The photos came from an anonymous source that spotted the happy couple leaving together in the same car. AJ immediately scrolled back to the photos, but there were none of either of them getting into a car. He scrolled back down and read some more.
According to the source, the guy was Clair’s dad but the source wasn’t able to identify him. As big as AJ stretched the photo on his screen, it was at a weird angle, and the guy’s face was shrouded. It could have been anyone. As usual, it was all a bunch of bullshit speculation. Their daughter’s near tragic incident had brought the two back together and that’s why Rage Romero had been given his walking papers by Ms. Lara.
He’d already begun to roll his eyes when another photo made him freeze in place. It was a super close-up of the guy’s inner forearm with a tattoo bearing Clair’s name. It was grainy as fuck, but AJ could see the letters clear enough.
“He has a tattoo with her name?” AJ muttered, studying the close-up photo, comparing it to the other of the guy and Addison.
“It looks fake to me,” Emi said, and AJ finally looked up and away from his screen.
“Is this the only story about this?”
“They’re the first one to break the story and post the photos,” Emi said. “But now everyone else is jumping on it and adding their two cents after the fact. Those are the only photos though.”
“AJ, you know it’s all bullshit,” Isaiah said. “Why get yourself worked up about this? This might even be an underhanded tactic St. Louis is using to get you riled up. Remember other teams used to do this kind of shit way back? Try to get in your head before a big game? Anonymous source?” Isaiah’s face soured. “Really? Two days before the playoffs start? Don’t let them do it, man. Let it go.”
“I will,” AJ said, already bringing the phone to his ear after hitting speed dial and hurrying toward the front of the house. “I’ll just ask her about it.”
He walked out into the front entrance of his house just as Addison answered. “Hey,” he said as soon as she answered, the sound of her voice instantly making him smile. “How are you? How’s Clair?”
“Good,” she said, even though AJ detected something strange in her voice. “Clair is pretty much back to normal now.”
“That’s great,” he said, smiling, but he’d never been the type to beat around the bush, so he got right to it. “You sure everything’s okay with you?”
“Yeah, but I was just getting ready to call you, actually.”
“You were?” he asked as the excitement about that had him smiling again.
“Yes. I wanted to apologize again.”
“For what?”
“My mom and Clair teamed up to do a little investigating about that theater in Chicago.”
Ever since the story broke of Clair’s allergic reaction to something she’d eaten in the theater, the media had been all over it. Since Addison had specifically asked the manager about the oil used in the popcorn, a lot of the investigative journalists hoping to make a name for themselves with one of the most talked about stories that month were demanding answers. It wasn’t until later when it was leaked about the ice cream thing and Addison had admitted to telling Fred about it that the theater had used it as a scapegoat to get the negative glare of the media off them. Not to mention any kind of lawsuits.
“Clair was upset when I had to explain to her about the breakup. My parents weren’t happy about it either, so I guess Clair and my mom decided to investigate a little further.” She sighed. “They uncovered something the theater hadn’t admitted. Yes, they don’t use peanut oil anymore, but that wasn’t until very recently. Like a week or so prior to our visit there. They started using the canola oil like the young lady behind the counter showed me, but they never changed out the popcorn machines, machines that for years had been using peanut oil. Apparently, because of the media storm, they quietly changed the machines out just two days after Clair’s incident.”
AJ’s mouth fell open. “Those sons of bitch—”
“My dad has his lawyers researching it already because—I didn’t know this—with the rise of food allergies, their parent company had switched to canola and made a few other changes to their menus and had already been advertising on their website as allergy-friendly theaters. But they’d failed to switch out the machines in some of their smaller affiliate theaters like the one we were at. Just a trace of anything nut-related can cause a severe reaction for people like Clair.”
“Obviously,” he said, feeling a mix of anger and relief.
It hadn’t been his fault.
Addison apologized some more; though AJ was quick to stop her. Then they moved on to what he really wanted to know. “So was that Fred in those photos?”
She was quiet for an unnerving moment but finally responded. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Is that a real tattoo?”
More unnerving silence and he held his breath then heard her exhale loudly. “Yes. Ridiculous, but yes it is.”
“How long has he had it?” he asked, wondering now if maybe Addison had left more out about Fred than she’d previously admitted.
“I didn’t ask, but it looked fresh to me. He didn’t have it the last time I spoke with him in person. At least I didn’t notice it.”
“And you did this time? It’s not something you just saw in those photos?”
“No,” she said, and the background noise appeared to go away. “I don’t want Clair to hear me. She’s in her room, but I know I’ve been careless before, and as far as I know, she hasn’t seen the photos. She hasn’t mentioned them anyway.”
“What did you meet with him for now, Addison?”
“He said he had something he wanted to discuss in person. It was all a bunch a lies as usual. All he wanted was to show me the stupid tattoo and discuss us being friends and social again. It was annoying and disgusting.”
AJ gripped the phone a little tighter. “You didn’t look too disgusted in those photos.”
“I know,” she said immediately. “Of course, the leaked photos would be the ones of me laughing at his ridiculousness. And according to that stupid made-up story, we left together. I left him standing there after I threatened to get my lawyers involved if he didn’t stop threatening me.”
“He’s threatening you?”
“Not physically, AJ. He’s just threatening to leak his identity, among other things. He hates that you’re getting all this attention from Clair’s allergic reaction. It’s so him. He couldn’t care less that she almost died. All he cares about is that you got the sympathy—the glory of the caring stepdad—while her real dad has never stepped up. The statement you made didn’t sit well with him either. He thinks you were calling him out. It’s why he got the stupid tattoo. He didn’t say so, but I know it.”
AJ didn’t comment. He could kick himself now for having said what he had to the press. He’d been pissed at the time. Maybe he had said it to send a message. Clearly, he wasn’t too far off about this guy. He was a fucking idiot. But he didn’t mean for it to cause any stress for Addison.
“I’m sorry if he’s harassing you because of what I said.”
“Don’t be,” she said with conviction. “If the truth hurts, that’s too bad. He’s proven time and time again that he is an idiot.”
AJ nodded, waiting for her to go on, but she didn’t. “What else?”
“What do you mean what else?”
“You said among other things. What else is he threatening you with?”
Again she quieted then finally sighed loudly. “I’ve always known there was a sinister side to him. I suspected it when he turned so cold on me the day I told him I was pregnant then again the day way back in Chicago when he brought up his rights as a father. In all the years he’d had rights, not once had he chosen to use them as a threat, until he found out I’d begun dating. It felt evil. He hated that I was dating again, but he especially hated that it was you.”