Damaged Souls (Broken Man) - By Christopher Scott Page 0,53

that’s not the issue.”

Oh no, we’re not going to talk about that, are we. Amanda doesn’t know I’m a virgin, does she. Please can we change the subject, Greg looked at the two of them with pleading eyes as he wondered what Delaney told her.

“Don’t worry, Greg,” Delaney reassured him as she took his hand and smiled. “You’re not in trouble.”

“Everything is fine,” Amanda echoed Delaney’s sentiments. “We just want the two of you to be careful and to take your time and enjoy the experience. With that in mind, Jack and I are going out of town after graduation Friday night, and we both feel comfortable leaving the two of you alone in the house. We trust you to act responsibly as adults.”

That is a relief, Greg realized he might get out of this conversation alive and didn’t know whether to thank Amanda or beg for her forgiveness before deciding on the former. “Thanks, Amanda, that means a lot to us.”

“You are welcome,” Amanda replied and smiled at his awkwardness. “And you know if either of you need anything or just want to talk, you can always come to me or Jack. You understand that, right.”

“Of course we do,” Greg replied as he realized that wasn’t going to happen, at least not on this subject.

At least not with him anyway.

* * *

This is not going to be easy, Jack thought to himself as he took a few final minutes to prepare for his meeting with Mitch and his attorney.

I think that will be adequate, he went over his list for what must have been the tenth time that afternoon. Timing is everything, Jack reminded himself as he visualized what he was going to say. You need to isolate him, you need to keep the attorneys out of it. It’s just an old fashioned street fight, just you and that fat piece of shit.

Jack was ready to hear the bell ring as he looked at his watch and realized he still had thirty minutes. Is everything in the room perfect, he questioned himself once again as he surveyed his surroundings. Chairs in proper spots, check. Water pitcher ready, check. Telephone within reach, check. The proper legal documents in order, check. Their backs against the wall, check.

Yes, Mitch was going to find out his back was against the wall, that his deal was falling apart, that his precious son was going to face consequences for his crime. No, maybe not the consequences he deserved, but consequences nevertheless. Consequences that were going to hurt him and his father.

This is all about my family, Jack realized as he prepared for battle. I will not let Greg and Delaney down again, I will not have my wife look at me as a failure. I will beat him and I will get what I want.

Or at the very least, I will go down swinging.

* * *

“Hey Greg, come on in,” Amanda was surprised to see him as she looked up from her notes. “Where’s Delaney.”

“She’s taking a nap with Logan,” Greg replied as he took a seat in front of her. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“No, my appointment isn’t until 4:30, I was just reviewing a file,” Amanda made sure he felt welcome as she put the file aside. “Is everything okay.”

“Yeah, I was just thinking about earlier,” he paused as he seemed to consider what to say. “I think it’s really nice that you and Delaney talk about everything.”

“I think it is too,” she replied and tried to figure out what he was trying to say. “We’ve always been that way, I think it’s probably because I’m not quite old enough to be her mother.”

“That might be part of it, but she really is just comfortable with you.”

Where is this going, Amanda tried to figure it out as she watched his facial expressions. “Don’t you feel comfortable talking to Jack.”

“Well sure,” Greg hesitated as he tried to explain. “We actually had a really good conversation the other night.”

“That’s good,” Amanda realized Jack wasn’t the easiest guy to talk to and that Greg rightfully wasn’t going to talk to him about Delaney. “Is there something you want to talk to me about.”

“I don’t know,” Greg reminded her of Logan as he looked down at his shoes.

“Greg, is it about Delaney.”

“Well, yeah,” he didn’t seem to believe she would have to state the obvious. “I know she already told you, but I have never been with a girl before, not like that.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,