“I came here a few years ago and all I could think of was you,” Milo says softly as he squeezes my hand.
“I . . .” Words are not enough, not when millions of them are inked within these old books full of life lived and thoughts thought.
“I knew you’d love it,” he whispers, his voice easy and sure, like he’s known me all along.
And I do love it. Something within me shifts with a sharp recognition: I want to taste and feel the joys and pains of the world. I want to touch something that mattered to someone and let it matter to me. I want to be surprised and stunned, to be untethered and yet rooted. I want to be more than what I am now, but I don’t really know what that is yet.
Milo’s hands are soon soft on my face, wiping tears I didn’t realize I’d even cried.
“Hey.” His voice is gentle. “I’m here.”
“Can I live here now?” I tease, his hands still on my face as I gaze into his eyes.
“You can live wherever you want, Sadie,” he answers.
I smile at the sentiment, but life doesn’t feel that easy. Not when reality is waiting for me back at home, but I blink away that dread and let the sureness in Milo’s eyes keep me steady.
“Can we explore?” I ask.
“For as long as you want,” he replies.
So we do. I marvel and am awed. I read and I weep. I laugh and I lament.
And I let Milo keep me grounded while I discover things I’ve never known to look for.
38
MILO
I haven’t been herein over three years, but there’s something sacred in the way the soles of my feet remember the ground.
I spent so many days in this stadium, running plays until they were well-worn paths in my brain, my muscles and nerves so practiced they could understand the language of the game even when my heart wasn’t in it.
I still love football—despite everything. Or maybe because of it. There’s something about the way it let me down that never quite untaught me how to love it.
We’re standing inside the entrance when Caleb appears. He’s double my age, his dark hair silver around his face, and he knows me better than I know him.
“Well, this is a welcome surprise!” Caleb greets me with a hearty hug. When he pulls back, I watch his brows lift as he looks at Sadie. “And who’s this?”
“This is Sadie Summers,” I introduce, finally giving a face to the name he already knows well. “Sadie, this is Caleb Harper.”
Sadie’s lips twitch slightly, and her brown eyes widen as she reaches out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Caleb.”
But in true Caleb fashion, he doesn’t shake her hand. He wraps her up in an embrace. “It’s good to finally meet you.”
“Finally?” Sadie asks after he’s let her go.
“You’re all this guy ever talked about,” Caleb replies instantly as he smirks at me. “I thought you were a fairy tale, but here you are.”
“Here she is,” I cut in, my tone sharp enough to end it. “She wanted to see the stadium.”
“Ah. Looking to see where Milo could still be?” Caleb asks, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening.
I send Caleb a warning look before glancing at Sadie, who looks both confused and amused.
“Could still be?” she questions, crossing her arms as she looks at me.
“Been trying to get this guy to come back and coach the running backs,” Caleb explains, and I look away.
