AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But you do still have feelings for him?” Mom asked. “After all this time?”
“I think so,” I said. “I think about him all the time. I see him in Owen’s face every day, but even more than that. I just… I think about him. And I think he deserves to know he’s a father. And Owen deserves to know who his father is. He asks about him sometimes. And even now, as little as he is, I can see he’s athletic. He likes running around and catching balls and throwing them. Graham deserves to know that.
“Maybe we can be part of each other’s lives. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll get another chance.”
“I agree,” she said. “Listen to me, though. You did what you thought was right for Owen and for yourself. Now you have a chance to do what’s right for Graham too.”
Sleep was hard to come by that night. I couldn’t get comfortable, and every time I did, I would start to go over what I was going to say and how he would respond. How I would respond to his responses. It was so much to worry about, that I tossed and turned all night.
Finally, I dragged myself out of bed and got into a shower. I got dressed and went to work, the entire day slipping by like sand through my fingers until it was time to see Graham again. I thought he would join me for lunch again, and I was prepared for that, but he didn’t show. That left the tryouts after school. Going to the ballfield one more time to watch Graham at Murdock High. It was surreal.
As I walked up to the fence, I could see Graham staring at me. He must have seen me coming a long way off, and he was grinning. In spite of everything, I blushed.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said.
“Hi, Graham,” I choked out.
“I was worried you wouldn’t come,” he said.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” I said. “But I have something I need to tell you.”
“Oh?” he asked, coming closer to the fence that separated us. “What’s up?”
Before I could say anything, another teacher shouted my name behind me. She was running toward me and yelling. I recognized her as Kiera, one of the special education teachers that often did office work in her spare time.
“Mallory, do you have your phone?” she asked as she got to me.
“No,” I said, patting my pockets. “I must have left it in my classroom.”
“Your mother has been calling the office,” she said. “She said she had been trying to call you. Your son’s at the hospital. Owen was hurt at the park.”
“Oh, God,” I said.
“Come on, I’ll take you,” Kiera said.
I nodded and took off after her without a backward glance.
22
GRAHAM
Ihad no idea Mallory had a kid.
I felt terrible for her and wanted to find a way to help, but there was nothing I could do. She was already gone, having run off after the teacher that had come out to find her, waving her keys. They jumped off in a car and took off, leaving the parking lot quickly.
“Coach?” one of the students asked from behind me. They had been running infield drills. But now all of that seemed so arbitrary.
“Yeah,” I said, turning around. There were only about six kids out there, all of them guys who had either been on JV or Varsity last year as juniors. “Guys, I hate to do this, but something has come up. You should keep running infield drills, since none of you are pitchers. Work on double play turns. I’ll see you guys tomorrow for the first tryouts.”
“Sure, Coach,” the kid said, turning back toward the rest of the guys.
I went into the dugout and grabbed my bag and headed back toward the school. Mallory hadn’t had time to grab any of her belongings from inside. I figured she would appreciate having her stuff, and since I wanted to show my support anyway, it made sense for me to bring it all to her.
If I was to be honest with myself, truly honest, there was a curiosity there, too.
Part of me was gutted. I’d had no clue she had a child, and the knowledge that she did meant that at some point there had been someone else in her life. In her bed. I hadn’t noticed any rings or anything on her, but who knew if that meant anything? You didn’t need to be married to have a child.
The door to the theater classroom was open, and I dipped inside, looking for her stuff. It was on her desk, a purse with a phone sitting next to it. I grabbed it all and stuffed the phone into the purse, then headed for the door. When I got to the car, I tossed it in and revved the engine. They didn’t mention what hospital, but there was only one ER that I thought they would be going to just at the edge of town.
