Read Online Fatal Consequences by Marie Force - Free Book Online

fabulous to gross, depending on the chef’s mood.
    “What’s your favorite meal?” Nick asked him.
    “Spaghetti,” Scotty said without hesitation.
    “Ahhh, a man after my own heart.”
    “That’s your favorite too?”
    “Sure is. A good Italian boy like me has to get his pasta fix at least once a week.”
    “I don’t know if I’m Italian, but I’d eat spaghetti every day if I could.”
    Nick felt a pull of compassion for the boy. “What are some of your other favorite things?”
    “Baseball,” Scotty said without hesitation.
    “What team?”
    “The Red Sox.”
    “Get out of here,” Nick said, laughing. “You’re just saying that to impress me.”
    “I am not! I’ve always loved the Sox.”
    “I grew up just north of Boston. I’ve been a Sox fan all my life.”
    Scotty’s eyes got very big. “Have you been to Fenway Park?”
    “Many times.” He didn’t add that he’d been twenty-four the first time he could afford to attend a game at the fabled ballpark.
    “Oh, you’re so lucky! I’d give anything to go there and sit in the Monster seats. I’ve read every book I could find on the Red Sox and Fenway Park. Did you see the movie Fever Pitch ? It’s my favorite.”
    Nick wished he could wave a magic wand and be sitting atop the Green Monster wall in Fenway Park with Scotty and a couple of Fenway Franks. “I loved that movie. I’m sure you’ll get to Fenway someday.”
    “As soon as I have any money, that’s the first place I’ll go.”
    “How did you become a fan?”
    “My grandfather was from Boston. He talked about the Red Sox all the time. Ted Williams was his favorite player. Did you ever see him play?”
    Nick winced. “How old do you think I am, man?”
    “Oh, sorry.”
    Nick mussed his hair. “Don’t be sorry. I was just kidding. Is your grandfather still alive?”
    Scotty shook his head. “He had a heart attack when I was six. A month later, my mom OD’ed. That’s how I ended up here.” He ushered Nick into his small room. “But it’s not so bad.”
    Nick’s heart broke when he imagined the horror of six-year-old Scotty losing his grandfather and then his mother. “You don’t have any other family?”
    “Nope. My mom had sisters but they were estringed.”
    “You mean estranged?”
    “Yeah, that’s it. They didn’t talk to her because of her drug problems.”
    “What about your dad?”
    “Never knew him.” He rifled through some things on the desk. “Check this out—a Dustin Pedroia rookie card.”
    Nick examined the cellophane-sealed baseball card. “Wow. Look at that. You should take really good care of it. I bet it’ll be worth big money someday.”
    “That’s what Mr. Sanchez said. He was my math teacher last year. He’s a Nats fan,” Scotty said, referring to the Washington Nationals. “He took me to a game when the Nats played the Sox in interleague play. It was my first time to a real ballpark, and I got to see the Sox. Best day of my life.”
    “I went to one of those games.”
    “The one I went to, the Sox won three to two.”
    “That’s the one I was at!”
    “Hey, that’s cool.”
    Nick sat on the bed and looked around at the sparse room. “You need some posters for your walls. Who’s your favorite player? I’ll send you one.”
    “That’s really nice of you, but we aren’t allowed to hang stuff on our walls. The custodian says the tape takes the paint off.”
    Nick’s scowl made the boy laugh.
    “Rules are rules,” Scotty said with a shrug.
    “If we were breaking the rules for a minute, who would you want on your wall?”
    “That’s easy—Big Papi. He’s the bomb .”
    Nick smiled. “His bat is the bomb.”
    “That’s why I love him.” Scotty sat next to Nick on the bed. “So you’re really a senator?”
    Even though it was still hard to believe sometimes, Nick said, “I really am.”
    “Isn’t that kind of a boring job?”
    Nick hooted with laughter. “It can be. You have to do a lot of