Fathers by Matt Rogers

Author:Matt Rogers [Rogers, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-01-18T16:00:00+00:00

46

There was a long pause on the other end of the line.

Rebecca rocked back and forth in the driver’s seat, trembling. Her vision was pulsing, and she thought she might faint.

Then King said, ‘You’re Rebecca. From Mass General.’

Her hammering heart almost stopped. It at least skipped a beat. ‘How do you know that?’

She looked over her shoulder. Fearing a conspiracy. Expecting to see Myles sprinting towards her stationary car, eyes bloodshot and arm flapping like the separated bone fragments were dangling from strings.

King said, ‘Took me a second, but I recognised your voice.’

‘Good memory.’ It was an attempt to keep the tone light, but when she said “memory” it undulated and caught in her throat, and she found herself crying openly.

King asked, ‘What is it?’

When she pulled herself together, she said, ‘I’ve fucked up.’

‘How?’

‘You had a run-in with a cop, right?’

Dead silence.

She figured her best bet was just to charge ahead with zero hesitation. ‘He’s my boyfriend.’

Somehow, a quieter silence.

She could almost feel him bristling.

‘Well, now he’s my ex, I guess,’ she said.

‘Why do you think I care about your relationship status?’

‘Because he just tried to kill me and he’s going to try again and I had no idea who else to call.’ She sobbed, then caught it and swallowed it before it devolved into a full-scale meltdown. ‘I don’t know what to do…’

Even if he’d waited only a couple of seconds to respond, it would have seemed an eternity. Instead it took him nearly a full minute, so it felt like she was sitting in that damn car forever. She kept peeking over her shoulder, expecting to see Myles’ fist, or the barrel of a gun.

Finally King said, ‘Let’s meet, then.’

She hesitated. It’s what she’d wanted, but had she actually expected it to work? If she was honest with herself, she’d called him because she knew he wouldn’t help her. Some sort of subconscious self-punishment. And now it was all real. ‘Really?’

‘Yes.’

‘Where?’

‘Where are you?’

The question made the hairs rise on the back of her neck. Then she realised it wouldn’t make much difference if King was psychotic, too. Her situation couldn’t get much worse. He’d beaten the living shit out of Myles at the hospital, but it sounded like it was deserved. She had to hope he had something resembling a moral compass.

‘Hold on,’ she said, when she realised she didn’t know. She swiped out of the call, opened the maps application, took stock, and swiped back. ‘Chestnut Hill. South of Boston.’

He didn’t answer.

She asked, ‘Where are you?’ without thinking it through.

‘At home. Jane discharged us early because of what happened. I just had a son, remember?’

‘Yes,’ she said, restraining from slapping her own forehead. ‘I know that.’

‘Then why ask?’

‘I don’t know. I don’t even understand why you’re helping.’

‘Because I believe your boyfriend would kill you if he had the chance.’

‘Why?’

‘I met him.’

‘You broke his arm.’

‘He’s lucky that was it.’

‘What was he doing at the hospital?’

A pause. ‘You don’t know?’

‘No.’

‘Why do I doubt that?’

She nearly choked on her words, but cleared her throat and pressed on.

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