She shrugged before continuing. “Sean, I’m trying to tell you that you win. I was going to try one more time to get him to come back to me, but when I walked into the room I heard him asking for you. Heneeds you. I can’t compare with that. I know I’ve made my mistakes and I have no right to say this, but please take care of him. He’s a good man.”
“I will,” I promised her. For the first time since I met her, I felt sorry for Teresa. Underneath the bitchy shell was a hurt, insecure woman. It took this moment to make me realize that she did love him.
Unfortunately for Teresa, her love would never be what Mason needed. Teresa’s heels clicked on the linoleum floor as she walked away, hopefully for the last time.
I reached for the wall as I stepped into the room. The entire side of Mason’s face was covered in gauze, his eye swollen shut. Well, I assumed it was swollen because both eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping. The nurse leaned in, telling me his injuries weren’t as bad as they looked. She patted me on the shoulder, urging me forward as she walked out of the room.
I pulled one of the flimsy folding chairs off the wall and set it next to the bed. There were so many things I wanted to say to Mason, but I honestly didn’t know if I had it in me to repeat myself after he woke up, so I sat quietly while I waited for Mason to wake up or one of the doctors to come in.
“Hey, you’re here.” Mason’s voice was rough from sleep. He took my hand, squeezing tightly as he spoke. “Don’t. I don’t want to hear your apologies because they’re unnecessary. It could have been anyone on the mound when it happened. In a screwed up way, I’m glad it was you.”
Mason laughed, stopping abruptly when his face began to hurt.
“Glad it was me, huh?” I asked.
“Yep. I’ll be able to hold this over your head until the day you die. I’m thinking, at the very least, this should be good for a trip anywhere I want and a new car. Maybe even a house closer to the lake.” This was one of Mason’s endearing qualities. Even when he was laid up in a hospital bed with his face stitched together like Frankenstein, he was cracking jokes to make others feel better. “Have you talked to Mom and Dad?”
“Yeah, they went down to get something to eat.”
“Teresa’s gone.” I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about our conversation in the hall, not until I knew what she’d said to him. It’d be like the Ice Queen I’d grown to loathe over the years to feed me a line of shit to cause problems between us.
“Yeah, she’s probably out trying to track down a diet water and screaming because they don’t have any in the cafeteria.” I felt like a dick for bagging on her after she’d trickled out the few drops her withered heart was capable of, but it wasn’t like it was an uncommon occurrence. He’d be more concerned if I pretended we were suddenly best friends or something.
“No, she’s gone.” Mason stared at the ceiling through the one eye that was open. “It’s all over. She was planning to track me down after the game to beg me one last time for another chance. When I told her I’d never love her the way she wants me to, she signed the papers. I’m officially yours, if you still want me.”
“I’ll always want you,” I promised him. What else could I say? “And while her timing sucks, I’m glad she’s out of our lives.”
“You know, maybe you did this on purpose, so I’d be hideous enough that you wouldn’t have to worry about anyone stealing me away from you,” he teased.
“Not funny,” I scolded him. Mason shifted on the bed so he was close enough to slug my arm. If he wasn’t my everything, I might let the shame drown me. Instead, I laughed along with him because it’s what he needed.
22
Mason
I should have toldSean to convince my parents to go back to his house and wait for us. My hospital room was packed tighter than a can of sardines as we waited for doc to make his rounds. Rumor had it that after he checked on me to make sure Sean didn’t scramble my brains I’d be free to go.
Ike was pissed that I wasn’t heading back to Chicago right away, but I really didn’t see the point. I wasn’t going to be playing, and Milwaukee was home to me now. Any follow-up appointments that needed to be made would be up here because I wasn’t going to ask Sean or Abi to be my personal chauffeur again.
Sean had been busy deflecting my mother’s questions every time she tried asking about Teresa. My parents were as confused as I was when they saw Teresa come traipsing into my room last night, and my mom wanted answers. I’d tell them, but not now. That could wait until we were home and I was a bit more comfortable.
“Can you guys give me a minute alone with Sean?” Before the doctor came in, I needed to have time to make sure Sean was really cool with my family invading his sanctuary.
It was funny how I thought of it asourhome, but I still needed him to tell me he was okay with my parents staying with us until Dad got bored enough to convince Mom I’d be okay without her hovering.
“We’ll be right outside if you need us,” my mom assured me. She bent over, stroking the heavy layers of gauze as she kissed my forehead. I may be almost thirty years old, but she still treated me like her little baby boy. If anyone else had been in the room to see the display, I might have been embarrassed.
Sean followed them to the door, whispering something to my dad before pushing the door closed. I’m not sure why, but I appreciated the gesture because I’d had zero privacy since last night.
“What’s up?” Sean asked. He sat on the folding chair beside the bed and I chuckled, imagining the thing splintering under his weight. He wasn’t fat by any means, but he was over six feet tall and almost solid muscle. He may as well have been sitting on a chair from a child’s play set.
“You sure it’s cool if they crash at the house? You know as well as I do that Mom’s going to be out of her mind within a few days. She’ll probably start redecorating if you turn your back.”
It was a bit alarming to think about how much of the past day Sean and I had sat like this, our hands joined at the side of the bed. Anyone could have walked into the room, but it hadn’t crossed either of our minds to worry about it. Personally, as much as I worried about the backlash if the public learned that we were more than friends, part of me wished it’d happen already. That way, we could get on with our lives without constantly looking over our shoulders.
“Mason, you know it’s not a problem. It’s your home, too. Besides, it’ll be easier for me when we fly out if I know that they’re keeping an eye on you.” Sean flinched at his choice of words. I got it, but we wouldn’t know for sure what’s going on with my left eye until the swelling went down.
“I think you already took the eye,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood. “Didn’t think they meant it so literally when they said they wanted to keep an eye on me overnight.”
