Page 63 of Single Glance

“Because you love my daddy?” Emilia asked.

I leaned down and took her hand in mine. “Yeah, Em. I love him. Is that okay with you?”

She beamed back at me. “Yup. And that’s good, because he told me he loves you too.”

Maybe earlier, her words would have shocked me, when I was too busy doubting my worth to see what was right in front of me. Now, though, there was no questionthat Cam loved me. He’d been showing me all along, but I’d been too jaded to see it. “Give me a couple of minutes, and then we can get out of here, okay, Em?”

She nodded as I turned down the hall, needing to tell my mother I was leaving. But as I turned the corner into her room, I ran smack into Dr. Leeds. We bounced apart, and my hand flew to my chest, trying to soothe my panicking pulse. “I’m so sorry, doctor.”

“No problem.” He smiled. “I was looking for you. We’re going to discharge your mother today. Between her new medicine regime and some healthier lifestyle choices, she should make a full recovery.”

He handed me a list of her new prescriptions, and my brow furrowed as I read the names. “She’s already on a lot of these meds. Are you increasing the dose?”

Dr. Leeds brow furrowed. “Your mother didn’t disclose she was on any of these medications. Has she been taking them?” I started to answer, but no words came out. Almost all the bottles in my mother’s bag were full. I never second guessed it, assuming she’d just gotten them refilled.

“I-I’m not sure.” My eyes remained glued to the paper in front of me. “If someone prescribed these medications, but she refused to take them, what could happen?”

“I think you already know the answer to that.”

Unbridled rage danced along my skin. Suddenly, everything snapped into focus—my mother’s evasive answers about her medication, her quieting me every time the doctors stepped into the room. Ringing sounded in my ears, blocking out all other noises, a sharp awareness of everything my mother had put into motion. While she might not have guessed the outcome, she had to realize the risks when she stopped taking her prescribedmedication. No wonder she believed I was going to move back home with her. It’d probably been her plan to begin with.

The realization snipped the last string tying me to my mother. After a lifetime of living in her shadow, I found the strength to step out of it, needing to get home to my real family. I handed the papers back to the doctor. “My mother is going to need to find someone else to drive her home. Here.” I opened my wallet and handed a couple of twenties over. “That should be enough to get her back to the house.”

“Wait,” he called as I turned to walk away. “Where are you going?”

“I’ve spent enough time away from the people I love. I’m going home to them. And after today, you can tell my mother she’s not one of them.”

FORTY-SEVEN

“Seda, I need to talk to you for a minute.”

My hand gripped my phone, staring at the blank screen, hoping for a message or call to come through at the last second. Emilia had already called earlier, checking that off my pre-game list before Victoria and the rest of Hadley’s friends hopped in the car to drive to Boston.

It was only a four-hour drive. They should have arrived at the hospital early this morning, but the only message I received was a quick check-in from Victoria, nothing else. I kept staring, hoping Hadley’s name would glide across my screen, telling me she was coming home to me.

There was so much left to say, so many words I’d held back for fear of getting distracted. As much as I wanted to go for a ride to Boston and bring her home myself, I also needed Hadley to make that choice. I needed her towantto come back to me.

Benny’s eyes found me across the clubhouse, motioning for me to hurry and join him, but my legs felt like lead. Despite my improved performance, my fate was still on the line. I tried to ignore the trade deadline, channelingall my frustrations into the game. However, it always lingered above me like a guillotine, waiting for the last thread to snap.

When I walked inside the office, I scanned the room, happy to see there was no one else waiting for me.

Benny settled into his chair behind the desk, kicking his feet up. “Gonna make this quick, Cam, because I know this has been bothering you for a while.”

Dread pooled in my stomach, unsure what would come out of his mouth next. I’d already made my peace with leaving the league, willing to lose this part of my life if it meant holding on to everything else. But the reality of it sucked all the breath out of my lungs. “Where’d they trade me to, Benny?”

“Nowhere.”

My eyes jumped up to meet his, a slow smirk forming on his face. Nowhere. I wasn’t leaving. The word didn’t quite compute, as if I’d already settled for the loss. My hand jumped up to my mouth, blocking the shocked laugh that barreled up from my chest. “Wait, so I’m sticking around?”

“Hell yeah, kid.” Benny shook his head. “The suits upstairs might be out of touch, but they recognize talent when they see it. You’ve been steady since you got here, and with more time and consistency, you’ll be a standout on our roster.”

I shook my head, dropping my elbows down on my knees. “I, uh—thanks, Benny. Got to be honest, I didn't think this was how it was going to go. I was thinking about hanging up my jersey for good.”

Benny leaned forward. “I’ve been there, kid. Maybe my life would look a lot different if I had.” He dipped his finger, slamming it into hisdesk. “We leave everything on that field for one-hundred sixty-two games a year. Injuries, pain, heartbreaking losses. But we don’t owe this game our lives, Cam. If you want to give it all up, I’m not going to stop you.” He sat back in his chair, crossing his arms around his chest. “However, if you want to give this a shot, I think we can shape this team into something great, something worthy of the time and effort we pour into it.”

My smile was wideand bold as I stepped back into the clubhouse, ready to take on the world after my conversation with Benny. I was sticking around. Life wasn’t always going to be easy, but at least I was going to be close to my family and would get to see Emilia as often as our schedules would allow. It might change in the future—God knows most baseball players don’t spend their entire careers in one city—but at least it was a shot. A chance.

With another hour until we had to hit the field, I walked over to my locker and grabbed my phone before settling on the couch. When I unlocked the screen, my brow furrowed as I took in the notifications piling up. I opened my social media app, finding more notifications than I’d ever seen in my life. Unsure what was going on, I pulled up my account and saw someone had tagged me in several photos.

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