Page 20 of The Game Plan
My mind drifts to Grant, and I wonder what he’s doing right now. Is he having an internal panic like me? Or is he calm and excited as he makes room in his townhouse for me and Jellybean?
Even though every part of me is overwhelmed and terrified, there’s a tiny flame of hope that flickers inside me.
What if it’s different this time?
Hours later, after the golden light has faded from a soft amber to a deep blue twilight, I look around at all the packed boxes. With the last box of the night sealed, everything feels so drab in this tiny space. I can see through fresh eyes how dingy this apartment is, but it was my first solo space. Even with the cracks, I made it our home. Temporary as it may have been.
Pouring hot water into a mug, I let the mint tea steep. Letting out a groan, Ridge stretches in the doorway of the kitchen. He has to be exhausted. As soon as I called him last night, he started pulling strings with contacts to get a flight to Texas. He arrived sometime in the middle of the night, and instead of waking me, he sat outside my building, making sure the place was secure.
“I’ll crash on the couch. Door’s locked, and everything’s quiet downstairs. No one’s getting in here unless I say so.”
I nod, unable to say thank you without my throat closing. I still can’t believe he came all this way. Reaching for my mug, I toss the tea bag into the trash before heading toward my room.
“Thanks for everything.” I say quietly, holding back the emotions surfacing all over again. “Goodnight.”
“Night, Savvy,” Ridge calls out. Glancing behind me, I watch briefly as he unfolds a few blankets we left out and spreads them over the couch.
My bedroom is nearly empty, with my mattress and a lamp sitting on my nightstand beside it. Easing onto my bed, I bring my mug to my lips. Blowing on the hot liquid, I take a tentative sip, savoring the minty flavor. The silence in my room is deafening and only sparks my racing mind. I take in the creaky pipes. The sounds of cars driving by. The hum of the fridge. This is the last night I’ll fall asleep to their soundtrack. Tomorrow, it’ll be new sounds in a new space. Inhisspace.
With my mug empty, I place it on the table before curling into my covers. The further into this pregnancy I get, the harder it is to get comfortable. I’ve made my version of a nest with pillows and blankets.
Closing my eyes, I replay Ridge’s voice from earlier.
“You’ve been looking for unconditional love your whole life. Maybe it’s finally showing up by literally landing on your doorstep. Don’t be scared to believe it’s real.”
It’s hard not to cry when someone believes in you more than you do. Based on the number of tears I’ve shed today, I need to drink extra water tomorrow to avoid dehydration.
I think about Grant—how he showed up, unasked. How he stood in my apartment, come hell or high water, to make sure I was okay. How Ridge said Grant stared him down, ready to fight for me. Ridge is no joke. And when I initially said no to moving in, Grant didn’t push—he gave me space to think it through.
During our freshman year, lying across his dorm room bed, limbs tangled, we made a promise. A promise to keep things simple. Date other people, experience the college life everyone talks about, and someday, we’d circle back to each other. When we earned our degrees and were ready to start our futures.
At the time, it felt like the right decision. I had moved thousands of miles from home, looking for a fresh start and a way to be independent. I never thought I’d fall for the first boy who caught my eye. I told myself it was better this way. Better to live in the maybe than losing him forever…or to feel his love, only for him to abandon me.
I planned a life with him once, and it unraveled in the blink of an eye. I didn’t realize how badly I wanted that life with him until it slipped through my fingers.
Now here I am, getting a second chance.
It won’t happen overnight, but maybe I can start giving him pieces of my heart…until time gives him all of it.
Rolling onto my side, I curl the blanket under my chin. Closing my eyes, I start to drift off as my mind slows. A picture paints itself behind my eyelids. One of me and Grant. In this picture, his hands are full of a sleeping baby wrapped in my crochet blanket. He’s looking at the baby like he looked at me in that photo years ago.
With warmth. Love. Happiness.
It’s fleeting. But it’s enough to let me fall asleep with hope blooming in my soul.
Savannah is moving in with me.
Q: What the hell? When? How?
Cody Jacobs: You wanna catch us up?
Crew Riggsby: OMG!!
Cody Jacobs: Riggsby is that you, or did your girlfriend steal your phone again?
Crew Riggsby: Ha. Ha. It’s me. I’m shook!
Cody Jacobs: Bro, lay off the caffeine. It’s too early for all your exclamation points.
