Page 205 of Off the Pitch

“Yeah,” I said, shaking my head and smiling. “Don’t forget her book as well. It’s by her bed. It’s the Lee Child one. She told me she got a load of new ones from the library on Thursday.” For such a sweet looking old lady, my grandma’s favourite books were bloody crime novels and thrillers. She was amazing at figuring out who the bad guy was, and it was a point of personal pride that she usually figured it out before it was revealed. She’d started reading mysteries in her youth when she’d been a midwife. Nan had started with Agatha Christie novels and gone from there. Apparently, she’d found the novels a good distraction after long shifts and bad days.

“I’ll remember,” Dad said. He pulled out his phone, and I guessed he was probably texting Sarah to update her about everything.

My dad had met Sarah when he’d gone into her school to do a session as part of the youth club he worked at. From what I’d heard, it was a proper meet cute; she’d been trying to carry a load of art supplies across the playground from her car, but it was really icy, so my dad had gone to give her a hand. He was trying to play the knight in shining armour, but what had actually happened was that he’d slid and collided with her and they’d both ended up covered in gold glitter. He’d turned up at the school a week later with a new pot of glitter and an apology note.

Dad has always maintained it was his sincere charm that convinced Sarah to go and get coffee with him so he could apologise. Sarah’s always said it was mostly that she’d needed coffee because it was nearly Christmas and her class was driving her nuts. But whatever Dad had said had worked because they’d been together ever since.

All I remember was my dad’s hair having gold glitter stuck in it for ages afterwards, and my grandma giving him dark looks for spreading it everywhere. I still liked to tease him by buying him a pot of glitter now and again.

“Mia wants to know when she can come and stay at yours again,” Dad said. “And she also wants you to know she can now do a handstand without wobbling.”

“Of course,” I said with a smile. “Maybe the weekend after next? We’re away next weekend, and I don’t think we’ll get back in time.” Dad nodded, and I pulled my phone out to make a note in my calendar. I’d be the world’s worst brother if I forgot. Besides, it wasn’t like I really had any other plans.

As I unlocked the screen, I noticed a couple of new messages and scanned them quickly in case it was anything important. They were mostly from guys on the team checking to see if everything was okay, one was from Ant about food. And there were a few from Félix.

My breath hitched as I stared at his messages. With everything that had happened this afternoon, I’d completely forgotten we were supposed to be going out for dinner tonight. Shit. I had no idea what to tell him, and I was sure this was just going to look like some terrible excuse to avoid him when that was the last thing I wanted.

It was stupid, but I’d been looking forward to this evening all week. The idea of seeing Félix again after so long, and spending a whole evening with him, had made me excited every time I’d thought about it. I knew we weren’t dating. Making plans with him probably meant nothing in the grand scheme of things, but even so, I’d wanted the evening to happen.

FélixBack in London. Still up for dinner?

FélixI made us reservations at a place I think you’ll love

FélixShall I pick you up at eight?

FélixNice game today by the way

JordanShit. I’m so sorry to do this but I have to cancel. My grandma had a stroke and she’s in hospital =(

FélixIs she okay? What did the doctor say?

JordanShe’s on an IV and they’re running tests. Still waiting to see the doctor

FélixI’m so sorry

FélixWhich hospital are you at?

JordanNorth Middlesex University Hospital. It’s the nearest to where she lives

I wasn’t sure why I’d told him that, but it felt dishonest not to. Whatever Félix and I were to each other, I wasn’t going to be an asshole and refuse to answer his questions. Besides, I still wanted there to be a chance I could see him again.

“You okay?” Liam asked, giving me a nudge. I froze, wondering if he’d been reading over my shoulder. That was the last thing I wanted to deal with right now. “Who’re you messaging?”

“Oh, just Christian,” I said, locking my phone and sliding it into my pocket out of the way of his prying eyes. Liam could be such a nosey bastard when he wanted. Not that I was much better.

“He was just asking how it was going. Do you need to let Ali know you’re here?” I hoped the change in subject would distract Liam from digging any further. I was not having any conversations about Félix or my sexuality here.

“I have,” he said. “She sends her love and says to let her know if we need anything.”

“Thanks.” Liam nodded, then he opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but I was saved from his question at the last moment by the appearance of the doctor.

He had a friendly, if somewhat tired looking smile, and he shook all our hands, introducing himself as Doctor Ayoola. He didn’t seem to have a problem with all of us being crowded into Nan’s room. He refused Dad’s offer of a chair, and instead, he checked Nan over and brought up some details on the tablet he was holding.

“So,” he said, voice warm and calm, “it looks like your mother had a stroke this afternoon, but the good news is it seems to be a mild one, and I’m hopeful there won’t be too much damage. From the scans, we can see it affected the right side of her brain, so it may be that she has some issues with movement and sensation on the left side of her body. However, I’m hopeful that she’ll be able to make a full recovery.”

A tiny bit of the icy death grip around my heart melted away. Liam was clutching at my hand, and his grip loosened a little as the doctor spoke. It wasn’t the best news I’d ever heard, but it wasn’t the worst either, and the more the doctor spoke, the more relief began to flood my body.

In my pocket, my phone buzzed, jolting me from my thoughts. I’d put it on vibrate just in case, but I hadn’t expected anyone to call. My confusion grew when I saw Félix’s name lighting up the screen.

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