Chapter Twelve
We barely made it in time for the game, and we were only able to find where to go because we met with Paxon’s dad, George. George was an older version of his sons. Grey eyes, dirty blond hair, and mischief in the lines of his expression. His face was carved from love and laughter, seen in the wrinkles by his eyes and how quickly he’s able to smile while looking at us. I quickly learned that George absolutely loved teasing his sons. He was also a therapist at my mother’s hospital.
“How are you doing?” he asked, giving me that warm smile that easily relaxed whoever saw it.
“Tired but excited,” I admitted. George was one of the few who when he asked how we were doing, didn’t want to hear that we were doing good when we weren’t. He didn’t ask it in passing, he was always genuinely asking.
“It’ll be a busy weekend.” George guided us toward the correct field. The bleachers were half-filled with people, the crowd light. As soon as we turned to face the bleachers, we saw the others already waiting.
“About time you made it,” Bryan called out, the first to spot us. “We thought you got lost.”
“Don’t worry, she only missed two turns,” Lillian said. She grabbed Micah’s arm. “You’re with us. Have fun.”
“Where are you going?” Toby asked.
Hazel held up her camera. “Reporter duties. We’ll meet up with you guys later.”
“Have fun,” I said.
“You too.” Lillian smirked. “Though not too much fun. We’ll text you if we need a ride later.”
I rolled my eyes as they left us in the bleachers.
“How was the drive?” Toby asked.
“Good. A bit long.”
“Agreed.”
“What would you know?” Bryan asked, sending a glare at his friend, though there was no real anger in his expression. “You slept the whole time.”
“I did not.”
“Oh sorry, you slept until the last five miles.”
While the two teased each other, I sat between Bryan and Justin. Justin was looking down on his phone, expression blank. I leaned forward until I had his attention.
“Hello,” I said softly, sensing he was completely distracted.
He startled, leaning back with a slight jump. Slowly, his dull eyes finally focused on me, clearing. They warmed when it clicked that I was the one actually sitting next to him. “Hey.”
I gave him a small, tight smile, worry filling me. “How was your ride here?”
“Long.”
Justin was already a man of few words, but this was over the top.
“Have we reverted to one-word caveman responses now?” I asked, trying to joke with him.
Justin sighed and relaxed his body. “I’m sorry, Cadence.” He waved his phone at me. “The hospital.”
“Oh. Should I ask?”
“Not right now.”
“Okay, I won’t. But I’m here.” I rested my hand on his knee and squeezed it. Justin grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together, resting them in his lap. His touch relaxed me, reassuring that he wasn’t going to disappear on me. Sitting next to him, his responses, it felt all too much like he’d slip away and I’d never see him again. I focused on the warm reassurance of his grip, loosening some of the tensions in my shoulders.
“Let’s go!” George cheered, making me jump as the bleachers got loud, people rooting for the teams.
Both teams ran out to the field to begin. I quickly found Paxon, recognizing his blond hair and the confident way he walked. He grinned, saying something to one of his teammates, looking absolutely happy and comfortable on the field. Despite his decision to not continue soccer, he truly looked like he loved the sport. The referee blew his whistle and it was like watching what freedom would look like.
Paxon flew across the field, supporting his teammates, dominating the field. Every decision he made when kicking the ball was made with confidence and if I had to wonder what no regret looked like, it would be Paxon in that moment, on that field, playing something he truly loved.
Our team held great focus that seemed to trip up their opponent. And their confidence was perfect. They knew when they made a pass, it was going to be properly received. They knew when to kick for a goal and score.
It was a good game for Paxon. He looked like he was at peak performance.
I cheered and jumped around with the rest of them. George and Toby were of course the loudest with little Cal trying his best to be heard too.
Even with all that excitement, Justin still felt absent despite sitting next to me. Every so often, he’d get a text and then he’d scowl at his phone at whatever was sent to him. I wanted to take his phone away and help him enjoy the moment, but I also knew whatever was going on was important and he needed to deal with it.
At halftime, our team was winning and everyone was confident that the other team wasn’t going to be able to recover. While the teams took their break, we broke apart too. George had to take Cal to the bathroom. Toby wanted food and dragged Bryan with him. Seth had moved over to talk with some old classmates of his, happy to have seen them.
Justin was too distracted so I turned to my own phone, using the opportunity to check my emails. I had ignored them yesterday.
The first one surprised me. Ardens was back in town and wanted to meet with me about continuing the project. He apologized about the hold and he’d explain when we met. Slowly, I worked on a reply, trying to push past the discomfort that Ardens had created. The man didn’t understand personal space and seemed to be an expert at making me uncomfortable. But work was work, and a project like this was too important to me, especially now that I didn’t have Lindie as my manager. I replied back to have a meeting after Thanksgiving, ignoring the way my skin prickled in warning.
The next email surprised me the most though. It was from the rec center that I volunteered at. From the details, they had received sponsorship from a local business to put on a fundraiser concert in late December for a Christmas charity show to raise money for more equipment at the center. They wanted to know if I was interested in helping to coordinate.
It actually sounded really amazing. I tried to mentally organize my projects to see if it was something I would be able to handle. I thought I could, but this was also the time of the year I got the most requests as people wanted personalized songs to surprise their loved ones.
But I loved working with the kids. I went as often as I could and held a chorus class with them. They were all talented and I could see budding love for the same field as me. It was humbling and heartwarming. I loved fostering that love more.
“Something has your attention,” Seth said, settling down next to me.
