Page 121 of On Her Team
“What happened when you told my dad?”
“He freaked out. He begged me to terminate the pregnancy. I tried. I made an appointment and I even drove to the clinic. But sitting there in the parking lot, I discovered there was one thing I loved more than Arlo.” She glances up at me with tears in her eyes. “You.”
“W-w-what happened?” I force the question out. I might not ever get the chance to learn the truth again.
“I went home. Fully expecting Arlo to leave. But he didn’t.” She sighs. “He was the perfect husband. He ran to the grocery store whenever I had a craving. He prepared a baby room. He was over the moon.”
“When you were born, he was there with me. The first time he held you, he cried. And I thought…” She blows out a breath. “I thought my life was heaven. Nothing could touch it.”
I wrap an arm around her. I hate how she’s hurting but I need to hear this. I deserve to know the truth about why I didn’t have a dad growing up. Why I still don’t have one.
“Things started to go bad when you were one. He’d come home from work convinced someone followed him. One night, he threw all the electrical appliances into the ocean. He thought the government was listening to us.”
“And then.” She gulps. “I came home one day and he was gone.”
“Gone?”
“He left a note. He’d been diagnosed with schizophrenia. He knew how horrible it was to grow up with a schizophrenic parent. He refused to hurt you that way.”
Tears spill from my eyes. My father left because of me. He left to protect me. “But there are medicines, treatments, he didn’t need to give up.”
“Arlo’s dad had treatment-resistant schizophrenia. He assumed his was treatment-resistant as well.”
“But he could havestayed. He could have—”
“No, Addy, he couldn’t.” She inhales a deep breath and sucks up all her tears. “And this is why you need to leave.”
“I’m sorry. I need to leave?”
“You need to follow your dreams. You can’t let love slip through your fingers because you’re helping me. I won’t let you. I loved Arlo with all my heart. We only had four years together, but I wouldn’t give up those four years for anything in the world.”
“But you went off the rails after he left.”
“And yet, I would go through the pain over and over again to have those years with your dad. I’m only sorry you suffered because of my grief.”
“I’m okay. I have a good life.”
“But you could have a great life full of love. That man loves you. I see it in his eyes. He would do anything for you. What will you do for him?”
I don’t answer. I have no answer. My mind is reeling from what she’s told me. The secrets I never knew.
She pats my thigh before standing. “Think about it. Love doesn’t come around very often.”
She opens the door and steps into the hallway, but stops and glances at me over her shoulder. “Either way, you’re no longer responsible for your siblings. It’s time I stepped up and became the mom I should have been for you.”
Chapter 35
Fourth and long? I’ve never been afraid of fourth down before. I’m not starting now.
Gage
The sun beats down on the practice field, baking the turf and turning my helmet into a damn oven. Sweat drips down my spine, and we haven’t even started team period yet. My hands itch to check my phone – has Addy finally responded to any of my messages – but I resist the temptation.
I need to keep my head in the game. This isn’t merely a game. This is football. This is my life. My career. The thing that saved me when nothing else could.
“Inside run!” Coach Knox barks.
We jog into position. Nolan crouches behind center. I settle five yards deep with my hands on my thighs.
