Page 63 of Contentious

“I can picture that.”

“There’s some stuff we should talk about before you let me spend more time with Ty.”

“What stuff?”

“About me being in recovery, for one thing.”

After a long pause, she said, “How long have you been sober?”

“I’ve been clean for eleven years.”

“Clean. Not sober?”

“Both. I was addicted to heroin.”

“Oh.”

“I know that’s a lot to hear, but it’s been eleven years, and I gave up everything, drugs and booze.” After a pause, he said, “You might not want me around after you hear the whole story.”

“Are you willing to tell me the story?”

She deserved to know the truth about him, so he nodded.

“You don’t want to?”

“It would kill me if you were to look at me differently, and people often do when they find out about my past.”

“I promise I won’t look at you differently,” she said.

He slowed to a stop at a red light. “Even after what happened to your mom?”

“You’re not her, and I promise I won’t look at you differently.”

“Don’t make a promise you might not be able to keep.”

He’d no sooner said those words than a car smashed into them from behind, sending his vehicle into an active intersection, where another car hit the front of the SUV.

“What the fuck? Are you okay?”

“I… I think so.”

Carson jumped out of the car to confront the guy who’d hit him from behind, but that car was long gone. The lady driving the car that hit the front of the SUV got out to check the damage to her car.

He swiped at something on his face, saw blood on his hand and went to check on Cresley, who was still in the car. Carson opened the passenger door, released her seat belt and helped her out of the car. As she stumbled into his arms, he realized she was crying.

“Are you hurt, honey?”

“N-no. Just shaken up.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m okay. I just… I’m a single mom. I’m all he has.”

“I get it.” He settled her on a bus stop bench. “Let me deal with the cops, and we’ll get you to that meeting.” He’d call an Uber to take them.

“I’ll reschedule. It’s fine.”

Carson massaged his aching neck as he went to meet the LAPD officers who’d responded to the scene. “Someone hit me hard from behind. Pushed me into the intersection.”