Scott
“Can I speak to my son?” I must have dozed off, but I heard the inherent command in his voice.
My eyes adjusted to the light as the door was cracked open and the bright lights from the nursing station filtered through.
“He’s sleeping,” Bridge answered in a tight whisper, and my body was robbed of heat as she slowly moved out of the bed. I wanted her to go home, but Bridge refused to leave me, so the best I could do was offer the space of my hospital bed until I was discharged in the morning. What was supposed to be a couple of hours of observation turned into an overnight stay. Royals’ team doctors wanted to make sure that I was a hundred percent before I got on the plane so extra precautions were granted.
I pulled myself up into a sitting position and rubbed my hands against my eyes to dull the harrowing brightness that woke me up. I eyed Bridge as she walked towards the door and shut it.
“Dad,” I said, my hands motioning for Bridge to stay. “Whatever you say to me can be said in front of Bridge.”
My dad stood stoically by the foot of the bed as I turned the lights on overhead with the remote in my hand.
“I think it’s best –“ My father started, but I raised my hand up, “No, she stays.”
Bridge sat on the chair beside the bed and her hazel eyes flickered at me in question, asking me if she should really stay. I lifted my head, nodding yes, and faced my father.
He was still in his suit, a black and gray combo that had no doubt been handpicked by my stepmom before she left for Paris. Stef had texted me that she was going on a weeklong rendezvous with her friends, and I was actually glad that she wasn’t here right now. Stef was a cool lady, but she fussed too much when I was in the hospital. She’d been calling non-stop, and I liked her. I just wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.
Now the elephant was in the room…
“Is it true?” Point blank, point made.
I wanted to know the truth straight from his mouth.
He’d hidden the truth about blackmailing Kara to be with me. This time, I wanted to get the truth from him. Did he do it? Did he harass his long-term employee? Rissa was fifteen years his junior. Being my father’s secretary had been her first job since she’d graduated from college. She was charming and nice from the many times I’d met her and talked to her.
“Our lawyer is handling everything.” His face, normally set in stone and power, was now lined with worry. My father was in his early fifties yet he didn’t show his age. He was an avid runner and tennis player. The appearance of crow’s feet by his eyes and the small lines against his forehead were the only indicators that he was aging.
I took a deep breath and felt my lungs constrict, “So it’s true. You harassed Rissa.”
Bridge’s audible gasp was loud in the silence that encumbered the walls of this hospital room.
“It’s none of your concern, son. I’m here because I want to know how you are.” His eyes, reminiscent of mine, were weary and tired. “I talked to Conner, he said that everything’s good. You’re cleared to fly and you can play again in no time.”
Funny how he was now concerned about my playing time. Samuel Strauss couldn’t be bothered to look at the football field when I played. He was too busy handling deals and managing a university that his face never left the screen of his phone.
“Conner also said that –“
“Fuck what Dr. Jackson said. We both know why you’re here, Dad. You’re not here for me. You’re here because you’re trying to make me see your side.” My father was great at mitigation and restitution. “You cheated on Stef.”
His face was hard, his facial muscles were moving and I knew he was getting angry, “I didn’t cheat on Stef. I only had a few indiscretions with Rissa, but that was it.”
“Is that what you’re calling it now? Indiscretions? Is that what your attorney’s coaching you to say?” Throughout the years I’d heard my father judge so many of his friends for having affairs and cheating on their wives. Seems like the stone-thrower should be dumping rocks all over himself. “Does Stef even know?”
“I’m not here to discuss Stef or Rissa.” His posture was dismissive. I’d seen it when he thought something was absurd, when he wanted me out of his office because I wanted clearance to play football, when he thought that the subject matter wasn’t worthy of a discussion. “I’m here because I’m concerned for you.”
“Bullshit.” I clenched my teeth, “You’re here because you’re saving face.”
“Rissa will be making a statement soon, withdrawing the charges,” he said smugly and I’d never wanted to punch my father until now. “Our lawyer has reached a deal with her. She won’t be making any noise from now on.”
“Are you going to tell Stef the truth?” I asked, knowing my stepmom deserved it. He was my blood, but she was closer to my heart. I hadn’t been an easy child, but she was patient and understanding. She’d stayed with me when I was confined in the hospital and reassured me that everything would be okay.
My father looked away for a second and his hand went to his phone, his pacifier.
“If you’re paying someone to hide what you did when you and her were alone together, it means that you did something wrong. Didn’t you tell me, Dad, that marriage is sacred? That adultery was a sin? What is it – thou shalt not covet?” I couldn’t contain the disgust in my voice; I’d gone to a private religious school for my elementary years. Every single one of my teachers loved my father. They said he was the epitome of an upstanding man. When he met Stef, he’d married her within a year and they’d been the picture perfect rendition of a great and holy marriage.
