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“Shh, baby, I know,” I whisper, doing my best to be the fucking rock here when really, I want to scream. “I know.”
“You have to let me go,” she whispers.
Not a chance.
Her eyes hit mine. “And you have to promise me you won’t fall apart this time. You didn’t work your ass off to lose everything.”
You and Bailey are everything.
Meyer cries. “Maybe in time ...”
“Yeah, baby.” Heat climbs up my throat, determination firing off my every nerve. “Maybe.”
Definitely. Posi-fucking-tively.
“Tobias ...”
“Tutor Girl.”
She presses her lips to mine, but it isn’t soothing.
It aches.
It fucking stings.
It’s her goodbye.
She’s crazy if she thinks I’m okay with that or assumes I ever will be.
I won’t, but I know she needs this.
She needs the security of knowing her little girl is safe and secure, and she can only be those things if I’m out of the picture, so I’ll give her what she needs.
I’ll let her go, walk away, and keep my word across the board.
It’ll kill me, but the alternative would end me, just like it would her.
So, when she presses her mouth more firmly onto mine, I’m the one who pulls away.
With slow, weighted steps, I put space between us, dying a little inside as her lips begin to tremble, our fingers hooked together until our bodies are too far apart to touch, and they’re forced to fall at our sides.
Her cries grow louder, and she slaps her palm over her mouth to hide the sound.
That almost gets me, but before I break, I force myself to spin away.
I walk out of Meyer’s house, and I don’t look back.
CHAPTER 33
Tobias
I drove around for hours after leaving Meyer’s house. Hours, and it wasn’t until I was a hundred miles out that I realized where I was going.
Now, it’s after three in the morning, and I’m finally dragging myself out of my truck and up the short walkway to the front door, but I don’t even get the chance to pull my key out, because my mom beat me to it.
She’s standing on the dark porch, waiting for me, just like she said she would be when I called her from the road and told her everything that had happened.
She said to me, “Come home, baby” not knowing I already was.
As subconscious as the decision might have been, it was the right one. I need them right now, and that’s confirmed the second I meet my mom’s watery eyes.
Everything inside of me crumbles and I walk right into her open arms.
“Mom,” I croak. “I love her. I can’t lose her. I can’t.”
“Oh baby, I know,” she cries, clenching me tight. “I know.”
“I’m sorry I fucked up before.” I swallow. “I should have been better. I was raised better.”
“Honey, no stop it.” Her voice shakes, and she gasps for air through her tears. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry for everything. You’re my baby, and I love you. Every part of you. I’m so sorry.”
My dad steps up behind her, placing his hand on her shoulders, and she steps back, tears spilling from her eyes.
He gives a tight-lipped smile, nodding, and when he steps up, unsure, I move in to hug the man.
He clamps my back tight, slapping his hands a few times. “It’s going to be okay, son.”
“I don’t know, Dad. I can’t do this.”
“Hey.” He pulls back, gripping my shoulders and locking his eyes with mine. “You can do anything; do you hear me?” His grip tightens. “You’re Tobias Cruz, a man of honor. Strong and determined. You never give up and you won’t be starting now.”
My eyes cloud and I look away. “How am I supposed to step back on that field when I know she’s hurting alone?”
My dad pats at my cheek, drawing my eyes back to his.
“She’s not hurting alone, son. You’re hurting right there with her, even if you’re not at her side, she knows it, and it would hurt her more to see you fail. You know this.” He dips his chin, and I nod.
“And my coach? How am I supposed to perform for a man like him? I want to fucking kill him.”
“Then kill him with the acts of a man, because lord knows you’re ten times the one he could ever be.”
I blow out a harsh breath, dropping my chin to my chest, but he lifts it.
“You…” My dad swallows, moisture building in his gaze. “Are our son, and you have become a man any father or mother would be honored to call theirs. You’re going to show that bastard what that means. You’re going to get back in that truck and you’re going to go do what you were born for, son. You’re going to show the world what you’re made of, and then you’re going to show him the same. And while you do, we’ll be there. Me and your mama.” He swallows, his voice cracking. “Whatever you need, whatever you want, whatever you do. We’ll be right there. Always. No matter what.”
