Offside

CHAPTER 25

INJURY TIME

Bright, blinding light filled my eyes, but it didn’t hurt. It was just warm, like the perfect spring morning when there’s sun on your back as you walk through the trees. Soft, calm, peaceful.

Her hand slipped through mine, her fingers so much bigger, they made me feel safe. I had to look up to see her face. She was so pretty—with creamy skin and deep brown hair.

“Can I stay with you, Mom?”

“No, sweetheart. It’s not time yet.”

My eyes narrowed as I looked up into her shining face.

“But I want to.”

“I know, Thomas.” Her hand ran over the top of my head. Her touch made my skin tingle, and I smiled up at her before dropping my eyes again. We walked though there didn’t seem to be any path or destination. We just moved alongside each other.

I looked down at my feet and saw the bright red cleats I wore when I was little. Mom had double-knotted them for me, and I could never untie them by myself. Mom always had to do it for me. After…when I had to tie them myself, they always came untied during games, and Dad would be mad. After…when she was gone.

I looked up over my shoulder again and into her face.

“I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.” I felt the sting of tears in my eyes and pressure in my chest.

“Of course you didn’t, darling,” she told me. “It was an accident.”

“I’m sorry I forgot my gloves,” I told her.

“Everyone forgets sometimes, Thomas,” she told me. “And sometimes things just happen. They aren’t your fault.”

“He said it was.”

“I know,” she sighed, “but he was wrong.”

“I kept my promise,” I said softly. “I never forget anything.”

“I know—but you don’t have to remember it all.”

“I don’t?”

“Not anymore, sweetheart.” Her hand was on the side of my face as she stroked my cheek. “You’ve remembered enough now.”

“One…two…three…CLEAR!”

A sharp pain ripped through my chest and spread out like a spiderweb through the rest of my body.

“You have to go back, Thomas.”

“I want to be with you.”

“You haven’t completed everything you need to do, Thomas. You still have things to learn.”

“I want to stay!”

“Someone there still needs you.”

“CLEAR!”

“Rumple?”