Blindsided (Game On 2)

Seeing tears fill her eyes broke my heart, but she didn’t let them spill over. Instead she said, “I’m going to close my eyes now. I still don’t want to watch you leave.”

“That’s okay with me,” I told her. “But I promise to call you as soon as I get home.”

She squeezed my hand again, letting me know she understood. I didn’t think she trusted herself to speak, and I was glad because if she cried, I was going to lose it too.

We let go of each other, and I heard her roll away from me as I finished putting my clothes on. I couldn’t hear her, but I knew she was crying because her body was shaking, and it made me rush to get out of her room even faster. I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t even look back at her before I stepped out into the hallway.

I hobbled back to my own room, thankful nobody saw me. To make sure I didn’t break into un-manly tears, I busied myself by changing my clothes and checking I had everything packed.

Getting through breakfast was tough. I sat at the table with Janet, Andrew and Hunter, and tried hard to pretend that it didn’t suck to be leaving, but I don’t think I fooled anyone. I managed to force down a coffee and a single piece of dry toast, but all I really wanted was to go back to Isabelle’s room. Barely a word was spoken in the time it took us to finish eating, and load up the car to drive to the airport.

Heathrow was a crazy place, even early in the morning. Happy people were getting ready to go on vacation, or to return home after a business trip. The smiling faces only made me feel worse. They were probably heading towards the people they loved, while I was leaving one behind. I was looking forward to seeing my family, really, but all I could think about was Isabelle. The one thing I had to look forward to was having Hunter staying at my place for a week before he went home to Phoenix. It would help to have him around. I could tell he was bummed about saying goodbye to Willow. What’s that saying? Oh right, misery loves company.

There was a long wait ahead for our flight. Janet and Andrew offered to stay for a while, but they’d already sacrificed their opportunity to sleep in, so Hunter and I told them they should go home so they didn’t waste more of their morning.

Andrew shook my hand while Janet and Hunter said their goodbyes.

“It’s been really nice to meet you, Jesse,” he said. “If you ever need a place to stay in London, you’re more than welcome to crash with us.”

“Thanks,” I replied. “I had a great time with you guys, and I really appreciate everything you did for me.”

Andrew shook his head, dismissively. “It was no trouble at all. But, maybe try to avoid college parties next time you’re in town.”

“I think I can do that,” I laughed.

Janet gave me a slightly tearful smile before pulling me into a huge hug.

“It’s funny,” she said. “When I offered you and Hunter a place to stay, I thought that after a few weeks, I’d be more than ready to get rid of you both! But it’s been lovely to have you around, and we’re really going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you all, too,” I told her. “I’m not ready to go home yet.”

“It’s such a shame you couldn’t stay for the last week, but you really do need to get that knee sorted out so you can get back to playing football again.”

It was nice of her to be so optimistic, but she knew as well as I did that there were no guarantees. She was the one who had stayed at the hospital with me for twenty-four hours, talking to the doctors. At the time, I was grateful, but looking back, I could see much more clearly how she’d put me first. She’d talked to my parents, tried to calm me down when I’d freaked out, and made sure that she found every way possible to make the rest of my time with them more comfortable.

“Thanks, Janet. I really wouldn’t have coped with everything if it weren’t for you and Andrew.”

“It was a small price to pay,” she said. “You’ve made Isabelle happier than I’ve ever seen her.”

The mention of her name made my insides clench, and the un-manly tears found their way back to my eyes, making Janet’s own tears fall, but she kept smiling.

“Could you … could you do something fun with her today?” I asked. “Maybe make some of that hot chocolate she loves so much, and watch some movies. Or go out for lunch, or to the mall. Keep her busy.”

Janet nodded. “I can do that. Actually, I think a day with my girls is just what we all need.” She hugged me again and as much as I fought it, I couldn’t not cry. I brushed my tears away quickly, but there was no way to hide it. I was weeping like a little girl in front of the parents of the girl I loved.

Janet kissed my cheek, but I knew she couldn’t handle it, and she turned away. Hunter slung his arm around my shoulders, and said, “I’ll take care of him, Aunt Janet.”

She managed another smile, and said, “Look after yourselves, boys.”

With one final round of goodbyes, Andrew led Janet away.

“Come on, you pussy,” Hunter said, “Get it together.”

He grinned, and I choked out a laugh. I could always count on him to cheer me up with an insult.

“You wanna tell me what happened last night?” Hunter asked, with a grin.

He couldn’t know, could he?