Her Possessive VET || COMPLETED||✔

21

Donovan

Two days later

I drive over to the basketball court at the park where we played a lot as kids.

It’s 2 a.m. and I’ve hit a lot of miracle shots here in our epic battles that would rage for hours on end.

But this time I’m hoping to hit the most epic shot of our friendship, and it’s the long shot of all long shots.

The goal?  To put an end to his rage and let his daughter and I move forward in peace, and my best friend too.

I pull up to the park and the first part of my miracle is answered.  I see him there taking free throws.  It’s what he used to do when we were kids and he was trying to figure something out.  It calms him, and I know after what he’s found out recently, calm is an emotion that he needs badly.

I shut off the engine and step out and into the night, moving toward the court.

“Court’s taken,” he says, not even turning to face me.

“Not here to challenge the winner or anything like that.  Just want to grab some rebounds for ya.”

“No need,” he says, taking a shot that goes straight through the net.  “I can’t miss tonight.  My mind is perfectly clear for once.  Once you cut the grass you can finally see the snakes.”

I purse my lips and lean against the fence.

“Is that all you see, or are you going to open your eyes and see your little girl is truly in love, and so am I.  Are you going to see this isn’t some passing fancy and that this is real and there’s no stopping it, not that we’d ever want to.”

He winces at my words and takes another shot…which clanks off the rim.  A miss and a bad one at that.

“Says you.”

“We don’t have to say anything because we’re at peace with our decision.  Did I fuck it up by not talking to your first?  Yeah, sure, but I don’t owe you an explanation for what I want to do with my life and neither does your daughter.”  I pause.  “You’re going to fuck around being a bitter guy and lose her if you’re not careful.”

“She’ll choose you over me and you know it.”

“That’s the point, Doug.  This isn’t a game.  This isn’t us competing against each other like we did when we were younger.  We’re past that.  We’re on the same team now.  We have been for years.  Don’t you get it?”

He takes another shot, but this time not from the free throw line.  He misses badly.  An air ball.  I grab the rebound and throw it to him, but he doesn’t even make an attempt to catch it.  He’s showing he doesn’t want anything from me.  Literally nothing.  He just lets the ball fly past him and then turns to get the ball as it ricochets off the other side of the fence.

I shake my head.  The man is stubborn, which I’ve always kind of liked as it’s made him a great friend.  When I mess up he sticks by me…until now.

He comes back with the ball, but this time he doesn’t take a shot.  “How long has this been going on?”  His voice is flat, lifeless almost.

“Nothing has been going on.  It just happened a little over a week ago when she found some abandoned puppies in a dumpster by her apartment.”

“Her apartment?”

“Yeah.  She moved back to town.  She was trying to keep it a secret because she knows you’re stubborn and you’d do everything you can to help her.  She knew you wouldn’t let her live over on that side of town.”