Page 57 of The Way We Swing Back

Our laughs came out together then faded into silence until he started up again. “Have things settled down, though? Like with the dad shit.”

I took a second to find the answer. The type of answer I’d only give him. “I’m... okay. I think. I don’t think he’ll show up again. Zach probably scared him to death; he got his bat out and—” I stopped for a second. “But he keeps trying to contact me. I’ve had three different new numbers try to call me, and I’m pretty sure they’re all him. Like he’s just—”

Before I could finish, Calvin’s voice came on the other end. “Tanner, I’m here!”

Tanner turned his head. “One sec, Cal!” He turned back to me, his smile turning flat.

I didn’t let him find the excuse. “I’m in the front yard, and Gavin is staring out the window like a lost dog. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, dude,” I said as we ended the phone call.

I closed my eyes for half a second. When I opened them, I started the last half mile back to the house, trying to focus on the things that had gone well today. A coach that wanted me, and a new job to boot. A future that wanted me that didn’t run through the army or anyone named Chase.

My phone buzzed against my leg. Maybe Tanner, having snuck away from Calvin enough to finish the talk.

I pulled it out. Not Tanner—a 573 number I didn't recognize. I let it buzz in my hand until it went still, and a second later the little voicemail dot appeared. I didn't tap it.

Two days since he’d shown up at the house. Two days, and somehow I’d let myself believe a bat and a locked door were the end of it.

I shoved my phone back into my pocket and kept walking, the good day already going thin around the edges.

I tried to focus back on the feeling from before I called Tanner.

Not whatever he and Calvin were doing. And not whatever was on the other side of that number. Dad didn’t get to have my mind today.

Chapter 25

Inever listened to the voicemail. Deleted it the next morning without playing it, the way I'd deleted the two before it. If I didn't hear his voice, he couldn't get in.

But he got in anyway. Three nights a week I ended up out here, walking through town past sunset, because the alternative was lying in bed listening to him talk in my head—or worse, reaching for the thing under my bed that wasn't there anymore.

I wandered my normal route, my feet smacking off the pavement. Life was going well—almost too well—but there was still a sense of impending doom. I’d started working for Nate, picking up a couple of shifts a week after school. The Central Missouri coach had called and even ended up offering me a sixty percent scholarship if I managed an 1100 on the SAT, which I could do. I’d need to figure out how in the world I’d pay for the rest, but Step One was accomplished.

Still, the threat that Dad would show up, or I’d blow my shoulder, or I’d do something to upset the Quinns constantly worked its way into my head.

I wanted to grab a beer, have just one sip. But if I had one, I knew I’d have two. And I’d made a promise to myself. That promise wouldn’t be broken today, and I’d take a fourth lap if I had to.

Darkness had surrounded me an hour ago—or maybe longer. I wasn’t sure of the time, as I’d left my phone at the Quinns’ house after telling Gavin I was going for a walk. He'd offered to come, and any other night I'd have said yes. But I needed the kind of quiet Gavin didn't know how to make.

I kept going for another half hour until my feet started to get sore, the soles of my shoes thinning out. I was ten minutes from the house when headlights flashed in my eyes and pulled slowly up in front of me.

Zach.

He still wasn’t talking to me much; it wasn’t like he had expressly said he was pissed, but I hadn’t been getting the warm fuzzies from him since I’d moved in.

I walked toward the passenger-side door and tried to open it, but it remained locked as he rolled the window halfway open.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “It’s past midnight.”

Shit. “Yeah, I went for a walk. Forgot my phone.”

“Doesn’t matter, Mom’s scared to death. Let me call her.” His phone rang once before she picked up. “Yeah, I found him. He’s coming home now; he’ll be there in ten minutes.”

I reached for the door again, but it was still locked. “Open up, dude,” I said.

He looked at me and ended his call with his mom. His lips curled, his eyes annoyed and roaming. “You’ve walked this far; you can finish.” He rolled up the window and pulled away.