Page 55 of A Shot at Love
He responds, polished and smooth, “Good evening, Misty. What do you have for us?”
She runs a hand through her hair. “While this goes against every journalist instinct I have, I’m going to reveal the anonymous source that told me Jack Smith was Annie’s father.” She takes a deep breath. “It was Trenton Smith.”
The audience goes wild. My mouth falls open. This wasn’t an opportunity Trenton seized? This wasplanned? He exposed his father on purpose. Trenton would have likely been there when Jack forced the board to draft me. Did something about it tip him off? Did he investigate and find out that he had a half-sister? Andwhen the first attack didn’t take me down along with Jack, he added a second act to bring us both down?
All because he wanted total control of the Archers.
Daniel grins, wild and victorious. “Well, there you have it, folks. Jack Smith is not an honorable man. Despite Trenton’s lies, he was right when he said his father manipulated the draft. Too many other people corroborated his story for that to be a lie. But even worse than Jack is his son. A man who lied to the press, who set this whole story up, who was going to get his half-sister kicked out of the league she loved and leave her reputation in tatters. If there’s anyone who should be punished, it’s him. Leave Annie out of it.”
I clutch my heart, feeling its frantic pace. Even when I yelled, ran, and hid, Daniel didn’t give up on me. And not just me, my team. The truth. Stopping a corrupt man like Trenton.
Daniel looks directly at the camera. “One last thing, and it’s finally about what you all wanted: Annie. Annie Larger is just like anyone else. Just like me.” His voice grows quiet. “We fear our failure. We fear losing what we love. I felt that way too once, and I know how hard it is to keep going. And while our situations weren’t exactly the same, I know how Annie feels.”
The audience has grown quiet, but every part of me feels loud. What the hell am I doing in this motel room? How could I hide from the people who loved me? Daniel’s voice is quiet too, but it rings with sincerity. “That’s what I should have said, Annie. I shouldn’t have talked shop, gone behind your back, planned your lifefor you. I should have told you I understand. That it’s so hard to get back up and fight.” His voice breaks a little at that last sentence, and I wipe away what feels like endless tears.
But these are at least the good kind. The hopeful kind.
“But you have to,” he says, earnest and kind and the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. “If you were down, I’ve pulled you back up. But you need to get back out there andrun.”
Silence follows and then whistling and cheering and even a few moments of them chanting, “Annie! Annie! Annie!”
The show ends, and the credits roll.
Wiping away tears, I dial the only phone number I can think of.
21
Of course, Jadea answers immediately and says she’s on her way.I use one of my shoes to prop the door open so she can come right in. It feels right, considering she’s not used to knocking.
I gave Jadea my room number, and when she arrives, I’m sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed. The tears have dried and crusted my cheeks. My thoughts keep cycling, imagining all the places I’ve gone wrong.All the mistakes I made in the name of fear.
How do Largers face a problem?
They don’t.
I peek up at her from the corner of my eye as she comes in. She looks run-down. Her braids are pulled into a halfhearted top knot, and she’s wearing sweatpants and slides. She doesn’t say anything, just closes the door behind her, tosses my sneaker aside, and slides down the bed to sit next to me.
There’re a few heartbeats of silence.
Jadea breaks it, like she always does. “How could you do that to us, Annie? We needed you.”Her words are laced with hurt, accusation.
The gut reaction is to say we might have lost those games either way, but I push it down. Either way, I ran away from my best friend without a word. “I’m so sorry. I thought I was protecting the team,” I find the courageto say, guilt almost choking me. “I saw how you were all fighting when the news broke. If my girls doubted me, how could we play together? How could we play normally if you all thought I was a cheater? What if we lostbecause of me?”
Jadea is quiet for a moment, looking around the room. Abruptly, she turns to face me, swiveling her whole body. “In the end, Annie, you’ve been thinking about this all wrong.”
I flinch a little. “I know, I know. I probably don’t have as much of an impact as I think—”
Jadea cuts me off. “No, listen! You willalwayshave an impact. When it comes to those games, we’ll never know. Maybe your impact would have been bad, like you imagined. Maybe your impact would have been great, likeIimagined.” I crack a smile at that. “The truth is: you’ve inherited a family. You might not claim the Smiths, and Trenton sure tried hard not to claim you, but you’ll be associated with that family of billionaires forever.”
I cringe away from her brutal honesty. She notices and soldiers on enthusiastically. “That’s what I mean: you’re thinking about this all wrong.We’vebeen thinking about this all wrong. All the press about you and the WNBA, we should use it to our advantage. Your name is now associated with money, privilege, and power. Journalists, social media influencers, even old-fashioned newspapers will want to hear from you.Peoplewill want to hear from you.” I cock my head, considering. She sees she has my attention, gesturing wildly with herhands. “You don’t have to just talk about your family. You can help the league, help women athletes, help anyone you want. You’ve always had a voice in this league, more than some of usdo, so use it!”
She deflates a little after the rush of energy, waiting for me to respond.
I let what she said really sink in before slowly nodding in agreement. “I know you’re right. If I could let go of my fear and self-doubt, I could help change this league for the better. Maybe the Smith family name can even help me do that.” I shudder a little at the idea, but admit, “I really want to be braver. Just like you are every day.” She grabs my hand and squeezes it gently. I squeeze back.
I remember sitting in Trenton’s office, genuinely excited by the idea of him setting up a fund for young women and non-binary athletes. He won’t be keeping that promise to me, but could I do something similar? To help women athletes myself? Will I ever see any of the Smith money? Do I even want it?
Jadea breaks through my swirling thoughts. “We have to talk about Daniel now.”
