Meet and Greet
Chapter 60
Garrett’s POV
The first thing I did was stop to get some breakfast. I had some coffee at home but left before. I could eat. I wanted to calm down before I made any decisions about my next step. I had just ordered my meal when Tripp and Alden entered the restaurant. They immediately headed over to my table and sat down.
“Dude, I heard you were back. Why didn’t you call us?” Alden asked as he sat down and waved my waitress back to take their orders.
“I haven’t even been here twenty–four hours yet, Alden. I was going to call. I got tied up with something important,” I replied.
“What could be more important than your best friends?” Tripp asked with a laugh. He winked at the waitress and caused her to blush. He never shuts it off. He is still the same cocky jerk.
I waited for them to place their order and for the waitress to leave again before saying, ” Addison and Corbin are more important.”
“Addison is back?” Alden asked in surprise. I noticed them both showing interest upon hearing
the news.
“Yeah, and both of you need to stay away from her,” I replied. I nodded at the waitress as she returned to refill my coffee mug. She set out their mugs and filled them before leaving again.
“Who’s Corbin?” Alden asked as she walked away.
“My Son. Addison had my child after our night together,” I quietly told them. They were going to find out anyway. This is a small town; people would have noticed us arguing on her lawn yesterday.
“Are you kidding me?” Tripp asked. “Seriously? You’re a father?”
“I can’t believe it. You are always so freaking lucky. Wait, are you sure he’s yours?” Alden asked. I could see that he was jealous and hoping that I was wrong. I plan to straighten them out and tell them they can hang it up. They don’t have a chance with Addison, especially after
the stunt they pulled in high school. They both need to know that she is mine.
“He Is my son, Alden. She didn’t tell me, neither did my parents. I was being punished for the
three years I had punished Addison. I’m warning you both that you need to stay away from her
She isn’t going to want to see either of you. You have no real reason to see her anyway. She’s
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engaged to be married. I am going to have to work my ass off to try to get her back. She
doesn’t need you two doing a drop–in to say, “Sorry, I sexually assaulted you, okay? If Valerie
and Tammy hadn’t poisoned me against Addison, we would probably be married now,” I told
them.
“Garrett, I still feel guilty about what we did to her. I do want to apologize to her. We
apologized to her uncle, but I don’t know if he told her. We were cockier back then and believed
what Tammy said. I can admit it was because I always thought Addison was cute. Tammy
kept harping on Addison’s size, but she looked perfect to me. You know how things were back
then. We just thought she was too shy to tell us she liked us. She always seemed mad at you
or sad. I thought she had finally moved on. I don’t hit girls, but Tammy deserves to get her ass
kicked for doing that to Addison and us. We got in a lot of trouble and still feel terrible about
- it. We would never have done it if we hadn’t fallen for the lies we were told,” Alden pointed out.
“She kept your kid from you, Garrett? That’s tough. Do you have any pictures of him?” Tripp
asked. I pulled out my cell phone and pulled up some pictures I had taken from my mother’s
photo albums last night. My chest filled with pride as they commented on Corbin.
“I normally don’t have an opinion about kids, but he looks like you, Garrett. I know you’re so
proud of him. It’s all over your face,” Alden said.
“He has Addison’s eyes. He will be a heartbreaker when he gets older,” Tripp agreed.
1
Frustration pushes through me again as I put my phone down. I hate that I left my parent’s
house. I made it too easy on Valerie. But I was so angry at the time. Plus, with my injury, I feel
weak. Yesterday would have ended much differently if I had been hurt. I would have put that
smug bastard in his place. I should have just gone to my room to escape Valerie. Knowing her,
she will sleep in and stay out late for at least the next month. We shouldn’t see much of each
other. I only wanted to get away from her bullshit, but I needed to be close to talk to Addison.
I almost growled in frustration as I remembered I was supposed to meet Addison in over two
hours. I also wanted to stay close so I could see her when she was in her room. Seeing her
brings back happy memories. Well, I will be happy if that jerk stays away from her. I feel the
need to be near her, to protect her. I know I need to take advantage of her being so close. It
should increase my chances of seeing Corbin more often, as well. My parents have always
been too easy on Valerie and too hard on me and Holden. I hope they finally realize that after I left. The fact that they couldn’t see it themselves after all these years pissed me off.
