Page 92 of Catching the Coach
“Thank you for everything, Marlene,” Lucy says, pulling back.
My mom reaches up and pushes a lock of Lucy’s hair out of her face. “Anything for you, my girl.” Lucy’s face lights up with a small smile and I wish more than anything it was me making her smile. Mom turns and walks the couple steps to me. Stopping beside me she pats me on the chest. “You better fix this, Kessler,” she whispers to me. She gets on her tiptoes and gives me a kiss on the cheek, then gets in her car. Backing out of the driveway she gives us a wave and drives off, leaving us alone.
I put my hands in the pockets of my cargo shorts to keep from reaching for Lucy. She stands there with her arms wrapped around her middle looking like she’d rather be anywhere than here, talking to me. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, I clear my throat. “Lucy, can we talk? Please?”
She looks around, and nods. “Let’s talk in the house, in case someone with a camera decides to take pictures.” I hate that she has to think about that. I nod my head and follow her to the front door. She unlocks the door and steps inside, tossing her keys on the table and taking her shoes off. I follow her in but stay in the entryway. This is the first time I’ve walked in here and felt out of place. I don’t like it.
Lucy goes to the kitchen and gets herself a glass of water. “Do you want something to drink?” she asks, filling her glass.
I shake my head. “No, thank you. I’m, I’m good.” I stuff my hands back in my pockets and look around, feeling awkward for the first time ever in this house. My gaze lands on her picture wall and I notice the picture of the two of us is missing. I snap my eyes back to her and she’s watching me from behind her glass as she takes a drink. I nod my head to the empty spot on the wall. “Where’s our picture?” I ask, not knowing if I really want to know the answer.
“I took it down,” she says, no emotion in her voice. She drops her gaze to the counter in front of her, like she can’t look at me.
“Lucy I,” I start, striding into the kitchen .
“You were right,” she says at the same time, stopping me in my tracks.
I raise a brow. “Right about what?” I ask, not liking the resigned tone in her voice.
She takes a breath and pulls her shoulders back, looking me directly in the eyes. “We should press pause, take a break, whatever you want to call it.”
I stumble back, shock hitting me square in the chest. “Is that really what you want?” I ask, praying she says no.
Closing her eyes, she wraps her arms around her stomach. “No,” she whispers, and I exhale an audible breath. She continues, “But, it’s what we need.”
I shake my head against her words, not wanting to believe them. “No,” I tell her, taking a step forward.
She holds up a hand, stopping me. “Please don’t make this any harder than it already is.” Her voice wavers and her eyes plead with mine. “I love you, and I’m not saying any of this to hurt you. You shutting me out, on one of the worst days we’ve both ever experienced, instead of coming to me and talking to me, brought up a lot of pain from my past. It was like I was back at my parents, being told I was a disappointment. Or Jared tossing me and Hudson aside like garbage.” She pauses when my hand curls into a fist at the mention of his name. “I’m not comparing you to him, I’m just telling you how the way you handled things made me feel.”
I relax a fraction, and nod. “I know, I just-” I rake a hand through my hair, tugging at the ends. “I never wanted this to happen. I’m so sorry for making you feel like you aren’t enough.” I chance a step forward. When she doesn’t move, I take another step, and another, until I’m in front of her. I reach out and cup her cheek. She closes her eyes, taking a shuddering breath. “You are my everything,” I whisper, leaning forward until my forehead touches hers. We just stand there breathing each other in.
After a few seconds of bliss, I feel her hand on my wrist and she pulls her head back and my arm away from her face. Taking my hand in hers, she looks at me, giving me a sad smile. My heart stutters and dread fills my veins. “I’ll call you in a couple of days, when I get a new phone, and we can talk.”
Remembering one of the reasons I’m here in the first place, I reach into the side pocket of my shorts and pull out a phone. “I uh, I bought us new phones with new numbers. Kara might have mentioned an unfortunate incident yours had with the dishwasher.” I hand it to her and she takes it. Her hand covers her mouth when she sees the cover I had made and overnighted. It’s the picture of us that’s missing from her wall. She looks up at me, tears glistening in her eyes. “You didn’t have to do this.” Her voice broken.
“It’s the least I could do.” I step back, needing to leave before I go against her wishes and wrap her in my arms and never let her go. I turn on my heel and walk to the door. I hear Lucy softly crying behind me and it takes more will power then I wish I had to keep myself from going back to her. I open the door and turn to her one last time. Tears are streaming down her beautiful face and I want more than anything to be able to kiss them away. “My number is already in there. Call me when you feel like you’re ready to talk.”
She closes her eyes and nods, clutching the phone to her chest.
“I love you, Lucy.”
“I love you too, Kessler.”
I walk out the door, praying that’s not the last time.
* * *
There’s one more game left of my suspension, and for the first time in my career, I’m not looking forward to getting back on the diamond.
I haven’t heard from Lucy yet, and the longer she’s silent the more I worry I won’t get her back. I know it’s just a pause, one I stupidly suggested in a moment of anger, but it feels like I’ve lost my future, and I’m desperate to get it back.
I send a text to the one person I know can help me. Hoping they will. Setting my phone down beside me I turn on my TV and flip through the channels before landing on ESPN. The show is recapping events that have happened in the last week, and surprisingly enough, my fight with Jared is still ranked at the top, even though it was more than a week ago.
Dale released another statement shortly after my visit to Lucy’s, asking people to respect our privacy. I had him add that I’m not proud of the way I handled things on the field and that I’m truly sorry for exhibiting the behaviors I did that day. I also asked him to say how disappointed we are in the magazine that released the article about Lucy being a cleat chaser. Fans ate it up, saying that they were behind Lucy and I 100%. I heard sales of that particular magazine have plummeted dramatically.
My phone buzzes and I snatch it off the couch, hoping it’s my saving grace.
Kara
