8. Adam
Adam
“So, you really like her?” Callie asks, spinning back and forth on my barstool while I put my watch on my wrist.
To say Callie was more than happy to hear about Mia would be an understatement, but she’s been oddly quiet about the whole thing. I had anticipated daily questioning and demanded updates, but this is the first time she’s brought it up since the night at the bar.
“Yeah, Cals, I do.” Flipping my wrist back over, I check the time. It’s been a week since I’ve seen Mia. We’ve called and texted plenty, but I need to see her. With Valentine’s Day being this past week, Mia was tied up at the bar, and I was stuck at the Blues facility with preseason training.
I’m fighting the urge to tell my sister I’ve got to go, but remembering all she’s said, I push that rush down. “I have a minute before I have to leave. Want to talk about anything?”
Callie hums softly. “You know, it’s odd how normal that question feels now. I don’t think we were ever asked to talk or share anything about our lives growing up. I’ve finally stopped apologizing to Will when I get on a tangent.”
This bittersweet feeling hits me in the freaking gut. I know Will said I’ve made my peace with my parents and that’s true to some degree, but I can’t say I’ve found that with how I left Callie.
“I don’t know what that bummed-out look is for, Adam.
It’s a good thing.” Callie hops off the barstool with a chuckle.
“I have to admit, I was a little suspicious at first, considering I had just been pestering you about dating, but I think I got a bit of what you saw when you looked at me and Will.”
“I’m not hiding my relationship, Callie,” I tease.
“Okay, but you knew the whole time anyway, so that’s a moot point, don’t you think?”
I shrug. “Feels a little relevant to me.”
“Fine, it’s a little different, but I feel like we’re getting our second chance.
” That tight-lipped smile comes back to her face for a moment before letting go.
“Listen, I looked into our benefits and I’m going to start looking for a therapist. There’re some things that I need to work through around our parents…
I don’t know if you would come to a session with me…
Not that I think you need therapy, but I’m not sure I’m too confident in going alone. I could ask Will, but—”
“Cals,” I cut off her ramble. “I would love to go with you. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to talk to someone. I did in Seattle.”
Callie’s shoulders drop down from her ears. “You did? I didn’t know that.”
“It was the first few years I was there.” Stepping toward her, I let out a sigh. “I know you don’t want my apologies for what happened—”
“I don’t need it, so don’t,” she clips. “You can come with me as your apology, if that makes you feel better.”
“Alright, fair. You know Will would go with you too if you asked him.”
“Yeah, but he’s got his own stuff with his dad coming back into his life.
Despite me asking you to come, it does feel like something I need to figure out on my own.
You don’t need to come every time either—I just need a little push in the beginning.
” She straightens her spine and all tension seems to roll off her body.
“Enough of that, you have a date to get to.”
I check my watch again. I don’t want Callie to feel like this is a topic she has to brush off, but I do need to get going. “Let me know when you want me to go, Callie, and I’ll be there.”
Her smile makes me feel slightly better. “I will, I promise. Now go.” Stepping to me, she gives me a tight hug. “I’m really happy for you, by the way.”
“I’m happy for us both.”
Stepping back, she gets to my door before she turns back. “And I was thinking I’d call for an appointment once we get back from Spring Training so I may ask you about it while we’re in Florida.”
Right. Florida… For the first time in a long time, I don’t really want to leave for Spring Training. Well, I do, but I want to take Mia with me.
I’d never ask that of her—knowing how hard she works.
She’s absolutely incredible and the love she pours into everything she touches is remarkable.
Not one part of me thinks somewhere over these next few weeks that the way I feel about Mia will change, but I didn’t expect I’d hate the idea of leaving so much.
Maybe this is what Jett meant when he talked about Wyla. He’s always stuck to knowing that Wyla was the one from the very first night.
Maybe it’s not, considering I’m not one hundred percent in the comparison, but the thought of being around Mia alone has my entire body relaxing.
I haven’t ever felt truly safe around someone—period—until Mia.
