Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Ridge
Ithrew the ball at my teammate, Denver. He caught it and threw it back at me.
We were playing around before practice really started, and Denver looked over at me, “After practice, do you want to get a round?”
I shook my head, “No thanks.”
“You never go out with any of us. Not looking for an easy lay?”
I lifted a brow, “Like you are one to talk. Do you actually go out and get laid?”
Denver went red, “No. But some of the guys do.”
Denver adjusted his glasses, and I shook my head again, “I know you aren’t going to pick up a random chick. That isn’t who you are. Is it?”
Denver shook his head this time. “No. I want to find my girl. One day. I am just going because I don’t want to sit alone at my house all night. It gets lonely sometimes.”
I lifted a brow, “I get it. But I keep busy. I often go with my friend Rhodes to the shelter I sponsor. You should come sometime. I’m sure the kids would love you.”
“I might have to take you up on that. It would be better than sitting at the bar and getting hit on by random girls. Do you have a girl? I have never heard you speak about her before.”
I shook my head, “I did. Well, at one point I did. But not now. Her life wasn’t easy, and I didn’t want to push myself into it because it would make her life that much harder. So, I backed out. But she is still my girl. Whether or not I ever have her as mine.”
Denver whistled softly, “Damn. I get why you don’t go out with the guys.”
I nodded, “When you had perfection in your hands, even for a short time, would you try to find anything else?”
Denver shook his head, and I smiled, “Then you get why I don’t date. It’s not who I am. I’m not going to settle for anything less than the perfection I already had.”
“I wouldn’t either. I won’t ask again. Do you want to hang out at my house? We can watch a new movie?”
I shook my head, “It’s okay. I’m seeing my dad tonight. We have dinner once a week.”
Denver nodded, “That’s cool.”
I looked at my watch, just as our Coach walked out onto the field. He blew his whistle, and we hurried over to where he stood.
He gave us our schedule for the day, and we got to work. We spent the next few hours running drills, throwing balls, and reviewing some of the plays we excelled at.
When we got done, our coach let us go, and I got to the showers, taking a quick one so I could go home.
I waved to Denver, and then I walked out of the stadium to find my truck.
I was looking down at the pavement, my bag in my hand, as I got closer to my truck, when I finally looked up, stopping short in my tracks.
Kresslee was sitting on the hood of a small car. She had a coat on and a blanket on her legs. She had a device in her hand, bigger than a phone, but smaller than a laptop.
She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and I noticed her hair was longer than it was the last time I saw her.
I couldn’t stop staring at her. She reached into her purse, grabbed a sour gummy worm, and ate it.
She used a finger on her little device, doing something before she ate another gummy worm.
I cleared my throat, “Kresslee?”
She jumped, then she looked up at me, and she put the little device into her purse.
“Ridge. Hi.”
My eyebrows drew together as I walked a little closer to her car.
“What are you doing here?”
She bit her lip, then slid off the hood of the car, standing before me.
She started to ring her hands together. “I, um. Hi.”
I stared at her, “You said that already. Are you okay? Is everything all right with Creed?”
She nodded, “He is fine. I wanted to see you.”
I knew my eyes went wide, and my eyebrows flew up my forehead.
She bit her lip again, “I know that’s probably the last thing you were expecting to hear.”
I could only stare at her, and she looked away from me, “I might be too late for this. It’s been a long time, and I understand if seeing me is the last thing you want.”
“I don’t understand.”
Her cheeks went red, “I wanted to see you because I missed you.”
I staggered back a step, “You missed me? Really?”
She slowly nodded, “I know that we haven’t spoken for a long time, and that was really all my fault. That day when everything happened, I stopped talking to you because I was worried that Creed would spiral. He was already struggling and that day was the worst day for all of us.”
“What happened after you left? Or should I not ask?”
Kresslee looked away from me quickly, then back.
“Creed had issues with our father. It wasn’t a good day.
For any of us. And I had a choice to make.
I couldn’t choose us at the moment. I can’t tell you how much that broke me.
I wanted to see you again, to explain why I wasn’t allowed to see you after that, but I couldn’t.
I chose Creed at that moment, because I knew he needed me, more than you did at the moment. ”
I lifted a brow, “I saw your dad punch Creed in the face because he took you to the hospital. Did more happen after that?”