“You don’t understand. It’s different…” He said defensively, his arms hanging tight against his sides as he walked around the room. “Rissa was a mistake.”
“Ah. Rules only apply to you when you want them to. Rissa’s a mistake since you were found out. I’ve never wanted a perfect dad. I just wanted you to be a good one.” I said, his dishonesty ripping out the respect I had of him, “You should really tell Stef before someone else tells her.”
My dad’s face turned stormy and his stance was rigid when he uttered, “You’re not going to say anything to Stef. This is between me and her. You don’t know what it’s like so you have no right to judge me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I answered, standing up so I could move towards Bridge who hadn’t said anything this whole time. She was watching as an observer, staying as my girlfriend, holding out her hand as my lover. “I have every right to judge you. You have interfered with my life for as long as I can remember. You’ve blackmailed Kara, and we both got hurt because of it. You’ve told me many times how much you hated football.”
“You are your mother’s son.” He was now shooting insults with his stare and they kept coming. “You think you know everything now because you’re a million dollar athlete? You think you’re high and mighty because you’re popular? You think you’re perfect because your life is all glitz and glamour? You could have another seizure and everything will come crashing down on you. All it takes is another one and you’re done, Scott.”
Bridge’s hands were soothing against my back as I sat beside her, “I am my mother’s son. The woman who died in childbirth while giving me life. The same woman whose money jumpstarted the business that you’ve sold yourself to. The woman who even in her grave showed me how much she loved me with the inheritance she’d secured for me as soon as she found out that she was pregnant. If you think I’m playing for popularity and all the shit that came with football, then you really don’t know me.”
“I’ve wasted enough time being here. I have a flight to catch in an hour. This-” my father’s hands gestured in the air, “was worthless.”
“There it is, another truth from you.” There were times when I thought my father was callous and cold, but I never thought of him to be hateful. I knew different now.
“I’ve done everything I could to make your life as good as it is now. You’ll never see it from my point of view until you’re in my position.” He wasn’t wasting words now, the hits were coming out left and right, “I didn’t ask for a son like you, one who threw useless balls for a living. I wanted a son who would continue my legacy, be the force in academia and set trends in the business world. I keep trying, but I keep failing.”
Bridge’s hand tightened on mine, and just as I was about to respond, she cut in.
“That’s enough, Mr. Strauss. It’s best if you leave.” Bridge’s voice shook in fury. “I’ve heard enough.”
“Who are you?” My father’s eyes landed on Bridge and a strange look passed over his face, “Ah. Bridgette Cordello. My son’s current girlfriend. I wondered how long you’d be quiet before you started to defend him.”
“Please get out.” Bridge’s hands were clammy. “Scott has been through a lot. He doesn’t need any more stress right now.”
My dad placed his finger against his mouth, looking like he was in deep thought. “It’s amazing how therapy and years of speech lessons can teach a woman like you to speak normal.”
“Get out,” Bridge said. “You have no right.”
“What the hell?” My brows shot up, “You had her investigated? You’re really something, Dad.”
“Kara would have been the better match for you. She’s got the finesse of a princess and she was an obedient woman.” My father mocked, “But you blew your chances with her.”
“Fuck off.” My voice grated with rage, “Get out, Father, before I call security on you. You’re not needed here.”
Bridge stood up, and her eyes misted as the words came out of her, “You’re wrong, Mr. Strauss. Kara wouldn’t have been a better match for Scott. You know why I know that?”
My dad waved his hand as if it was of no-consequence while walking towards the door.
“Because no one would love Scott as much as I do.” Bridge stated, “He’s an amazing guy, your son. His brain might work against him sometimes, but he doesn’t let it rule over him. He’s a fighter and he’s honest and loyal. He would never do the underhanded things that you did with whoever this Rissa person is.”
I interrupted my father when he looked like he was going to say something, “If you won’t tell Stef, someone will. Be careful of what you do because it will be done to you ten times over. This is the first and last time I’m going to say this, leave my relationship with Bridge alone. You are not a part of it. Maybe one day, when she and I get married, I’ll be inviting Stef. I’m not so sure about you yet.”
My father’s face blanched. “You got this all wrong.”
“No Dad,” I said with a deep sigh, sometimes things happened so that we’d see the true identity of people, even the ones we’d come to call as family. “I think I finally got it right.”
With that, I closed the door on him.
He would always be my father.
But he didn’t always have to be in my life.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered in Bridge’s ear as her scent filled my nose, feeling the weight of exhaustion come over me.
“For what?” She asked rhetorically, massaging my arms as we stood by the foot of the small bed.
“For having a shitty dad.”
Her laugh wasn’t expected, but it was most welcome. It’s just what I needed after the past day and a half of stressful events.
“Oh babe. I know what it’s like.” Her hazel eyes beamed at me with so much love. “I guess now we’re even.”