Coop unwraps the first gift, and I'm peeved.
It's a laptop. A fancy, expensive one.
"Mom, there's a note." He picks up the sticky note and reads. "For the future video game designer. Take care of your mom when you're rich."
Coop opens two more packages, a second screen for the laptop and a gaming headset.
The last package he opens is a child's framed drawing. It looks to be two worms holding hands, but it's hard to tell.
"I'm smart, but I can't read cursive," Coop says handing it to me.
"I was a little older than you when I drew this. I've kept it as a reminder that we shouldn't let the bad moments in life taint the good ones. Sometimes you can't have one without the other. Remember that."
Coop shrugs. It's obvious he doesn't understand what that means, but someday he will.
"Open yours, Mom."
The box is massive, and I take my time unwrapping it.
Coop lifts the top off the box while I hold the bottom.
On top of mountains of tissue paper is a card.
I thought you might need this.
I move the tissue paper aside.
It's a wooden bat, but not just any wooden bat.
Because this one's used, and it smells like apples.
Chapter forty-three
Mateo
Sleep is for the weak.
What a crock of shit. I'm dead on my feet, and I don't consider myself weak, not anymore. I've been through the wringer for the last two months, emotionally and physically.
Physically, I'm running. On empty, but I'm running. Unfortunately, it's without a destination. The belt on the treadmill beneath my feet keeps spinning round and round like a hamster on a wheel. It even squeaks like one.
Theo, my physical therapist, presses the button on the screen in front of me, dropping my speed to a slow jog.
"You'll be running 5Ks by the end of the summer," he says. "You're really bouncing back, man."
Yeah, into a fucking wall.
It's been three days since Addie gave me the green light to pursue Jade. Three days since I last called or texted her. Both were unanswered, the text still unread.
Addie said Jade needs time, and that if or when she's ready, she'll reach out. I'm trying to respect her space, but damn it, what the fuck?
"Let's do a cool-down stretch, and then you're out of here," Theo says, pressing the stop button. The treadmill slows, and I step onto the rails as it comes to a stop.
My PT appointments have been fewer and farther between with each passing week, and as of next week, I'm done. I'm ready, but other than calls with Kyler, Theo's become my only friend.
I need to get out more. Find a hobby or something. Something to fill the emptiness. I was a fucking shell before Jade and then she came along and everything changed. I was alive again, thriving.
What an idiot I was.
