.

I grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.” Maddie stared at the door. “It’s been
really rough on him. He’s had two rounds of incredibly aggressive
treatment. The doctors say his prognosis is pretty good.”

Pretty good? I didn’t want to say that I didn’t like
odds that were
pretty
good. You might as well say you had a
shot in hell.

“Did Jake…?”

“Yes, Jake met him, and he was really good to Josh.
He even skipped basketball practice to sit with Josh during one of
his treatments.”

I tried not to let the surprise show on my face. I
did remember Jake bitching about having to run suicides until he
puked because he’d cut out on a practice. Of course, he never told
me why he skipped out.

“Was he at the funeral the other day?” I asked.

“Yeah. Mom and Dad weren’t sure about him going, but
he finally wore them down.”

We were interrupted by Josh’s voice. “Guys, come
on!”

I followed Maddie down the stairs. Mrs. Parker was
setting the dining room table while Pastor Dan was putting ice in
glasses. Maddie ushered me to the table, and before I could sit
next to her, Josh shook his head. “No, I want Noah to sit
here
,” he insisted. Maybe there was some kinda religious
hoodoo hanging over the house. Normally, I would’ve recoiled at the
very idea of Josh. But instead, I smiled at Maddie and moved to sit
next to Josh.

The Parker’s were the real deal. After we bowed our
heads over paper plates, Pastor Dan gave thanks. I started to feel
like I was in an episode of that old show
7
^th
Heaven
. Then we started making a dent in the
two large pizzas they’d ordered from Dominos.

For a sick kid, Josh sure could put the food away. I
mean, he seriously could’ve put Blaine and some of the other
football players to shame with the way he devoured his pizza. For
dessert, Mrs. Parker had homemade chocolate pound cake. I thought
I’d died and gone to Heaven.

After dinner, Mrs. Parker and Maddie quickly cleared
the table for game night. No shit, they seriously had a game night
once a week where they played board games together. You know, all
that jazz that it’s not about playing the game but spending quality
time together and all. This particular night was Monopoly.

Maddie glanced over at me, anxiously gauging my
reaction to game night. I smiled. “I’m a killer Monopoly player. I
used to always win when I played with my grandparents and my
mom.”

“Oh really?” Pastor Dan questioned, with a grin.

Josh leaned over to me. “Watch out for Dad—he
cheats!”

Pastor Dan laughed. “Now son, don’t you be telling
lies to our guest.”

“Daddy, you know Josh is telling the truth,” Maddie
exclaimed, a grin etched across her face.

“It’s sad that two children would accuse their father
of such a thing,” Pastor Dan replied, and then he gave me a
wink.

Maddie and Josh weren’t lying. We had barely gotten
started when Pastor Dan tried to pull one over on us. “No offense,
sir, but should a minister be doing that sort of thing?” I
asked.

I thought I might have offended him, but instead, he
roared with laughter, and so did Mrs. Parker. “That’s a wonderful
question, Noah,” Mrs. Parker said. “I’ve often thought the very
same thing.”

“All I have to say is sometimes you need a little
something to repent for, and I know He forgives me!”

We all laughed. Fortunately, I was able to outwit
Pastor Dan’s schemes to end up the Donald Trump of the night.

“Good job, Noah,” Maddie said.

“Yeah, way to beat Daddy!” Josh chimed in. It was the
first thing he’d said in a long time, and I’d noticed for the last
few minutes he’d been propping his head up on his elbows. He
yawned, and Mrs. Parker nodded.

“All right, that’s enough for tonight. Josh is
getting tired.”

“I am not!” Josh protested.

Pastor Dan shot him a look, and he piped down.

“I’ll clean this up, Mom,” Maddie said.

Mrs. Parker smiled. “Okay, I think I’ll let you. I’m
going to take my coffee in the living room.”

“I’ll join you,” Pastor Dan said.

When Josh dallied at the table, Pastor Dan gave a
short whistle and a jerk of his head. Josh hopped up and followed
into the living room.

I started helping Maddie pick up the game pieces when
the thump, thump of a jacked up stereo interrupted us. Even with
her dark hair shrouding her face, I could see Maddie had flushed
scarlet. “What is that?” I asked.

“My dad and his oldies,” she murmured.

“Maddie, get in here!” Josh shouted.

In the living room, Pastor Dan and Mrs. Parker were
dancing together. Josh was doing crazy dance moves around the
living room. I recognized the song. It was
Smokey Joe’s
Cafe
, and it had been one of my grandfather’s favorite tunes
from the 50’s. A slow burn radiated in my chest, but I did my best
to ignore it. I wished that it was possible just once to think of
Granddaddy or of Jake without the same debilitating chest pain.

Pastor Dan saw Maddie, and his eyes lit up. Without
missing a step, he motioned to her from the living room.

