Page 103 of Redemption
“Yeah, Dad,” I say, tossing the spoon down harder than I mean to. “The prodigal daughter could return home—but in this case, only if she fit the mold.”
I spin, taking off the apron I’d grabbed earlier, and walk off. I hope Tanner heard my dad when he said he is bigger than his small moments because he is. But to my dad, the small moments are all the mistakes I made by not folding myself into his box.
Just once, I would like him to see me for the person I’ve created out of those mistakes.
But I learned a long time ago not to hope for that, so I walk off with Hayes calling my name—because my dad’s silence speaks louder.
Tanner’s voice floats through the air, reaching me just as I’m at the door. “Doesn’t seem very welcoming to me, sir.”
Chapter 31
Hayes
The bus ride back is quiet, a sharp contrast to the trip here.
I expected the boys to be rowdy, on their phones and headphones in their ears, but they aren’t. Each boy sits silently, some staring out the windows while others look at the floor. I want to ask them what they learned tonight. I want to know the stories they heard, but I’ll give them time to process. It can wait until our next practice.
The bus pulls into the school parking lot, and parents are lined up and waiting for their kids. The boys stand, each one filing out in a single line without saying a word.
Hope blooms in my chest.
I stand in my row, waiting for the last one to get off, and as each of them passes me, they give me a small nod. MJ is on the other side of the aisle, smiling brightly as she watches what is happening. There’s hurt still etched into the creases of her eyes, but to anyone who doesn’t know her like I do, she hides it well.
After the team is gone, I’ll pull her aside and talk, even if she doesn’t want to. She’s bottled her emotions up for far too long, or maybe it’s been that not a lot of people have bothered to care about her feelings. But I won’t let her hide anymore.
That’s what friends are for, right? Even if that word does taste bitter in my mouth.
Tanner is the last boy off the bus, and as he walks down the aisle, it’s not me he’s looking at, but MJ. He stops in front of her, and my body tenses, preparing myself to put the kid in his place if he says one thing out of line to her, but there’s a look on his face that I’ve never seen before. It nearly knocks me on my butt when I realize that it’s respect.
Standing in front of her, Tanner dips his head. “I’m sorry, MJ. I’ll apologize to Bella tomorrow.”
He doesn’t wait for her response, keeping his head down as he walks off the bus.
MJ watches him go, and when he disappears off the last step, she turns her gaze toward me. Her mouth hangs open as she stares at me, at a loss for words.
Finally, she asks, “What was that?”
I shrug, “I think that was Tanner learning your story.”
Stepping into the aisle, I offer her my hand. She takes it, surprising me, but I’m not stupid enough to point it out. Interlacing her fingers with mine, I pull her into the aisle with me, and we walk off the bus. I let her lead me across the parking lot, and as we walk, she thinks.
“But why? Out of all the people there whose stories he could have learned, why was that interaction with my dad what stood out to him?”
Tugging on her hand, I pull her to a stop. She turns to face me, a war of emotions flickering across her face. With the hand not holding hers, I trace her jawline with my thumb. She leans into it, stopping my heart completely.
“I think you keep focusing on how much he reminds you of Langston that you’ve failed to consider who else he reminds you of?”
Wrinkles appear between her brows. “Who?”
“You, MJ. He’s you. You’ve met his mom and stepdad. He doesn’t fit into their world, and he’s dying to break out of it. I think you, of all people, know a thing about that.”
“And yet, here I am, right back in that world.” The bitterness in her words stings, but I shake it off. I know they are directed at me, but rather the trauma she’s suffered over the years.
“Yeah. You are,” I say, concentrating on the way her skin pebbles under the path of my thumb. “But let me ask you this—now that you’re back, do you still want to escape?”
Her eyes dart over my shoulder, taking in the football field behind me. When she brings them back to me, they are filled with unshed tears.
“No. I don’t think I do. Despite how things happened with my dad tonight, I don’t regret coming back. I’ve started to heal my relationship with my mom—and you. And I kind of like my job. I love helping these kids, even if their attitudes rival yours sometimes.”
