Page 59 of Unbreakable Thread

I love them together. I hope they get married.

The thought of that made me want to barf. I had to stop reading. Better yet, stay off social media.

With another sigh, I open the door and start the engine, my baby purring. That reminds me, I need to buy a car suitable for a baby. I shift into reverse when my phone rings. Shifting back into park, I fish for it in my purse. My stomach churns when I see it’s the rehab center. Oh God, did something happen? “Hello?”

“Mija, it’s Hector.”

I gasp. “Hector, are you okay?”

“Yes, everything is fine. I called to see if you’re okay. The facility subscribes to the Vegas newspaper, and well, I saw…Max on it. I was wondering if you⁠—”

I interject, saving him from the strain in his voice. “Yes, I did,” I say, my voice low.

“I’m sorry. Does he know about the baby?”

“No.” A painful laugh vibrates from my chest. “I called him the night of that ball, and my call didn’t get picked up.”

Oh, but he did call me eight times and left a voicemail saying we need to talk. After I drove from the parking lot. Fuck him. Then he had the nerve to text.

We have to talk in person, baby. Answer me so we can meet.

He can meet with his new companion. I’m sure the bitch is happy. She has what she’s always wanted. Him.

Hector hmms through the receiver. “Maybe I should call him. I know I won’t be much help because I’m not someone he looks up to.” I appreciate Hector’s kindness and checking up on me, but a part of me feels that I should despise the man for what he’s done to Max. For some reason, my heart won’t allow it. We’ve all been through a mountain of pain. If he relapses, then I don’t know what to do.

“Oh no, Hector, don’t worry about it… Carlos was right.” I whisper the last part.

“What is that? What did Carlos say?”

I guess he heard.

“Carlos is his trainer, right?”

I exhale, put my phone on speaker, then back out. “Yes, Carlos is his trainer, but he is also a father figure in his life.” I’ve been carrying this on my chest, and I know Hector won’t say a word. Well, at least I hope so once I tell him not to. “He said it’s best if I give Max space, and he doesn’t need to deal with me. Max needs to concentrate on the fight. You see, Hector, in the foster home that Max and I were in, he defended me from a man who wanted to do inappropriate things to me, and in return, they would… Maybe it’s not a good idea to tell you.”

“Please do. I need to know.”

I don’t want this to affect his recovery and set him back. But maybe he needs to hear it. “In return, they would beat him and whip him with the belt. He…he has marks on his back because of me. Scars. Just like Carlos said, I’m the reflection of his past.”

Through the other end, it sounds like a gasp or maybe a hard swallow. “He is wrong. Very. Very wrong. Listen, hija, the only people who have wronged Maximiliano are me and those who hurt him. Not you.”

“But…”

“No, Rainey, you did nothing wrong. What else did Carlos tell you?”

I sigh. “The truth. He said if I love Max, then I need to let him go. He’s right. Max doesn’t need to deal with all my mental shit. Personally, I was in a bad spot when I found out I was adopted, and even worse in the last four months. Therapy is helping, and of course, my baby is my light.” At the stoplight, I rub my temples. “I told him to move on, but of all people, why her? And so soon.”

Hector is quiet for half a minute. I would have thought he hung up if I didn’t hear the chatter in the room he’s in. “Now I remember. Annette’s parents were friends of ours. Maybe the article is misleading because, as a child, Max didn’t like her; he said she was annoying because, even then, that little girl would pester him. She was a spoiled brat.”

That hasn’t changed.

“I’m not trying to defend my son. Even in my worst drunken haze, I remember how he’d bring you up. Not just once—over and over. ‘She’s beautiful, Pops. And kind. The type of woman I could love forever.’ Then he would say, ‘Mom would have loved her.’ Then later—I guess after you two had found your way back to each other. He was helping me up and said, ‘I found her, Pops. I want you to meet her, but I can’t have you meet the woman I love like this.’”

I have to pull over. Just for a second. Just to breathe.

“I could barely stand. I didn’t know how to handle emotions, and I was a complete ass to him, saying horrible shit to him. I saw the hurt in his eyes.” He pauses. “I just don’t understand why he would be with Annette. I don’t see it. He doesn’t love her.”

Things can change, and for half of that day, I assumed it was all bullshit, but the more I thought about it, the more I saw it. He became distant way before I left his home. I know I checked out mentally, but he cut me off constantly with the phone calls he got, and it was always, “Oh, sorry, baby, I have to go.” Carlos, his promoter, and his manager would call, and he would rush out the door. I have never seen Max so drunk that he could barely walk. And who had dropped him off? For all I know, he could have been with Annette that night, drinking. “Things can change, Hector. She is a beautiful woman.”