Maddie’s face glowed with mortification.

“Come on and dance with me, Maddie,” he urged.

“No Daddy!” Maddie hissed.

“Madeline Elizabeth Parker, get your uptight tail
over here this instant!”

I couldn’t help laughing as Maddie stalked over to
her father. He grabbed her into his arms and did a fast waltz
around the living room. I had to admit, Pastor Dan had some serious
moves. While he and Maddie cut a rug, Mrs. Parker did some old
moves from the 60’s with Josh—the twist, the alligator, you name
it—they were doing it. I think they even started doing the
Sprinkler.

Pastor Dan dipped Maddie, and then spun her over to
me. “Your turn, Noah,” he urged.

Maddie blushed as she tried to catch her breath. “You
don’t have to.”

Since no one from school was going to see me and
possibly give me shit, I decided what the hell. I grinned. “No,
it’s okay.”

“Really?”

“Sure.”

She smiled with surprise when I pulled her to me. I
quickstepped her across the room like Grammy had taught me. We had
our own
Dancing with the Stars
moment in the Parker’s living
room.

“Nice footwork, Noah,” Pastor Dan complimented.

“Thank you, sir.”

I cleared my throat and stared into Maddie’s eyes.
“So did Jake ever…”

“Dance like this?” Maddie responded.

“Uh-huh.”

Maddie shook her head. “No, he didn’t.”

Hmm, I guess there was one thing I’d done that Jake
hadn’t. I didn’t know if that was a hollow victory or not. I mean,
he might not have ever had the opportunity. But what I really
wondered is if given the opportunity would he have shot down the
chance.

When the large grandfather clock struck ten, Mrs.
Parker turned off the stereo. She gave Josh a look. “Okay, I think
it’s way past somebody’s bedtime.”

“Aw, Mom,” Josh whined.

“Upstairs, now,” Mrs. Parker replied.

I glanced at Maddie. “I guess I better be heading on,
too.” I smiled at Pastor Dan and Mrs. Parker. “Thanks for having me
for dinner and game night.”

Pastor Dan smiled. “You’re very welcome. Come back
anytime.”

“Thanks.”

Maddie walked me to the door. As I started off the
porch, I looked back. “So I’ll see you at school tomorrow?”

A small expression of surprise flickered in her eyes,
and I felt like an ass. Maddie must’ve been thinking I’d be behind
the scenes friends with her or something. “Um, yeah, sure. See you
at school.”

“Okay, then. Thanks again for everything.”

“You’re welcome.”

As I dug my keys out of my pocket, I grinned. It
wasn’t the way I’d envisioned the night—board games with the
7
^th
Heaven
gang and dancing
around the Parker’s living room, but all in all, I had a fun,
g-rated time.

***

On Tuesday, I stopped by the Nelson’s house.
Luckily, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were at work, and Jonathan was the
only one at home.

“Hey man, what’s up?” he asked.

“I came by to look for Jake’s camera.”

Jonathan grinned. “Oh, like, for the
ring
investigation?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” I replied.

“Good idea. Man, I bet it’ll have an assload of
chicks on there!”

I laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure it does.”

Jonathan led the way upstairs to Jake’s room. On the
bed were a couple of duffle bags. Jonathan started unzipping some
of them. “This was the stuff he had with him up at PawPaw’s. Mom
hasn’t had the heart to unpack it yet,” he informed me.

I nodded. Something about seeing those bags weirded
me out a little, and I backed away from the bed—fully content with
letting Jonathan find the camera.

“Jesus,” Jonathan murmured.

My gaze fell on a plastic bag in his hand. It was
Jake’s iPhone. He must’ve had it on him at the accident because it
had clearly been bagged by the police—not Jake’s MeeMaw.

I gulped. “Does it work?” I croaked.

Jonathan shot me a look before he unzipped the bag.
“I dunno, man. It looks fine.” He grimaced. “It must’ve been in his
truck and not on him when…” Neither of us wanted to think about the
rest of that statement. The battery clicked off, so Jonathan dug in
the bag for the charger.

Luckily, Jake had never felt the need to lock his
phone, or we would have been shit out of luck
. “Lock it? Hell, I
could never remember the password, so screw that!”
he’d
said
.

Once the phone came up, I started scrolling through
the pictures—paying particular attention to the dates. Finally, I
found the ones Avery was talking about. “Whoa!” I didn’t know if I
would ever be able to look at her again, considering she was not
only naked, but in some very, very provocative poses.

Jonathan leaned over me. “Holy shit! Is that Honey
Boo-Boo?”

I laughed. “Yeah, that’s her—a lot more than I’m used
to seeing”

“Damn, I bet she doesn’t show all that at the
pageants.”

“I sure as hell wouldn’t think so,” I mused.

“What are you going to do with them?” he asked.

“I promised her I would delete them.”