Page 107 of False Play
“It’s open,”Henry said when I knocked on his bedroom door a few hours after we’d arrived home.
When I opened it, Captain Sushi was next to me, but with his cute, fluffy white paws, he took a few steps and jumped on the bed, settling between Henry’s thighs with a low purr.
He scratched Sush’s ear while he patted the space next to him. “Come here.”
I hopped onto the bed and got underneath the comforter, letting the fluffy cotton warm me up. “I’m exhausted.”
“I bet.” He laughed. “I’m tired, too. But you had to talk to people all day, I’m sure that took the energy out of you.”
I yawned and rested my head against the headboard. “I love talking to people, it fills my energy cup. But standing all day killed my legs for sure.”
“Energy cup?”
“Yeah, like, you know how there are certain things that replenish your energy? I imagine it’s like a cup. Talking to people replenishes it.”
“That’s such a weird analogy.”
I hit him in the arm. “Shut up,” I said with a laugh then craned my neck to look at him. “We’ve postponed the conversation long enough. Spill the beans, pretty boy.”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” he quipped.
I shifted upright, folding my legs under me as I turned to face him. “Why were we at Willow House today?”
“Volunteering.”
“Henry,” I groaned.
His lips pursed, and he didn’t say a word for a few seconds. He tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling, almost like he was lost in thought. “I-uh, honestly, I’m just going to come out and say it, because there is no easy way to approach this subject,” he said, then he inhaled a quick breath and blurted, “I founded Willow House.”
I reared back in shock. That was certainly the last thing I was expecting, so a million questions were running through my head. I didn’t know where to start.
“I’m sorry, but did you just say you’re thefounderof one of the biggest nonprofit organizations in the Midwest?” I gaped at him in disbelief.
He nodded as he avoided my gaze. “Kennedy, what I’m about to tell you…” He scrubbed his face and sighed. “Please don’t tell anyone, yeah?” His voice took on a vulnerability I had never heard from him. He was usually all confidence and cockiness, maybe even a little silly at times, but this side of him was…new. My heart was all too aware, because it tightened in my chest with hope. Was this it? Was hefinallyletting me in?
I gripped his hand and squeezed it gently. “You can trust me,” I said softly. “I would never. You know that.” I mean, we shared a secret that could destroy us—one that could get him in trouble, too. The thought alone brought some fierce protection out of me. Whatever he was about to tell me, I was going to keep close to my chest for the rest of my life.
“When I got drafted, I was an eighteen-year-old kid with a whole lot more money than I knew what to do with. When my agent casually mentioned that most players tended to invest or give to charity, an idea popped into my head.” His Adam’s apple bopped. “My childhood wasn’t easy, and my mother had to, uh, escape a dangerous situation, you know?” he murmured. His words were tight, like it took everything in him to keep his emotions in check.
He didn’t give me the details, but I was already putting the pieces together on my own, and my heart felt like it was lodged in my throat at the newfound information.
“I saw my mom struggle for years. She worked multiple jobs to make the transition as easy as possible for me and Olivia. She sacrificed herself to keep me in hockey, which was the only thing that brought a sense of normalcy during those uncertain times. She did everything she could to make us happy and to get us away from him.” His voice cracked, and it was like there was an invisible string connecting us, because my heart broke then, too. “Did you know that one out of every three women has experienced DV in their lifetime? Did you also know that one in every four children has been exposed to this horrible thing, too?” He shook his head and straightened up. This woke Sush up, and he moved to his cat bed, where he peacefully curled up to continue sleeping. “I felt so fucking powerless when I was a kid, and when I finally had the money to do something good with it, I went for it.”
It was a lot of information to process, and I wanted to be sensitive to the heaviness of the conversation and treat it with care. “Henry, if you don’t want to continue telling me this story, you don’t have to.”
His eyes met mine, and they shone with so much heaviness and unspoken emotions. “No. I want to,” he rasped.
And so he did.
He told me everything his family endured after Vincent Anderson had his career-ending injury. The beatings, the screaming, the constant berating. Tears welled in my eyes after he shared details on how bad it had gotten and what gave Henry’s mom the courage to pick up her things and her two kids and…leave. Start all over again.
If I ever had the opportunity to meet Henry’s mom, all I wanted to do was give her a big hug. Because that was a brave thing to do. She was a superwoman, and I hoped nothing but happiness and peace for her.
Henry was brave in a way, too. So fierce, and kind, and willing to make the world a better place. As he kept talking, this whole new light shone above him, and it was like I was finally seeing him for who he truly was. He was showing me the rawest parts of himself, and I couldn’t help but admire how much bravery it took for him to be so honest and show me his emotional scars.
I couldn’t breathe properly, because there was this desperate need I had to be near him. To somehow show him he could lean on me. That I was someone he could depend on. Without thinking, I straddled him and gave him a fierce hug. He rested his head against my chest, and we stayed quiet for a few minutes. His breaths were heavy, and the way he wrapped his arms around my waist was like he was doing everything in his power to anchor himself. The proximity alone had my heart wanting to leap out of my chest, and my body buzzed with energy, but I didn’t dare move. There was something so comforting about the moment, like our silence said more than words ever could. Iadmiredthis man. I’d found a new respect for him, and I wanted to protect him with everything I had.
He sniffled, his eyes rimmed red and shining as they met mine. “That’s why I created Willow House.”