What our parents did—especially our dad—to Callie was fucked up, and I get why she wants to talk to someone.
What they did to me was completely different.
The physical abuse was one thing. My father was smart, he knew how to make it not obvious, and the excuses he’d tell me to use always made perfect sense to people.
Even if I did fuck it up and had someone question my bruises, he had too much financial power everywhere.
Even my doctor’s office got yearly donations from him.
Then there was the emotional and psychological abuse.
Nothing I ever did was good enough. No matter the grades, the extracurriculars, or fucking breathing.
Growing up, I wasn’t sure if it was how his father treated him or if he just hated my mere existence.
Our mom was always quick to remind Callie and me that we were accessories for the image and necessary for the family name.
The first time I felt the feeling of peace was on the baseball field my freshman year, but once my dad found out—it was clear it couldn’t be my peace, it had to be my survival.
I didn’t care if it killed me, I was getting away from that piece of shit. Everything he threw at me, I took. I never fought back. I was going to get control of my life and never have a reason to be linked to that fucking family.
It was naive to think that man wouldn’t turn on Callie, but I didn’t have the brain capacity to think about it. I had to get out. When I finally got called up and found out I was moving across the country—I thought I would feel relieved, but I just felt depleted.
Years of no sleep and the hardest game of psychological chess could officially come to an end.
I didn’t know what to do with myself. When I got my pay raise, I was so fucking close to blowing it on stupid shit, just because I could, but my subconscious was smarter and I called my high school coach to tell him the news and give him my gratitude.
It was that phone call that had me hanging up with a list to find a proper financial planner, along with an accountant, a lawyer to have on standby, and a therapist.
I may have finally gotten free of my father, but if I didn’t have control over my life then, that left opportunities for him to weasel his way in. I will never let him have an opportunity to be back in my life, ever.
I make it down to my lobby before my phone rings and Mia’s name flashes across the screen.
“Hi, I was just walking out—”
“I’m so sorry, Adam, I don’t think I’m going to be ready for our date. I just got back to my place and apparently some teenagers broke into a few apartments—mine, unfortunately, was one of them.”
“What? Your building has multiple security guards…what do you mean your apartment was broken into?”
“It’s fine, I swear. It seems like some teenagers being stupid.
The cops are here and the building manager’s on his way.
I’m sorry, I know we only have two nights left before you leave, but I have to check for things that could be missing and they’ll have to replace my locks…
I just don’t think I can leave for our reservation. ”
“It’s so cute you think I’m not coming over there to help you.”
The line goes silent for a minute.
“What, no rebuttal?”
“Would it do me any good?” she asks with a chuckle.
“No.”
“Good, I really want to see you.”
Fuck, I couldn’t agree more. “I’m on my way, Mia.”
“See you soon.”
Ending the call, I head right for her.
On the way, I call the restaurant to let them know we won’t be able to make it, then place another call to the pizza place a few blocks down to be delivered in an hour.
It’ll be easy to take back to my place too, once she finishes talking to the cops and her building manager. Because if they can’t fix her locks tonight, she sure as shit won’t be staying there.
That, I’m sure, she’ll have an argument for, but my only compromise will involve me staying there with her. She can claim harmless teenagers all she wants, but she’s my girl—just because she doesn’t need my protection doesn’t mean she doesn’t have it.
Getting to her place, she buzzes me up. If she hadn’t texted me her apartment number, I might have had some trouble finding it, but not much considering several of her neighbors are in a much bigger uproar about the situation.
An older man across the hall from her is absolutely irate that one of his vases was broken. While I can find some rationale with him being upset, he’s yelling loudly in the hallway with…very little clothing on.
I knock on Mia’s door that’s already ajar. “Mia, it’s me.”
“Hi.” Mia pops around the corner with a small smile. “Aww, you look so handsome. I hate that our plans got canceled.”
It hadn’t crossed my mind to change out of my dress pants and button-up after she called. She wraps her arms around my neck as I pull her to me and give her a quick kiss.
“I know, but I ordered us pizza, and apparently we have a show across the hall.”