“We just wanted to apologize to her, face–to–face, Garrett. I still feel bad about what we did to
her. I never knew that Tammy could be so malicious. She knew we were interested in Addison,
yet she sent us after her. I still feel stupid for falling for it. Most girls love the attention we give
them. You remember, back in the day, they would almost fight over us,” Tripp stopped
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Meet and Greet
speaking as the waitress brought our food out.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I wouldn’t push it. If you happen to run into her, apologize.
Otherwise, leave her alone. Her fiancé is a jealous jerk. He doesn’t want me even to set foot on
her property. He has security there and was serious about me not coming over again. If you
two show up, I am sure it will be a problem,” I told them.
“Why? Is he a prince or something, Garrett? Why does he need so much security?” Tripp asked
with a laugh.
“The guys with Tammy were the ones who stabbed me. They are getting more dangerous as they get to me and Addison, who are their endgame. You guys were lucky. They wanted to ruin
my throwing arm. I’m a man without a team at the moment. I have to heal and go through
physical therapy for months before they can tell me if I will play again or not,” I told them.
“What does he think Tammy will do to her?” Tripp asked.
“Well, they ruined my arm. They attacked both of you. You guys lucked out because it was a
fair fight without a weapon. She is even more interested in truly hurting both me and Addison.
Tammy isn’t playing. She feels we ruined her life. They hurt that lady public defender.
Addison’s fiancé thinks that Tammy wants to really hurt her. So, he is taking no chances on
her safety. Don’t mention that to anyone. I don’t want Addison to get hurt even more because
of me,” I added.
“Tammy is more ruthless than I thought. I know how much you liked your job. I’ll tell my mom.
She can add you to the prayer list at church,” Alden told me. His mother prayed for everyone. I
appreciated him doing that. I need all the help I can get.
I could tell that they felt horrible for me. They loved the game, too, but they didn’t make it to
the pros. They both work for their families. They may not love it, but they both make good
money. As we caught up with each other while eating breakfast, they had a lot of questions
for me about my team. Tripp also seemed interested in the fact that Valerie was back in town.
When the conversation drifted to her, my mood soured again.
“Wait. Garrett, are you still mad about her lying?” Tripp asked in surprise.
“Why wouldn’t I be? I lost out on four years of my son’s life because of what she did,” I asked in
surprise.
“Garrett, we were there. You could have asked Addison what happened. You two were tied at
the hip your whole life. We could tell you liked her, but you kept hurting her. You have to accept
some responsibility for that. Valerie may have vouched for Tammy, but you did, too. You did it
when you refused to talk to Addison about it. After you told us what happened, I put a lot of thought into it. You put all the blame on Valerie. She put it all on Tammy. Tammy was the root
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Meet and Greet
cause of the problem, but she couldn’t have done it without you and Valerie. Valerie did it for clout, to be on the squad her first year of high school. You got a hot girlfriend out of it,” Alden told me.
“I agree. We could tell you wanted to talk to Addison about it. Why didn’t you? Instead, you let everyone pick on her. If she doesn’t forgive you, maybe you should take your blinders off and see your fault in this. Tammy never worked alone. You and Valerie helped her every step of the way. I noticed that whenever you and Addison spoke, whenever it got close to why you shut her out, Tammy changed the subject or pulled you away. It was all in hindsight, but that is usually where you see your mistakes,” Tripp admitted before sipping his coffee.
I couldn’t believe how adult he sounded. He saw surprise on both our faces. “Look, after the incident, I had to agree to go to therapy. My father insisted. I didn’t see what I had done wrong. I’m a manager now and can’t behave improperly again. I learned my lesson quickly. I had to grow up. I run a department. I couldn’t stay the same person I used to be.” Tripp defended.
He was right. I have changed as a person, too. I am sure Addison has, as well. I will show her how much I have changed since she left. I am not the same person she knew in high school. I am willing and able to be the man she needs me to be. I need a chance. I pulled my cell phone out to fire off a text to Addison. I needed to meet her for lunch, but I needed to change the location. I had just pulled up her number when my phone rang.
I didn’t want to do this, but I wouldn’t ignore Dad again. I needed to go back home. I needed their help as I recovered from my injury. I also needed to be able to protect Addison. Tammy was going to come for her. I wasn’t going to leave anything to chance. I have changed. I wanted to be the bigger person. I needed my parents to help me get my son and Addison back into my life. I know I can’t do this alone.