Kresslee nodded, and I heard a few of my teammates come out of the stadium, heading toward their cars.
I looked over at my truck, “How about we go for a drive, is that okay?”
She nodded, and I grabbed her purse off the hood of her car, then helped her into my truck.
Denver came up behind me, “Dude, you have a girl in your truck? What the fuck?”
I looked over at him, “I will see you tomorrow.”
His eyes were wide when he nodded, and I got in the driver’s seat, then pulled out of the parking lot after starting my truck.
Kresslee was still worrying her hands together, and I looked over at her as I drove toward my house, “Can you tell me what happened after I saw that punch?”
She slowly exhaled, “It’s not a good story to tell, but it’s necessary I guess.”
She went on to tell me about how, after she was kept overnight in the hospital, Creed went home, knowing the punishment he was going to get wasn’t going to be a good one.
And he was right. Their dad beat the shit out of Creed, breaking three of his ribs, and saying horrible things to Creed that she didn’t know about to this day.
She told me that Creed fought back, hitting their father in the jaw so hard, he knocked out a few teeth, and their father kicked them both out of the house, uncaring if his own children had nowhere to go.
Thankfully, their grandma took them in, but still, it was hard to hear. I knew Creed blamed me. I knew it.
I was willing to take his hate. Although I didn’t deserve it, I knew it was okay that I could handle what he threw my way, as long as Kresslee was mine at the end of the day.
I pulled into my driveway, and Kresslee looked over at my house, and I said, “I didn’t want people to hear us. If this makes you uncomfortable, we can go somewhere else.”
She shook her head, “It’s fine.”
I helped her out of the truck, leading her through the garage and to my kitchen.
She looked around the house I designed with her in mind, smiling when she saw the big kitchen. I didn’t know if she liked to cook or even knew how.
I knew how to cook and loved it, so whether she knew how to cook or not, it was fine.
But now was not the time. Kresslee was still telling me a tale that left me reeling.
I couldn’t blame Creed for his hatred of me. I knew his father was a horrible man who didn’t deserve the title.
I felt for them both. My mother hadn’t chosen to be a mother, but my dad was the best man there was. It would have never occurred to my father to raise a hand to me.
That wasn’t who he was. I know that Kresslee and Creed’s father most likely needed therapy so desperately, but men like that didn’t believe they were wrong, nor did they think they needed therapy.
I stared at Kresslee while she looked around my home, settling on the couch in the living room.
“My grandma helped decorate the house.”
She lifted a brow, “That’s sweet of her.”
I smiled, “She is pretty great.”
Kresslee took a deep breath, “So, after that day, I didn’t want to cause any more issues for Creed.
He kept me safe from our dad. He always took the beating, so I didn’t have to.
I knew it was wrong to choose him and not let you have a single word on the matter, but I didn’t want to break my family apart further since it was already so broken.
I’m sorry Ridge. I should have spoken to you.
To tell you what was going on, but I didn’t.
I went silent on you and never gave you a chance to fight for us.
I understand if you want nothing to do with me. ”
She looked away from me once more, her eyes red.
I reached out to her, then pulled my hand back, unsure if I should touch her.
“Kresslee, I understand why you chose Creed. I knew there was more going on in your life than you wanted me to know then. I’m not mad at you.
I’m not angry with Creed. I’m here. I have always been here, waiting, hoping that one day, whatever violence and sadness was going on in your life would go away so that we could be together.
I have never wavered in my wanting of you.
Not once. I knew that you needed to figure it all out first. And here you are. ”
Kresslee looked over at me, “You mean that? That you waited for me, chose me?”
“You are my girl. I told you that all those years ago. I have never looked at or wanted another.”
She stood up, walking over to me, “Why did you never find another?”
I pulled her down to sit beside me, “I told my teammate this today. I had perfection. Why would I give that up for something less than perfect?”
She bit her lip, “You know I never dated either.”
I pulled her close to me, “You better not have.”
She gently cupped my face, her thumb running over my jaw, then over my bottom lip.
“I can’t tell you how much I missed you. How many times I read our texts, and how I wanted a different life so that I could have been yours for all these years.”