“You should stay here. I don’t know why you want to go anywhere.” Mom wrings her hands as I pack my bag.
It’s not exactly easy, but I’ve been on crutches before for some minor shit when I was younger.
“I need to be with the guys and Harper.” Blowing out a breath, I meet my mom’s concerned blue eyes. “I’m just going to sit around here and do nothing anyway. I can do that where they are.”
“Don’t you want to be here?” But the real question is in her tone. Don’t I need her?
Reaching out, I take her hand, squeezing it. “I love you, Mom, but I need to do this. I’ll go nuts if I have to sit and watch movies on my own. Especially if I end up needing to stay home a fewdays after surgery. Besides, we already had this planned for this weekend.”
She squeezes my hand back. “I just worry.”
“I know.” Sighing, I lower myself onto the bed. “How was your night out before I interrupted?”
She forces a smile. “Good. Your dad and I are fine. We worked through what both of us need to do to make this work.”
I nod, knowing nothing will change. She’ll continue to drink too much and Dad will continue to fuck someone else. I wish I could ask Harper’s mom to reach out, but she’s dealing with a lot right now too.
“Have you been in contact with your old friends?”
She leans against the doorway and wraps her arms around herself. She sighs. “You shouldn’t have to worry about me, Nico. I’ll be fine. We’ll all adjust to living here again. We’ll find our groove.”
Her gaze drops to my leg. Worry coats her face.
“At least I’ll be home more often. No more football practice. I’ll still go to the games, but I should be home more.” Even as the words come out of my mouth, I know they won’t matter to her. She loves me, but the person she wants to spend time with is her husband.
Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “That will be nice, but it’s your senior year. Football is your dream for college.”
“My record should speak for itself.” I hope.
“If you wanted, I could talk to your dad and maybe you and I could go back to New York. You could finish out your senior year there with your friends.” She seems excited by this idea.
I might have been too, but things are different now. “I’m happy here, Mom. I have Harper and the guys. New York was good, but this is better. Trust me.”
It wouldn’t help. The affair just wouldn’t be in her face. Maybe that’s what’s best for her, but my future is with Harper and my friends.
She nods and the excitement seeps away. “Okay, just be careful this weekend. We don’t want your knee any more injured than it already is.”
“I will.”
The doorbell rings.
“I’ll get it.” She heads down the hallway while I work to get upright.
The pain is manageable, but it fucking sucks. If I see that prick who took me out, I’ll fucking kick his ass. He didn’t need to hit that hard. Fucker.
“Hey.” Jack leans against my doorframe. “What do you need me to grab?”
“The bag and my backpack.”
He picks them up. I could carry them, but being too proud could cause more serious injuries. So I swallow my pride.
“You got your meds?” Jack asks. “Anything else you need?”
“Yes and no.” I sigh and look around my room. “Thanks for picking me up.”
“No problem.” Jack smirks. “Just don’t ask me to carry your ass to the car and we’ll be good.”
I smile and feel that peace settle over me that’s always there with the guys and Harper. Professional football might be a pipedream now. Injuries can reoccur and if that happens, no team wants someone riding their bench all season. When I get back to training, I’m going to be starting at zero.