I couldn’t speak just yet, so I shared the email with him. He looked over and a massive grin stretched over his face.
“It worked.”
“What worked?” I asked.
“My company is doing the sponsorship. Even promised to build an expansion to the center if they hit a certain goal. I may have mentioned that you would be an amazing edition to this too. I wasn’t sure if you’d be interested though.” Uncertainty slipped into his voice.
“You did this?” I asked. A new feeling flooded through me. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it was warm and giddy and excited and made me feel like I was sitting in a different world, where everything was perfectly perfect. My cheeks ached as I smiled, blown away by this kindness.
“Yeah. It’s okay if you can’t do it. I think they put together a list of volunteers. I just…” He paused and swallowed. Suddenly, he looked a bit flustered and offbeat. “Before we had that incident, I saw how you were with the kids and it crossed my mind. Just took me some time to put together a proposal to benefit everyone. And while my company is spearheading the project, there are smaller local sponsors too. I think it’s going to become a big deal. And I know you like this.”
“Seth,” I said, when I realized he wasn’t taking a breath. I rested my hand on his knee and squeezed. There was no stopping my smile. “I love this. This is an amazing idea. I can’t believe you did this.” I looked back down at the email, shock and awe settling lightly on my shoulders. Seth did this for me, but also for all those children. For a place I held dearly in my heart. I blinked back the tears and swallowed hard.
“I’m down. I’ll need to organize my schedule more and work out some details, but I can do this. I can help.”
“Really?” The massive grin on Seth’s face was breathtaking and I thought I understood why he suddenly got flustered. That kind of smile took my breath away the way it lit up his expression. He made me feel like the world became a perfect happy place.
I nodded and swallowed. “Yeah, I’m sure.” My response cracked at the end.
Seth pulled me into a hug. “I’m glad. I wanted this to be something for you. Something to help you keep moving forward.” He pulled away. “But if this becomes too much, you need to let me know. Like I said, a bunch of people will be helping with this, but I thought you’d be best in terms of organizing the concert. You know the children best and how to make them shine the most.”
“And I will. The kids are going to love this.” Seth gave me the perfect distraction. As the rest of the game went on and Paxon dominated the field, I thought about the concert.
I’d been teaching the kids for a couple years now, trying to do it a few times a month. I’d been distracted lately between being stuck in the hospital and dealing with the aftermath of it. Then dealing with the Ryder gang and school.
Not to mention the one time I had gone there, I had gone with Seth and we ended up being run off the road by the Ryder gang.
But they were behind bars now, no bail, while the police and lawyers did all their work. In theory, I was safe. So the police said, but my trust in them was shattered when they decided to use me as bait when I had gotten kidnapped.
My lawyer was still working that one out, though last I knew, there was a settlement she thought I’d accept, but there were a few more details she was fighting them on first.
Either way, I had felt trapped and now Seth gave me an opportunity to feel free again, to gain the part of my life I loved the most—music with the kids at the recreational center.
I knew their talents best and already I could see the stage, them standing on it, and them shining with some of their favorite songs.
I’d have to stop by and get a signup sheet going for them if that hadn’t already started. I’d have to see who was interested and what they wanted to do. I had to figure out what way would make the best impact for each song and also for the overall concert.
Through the rest of the game, the grin on my face refused to slip away as I got lost in my thoughts. I only knew it was over when my side got on their feet, cheering like it was the end of the world and they wanted to live that last moment the best way.
Both soccer teams joined the soccer field, all their teammates lining up to do that weird slapping good game thing that seemed to be common.
As soon as it was over and the coach said a few words to the players, Paxon came running over. His grin was massive, his eyes bright with victory. He was covered in sweat, but didn’t seem to care.
“Good job,” I said, but that was all I was able to say as he swept me into a hug.
“We did it!” he practically yelled into my ear.
I winced, but patted his sweaty back, not caring as I bathed in the excitement with him.
“You did great,” I said.
“Fucking dominated,” Toby said. “Now let Candy Pop go so she can breathe and you can go change. You stink.”
“Oh.” Paxon released me, his face flushed, a nice red dotting his cheeks. I wasn’t sure if it was because he realized how gross he really was after running back and forth on the field or if it was because he had actually been running back and forth on the field.
Either way, he realized he probably needed to clean up a little bit.
“So winning means what?” I asked.
Paxon chuckled but didn’t seem to be bothered by my ignorant question. “Another game this afternoon, and if we win that, then we’ll have the finals tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s amazing. It’s all right there for you,” I said.
“Damn right.”
“I’m starving,” Bryan admitted.
Toby jumped right on that too.
“Same.” Justin stood up and stretched. It was practically the first response he gave anyone all morning. Everyone was leaving him alone, but I was still worried. I knew it was about his dad. I just wish I knew how I could help him.
“Sounds like it’s time to get food,” George said and then grinned at Paxon. “And you need some recovery food before your next game.”
Paxon groaned.
“What am I missing?” I asked.
“Other than his dad shoving gallons of water down his throat and keeping him from enjoying a big juicy burger?” Toby asked. “Nothing really.”
“It’s fine.” Paxon still didn’t look happy. “After we win this afternoon, I’ll eat all the fat and protein that I want.”
“And for now, it’s water and carbs. We have to keep you full of energy.” Suddenly George and Paxon went into a deeper conversation about food intake and completely lost me. All I understood was that he was definitely going to be eating a banana while everyone else was aiming for big fat burgers and fries.