Page 58 of Single Glance

Theo interrupted my thoughts. “No decisions have to be made today, Cam. Play tonight and push this out of your mind. Pretend that the trade conversation never happened. If these are going to be your last games, you want to enjoy them.”

I stepped backinto the house and found Victoria waiting for me in the foyer. Nerves prickled my spine when I didn’t see Hadley at her side. My throat dried up. What happened when I stepped outside? As much as I wanted Victoria to accept my relationship with Hadley, my loyalties had shifted over the past few weeks. I still cared about Victoria as the mother of my child, but Hadley was my future, the woman I wanted to build my world around.

“Where is she?” I bit out, unable to keep my tone light.

“She’s upstairs,” Victoria said. Before I asked what happened, she held up her hand. “Nothing to do with us. Hadley and I are good. She got a call, and when she came back in, she was white as a ghost and rushed upstairs.”

“Fuck.” My legs moved before my brain caught up, taking the stairs two at a time. As soon as I gotto my room, my heart stuttered in my chest, watching as Hadley rushed between the closet and the open bag on our bed.

Her shoulders caved in around her, as if standing took too much energy. Red rimmed her sharp blue eyes, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. I took a step closer, and her eyes darted up to meet mine. My chest cracked in half. “Hadley, what’s going on?”

She squeezed her eyes together, and I rushed toward her, pulling her into my chest. The moment my arms wrapped around her, she collapsed against me, needing my strength to keep from falling to the floor. I ran my hand over her hair. “What happened?”

“My…mom…” she said through shaky breaths. “She’s in the hospital.”

“Shit, Hadley. I’m so sorry.” I kissed the top of her head as I held her a little tighter. Her breaths shuddered against my skin and my shirt dampened from her tears, but I didn’t care. I’d hold her forever if that was what she needed. Her fingers clung to my shirt, clutching me closer. “Tell me what you need, baby. I’m here.”

She shook her head against my chest. “You have a game tonight.”

“Fuck that,” I bit out. I shifted us so she faced me. “You are more important than any game, Hadley. Tell me what you need, and I’ll make it happen.”

She swallowed and slowly nodded. “Can you get me a car? I need to get to Boston, and I can’t drive like this. Shit, I can’t take Laila with me. She’s going to need someone to watch her.”

“Don’t worry about Laila, I’m sure Emilia and Vic will be happy to keep an eye on her. As for the car, I’ll drive you out there.”

“No.” Hadley stepped out of my hold and resumedpacking. When I tried to hold her again, she moved out of my reach. Her eyes narrowed at me. “Cam, you need to go to tonight’s game. Your team needs you.”

What the fuck? The caving in my chest suddenly intensified, hating the cold way Hadley stared at me now. I shook my head. “I’ll talk to Benny. He’ll understand?—”

“I said no.” Hadley’s voice rose, shaking with anger. “I don’t want you to come with me, Cam. This is about me. About my mother. The one I’ve been ignoring because I’ve been living in this fantasy with you. And now, she’s lying in a hospital room, alone, and it’s my fault.” She let out a saccharine laugh. “Please, Cam. Just go. I can’t think about you, about anything but getting to my mom right now.”

I stared at the woman I loved, wishing I had told her the truth earlier. Because, right now, when her world was falling apart, she had no idea how much I wanted to be there with her. She was more important than any game, more important than my career. I’d worked for twenty-five years to play at the professional level, yet I’d walked away without a single glance back if it meant spending the rest of my life with her.

Reaching out, I brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. Hadley inhaled sharply, and I hoped it meant she was regretting her words. I knew her, and when the devastation faded from her mind, she’d wish to take them back. “I’m going to go, Hadley. Not because I want to, but because I’m going to respect your wishes. If you need anything, I’m only a phone call away.”

It took a herculean effort to let her go. The moment the door shut behind me, it felt like I had left my heart in Hadley’s hands.

FORTY-FOUR

Two days. For two days, I sat in this sterile hospital room, trying to ignore the scent of antiseptic spray and the steady beats from the machines attached to my mother. She’d been in and out of consciousness for days, waking up only long enough to voice her disappointment that it took a medical emergency for me to come visit her.

The white walls mocked me, begging for a splash of color or something else to break up the barren space. It made my heart ache, missing having a place of my own. Even though Victoria’s home was comfortable, it wasn’t the same. After a lifetime of delaying putting down roots, the urge overwhelmed me, clinging to the idea of something permanent.

As she slept, I watched my mother, searching for any hint of myself in her. We had the same eyes, same pout to our lips, but that was where the similarities ended. She’d aged since I last saw her, as if her lifestyle choices took their toll on her physical appearance as well. Small lines marred her forehead and cheeks, but none of them seemed from laughter or happiness—more like her ever-present scowl had been marked on her face for the world to see.

When I was a kid, I looked up to my mother, seeing her as a free-spirit, something to emulate rather than fear. But seeing her now? It was clear she wasn’t that person. Instead, she was selfish and bitter, using her anger at the world for an excuse to hurt others. She wasn’t a role model—she was a cautionary tale.

My phone chimed on the end table, and I reached out to grab it. Another message from Cam. My heart ached to reach out to him, to explain I didn’t mean a single word I said to him when we parted. My fear and guilt about my mother’s health had shifted into something vile and ugly, taking what we had and twisting it into something darker.

But despite that knowledge, I couldn’t bring myself to call him, couldn’t even return a simple text—not when I knew the moment I heard his voice, I’d want to rush out of here and back into his arms.

It wasn’t just Cam I missed.

I missed my hurried morning routine with Emilia, blaring Ivy Abrams on the stereo as we drove to school.

I missed sitting at the stadium with Ollie, trying to keep up with the game and laughing about the team’s antics.

I missed Brianna, with her stoic patience and always-waiting smile, and how each day was a little brighter when I walked into my classroom.

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