“Let’s go visit her after we see Mom,” he suggested. “They have beer there, right?”
I hesitated, but the second the idea settled, I felt a little lighter. Seeing her would help. Reassuring myself she was fine, that we were fine, would help.
“That isn’t a terrible idea.” I nodded, already mentally preparing to see her in person, to figure out what the hell was going on. “Yeah. It’s a plan.”
Logan tapped his fist on the counter in agreement, and I quickly rushed through showering and dressing before we headed to the facility. The drive to the assisted living center was filled with the usual battle over music, Logan trying to switch my playlist to rap while I swatted his hand away.
“The driver chooses the music. It’s the fucking rule of law.” I smacked his hand when he tried to take my phone and change the playlist. “I will punch you.”
“Nah, you like me too much.”
“No rap shit today, Lo. I’m not in the mood.”
He paused, glancing at me, the lightness in his tone shifting slightly. “I would say you need to get laid, but… you have been, so…?”
I let out a slow breath, gripping the wheel a little tighter. “I’m worried about Michelle.” The words sat heavy in the air, and I hated how much truth they carried.
“She’s been different the past two days, and there’s this underlying fear she’ll ghost me again.” My voice was controlled, but I could hear the frustration creeping in. “I can’t explain what the difference is, but her voice is off. She’s saying the right things, but it feels like an act rather than the truth.”
Logan was quiet for a moment, which wasn’t like him. Then he asked, “And you’ve asked her about it?”
“Yes. I hate feeling like I need assurances that we’re both in this, but I do. She’s not making it easy, and I knew that going in. I just—” I stopped, running a hand down my face, exhaling slowly.
“I love her, man.”
The words felt too big, too real, but they were true. I had been feeling it for weeks, but saying it out loud? That was something else entirely.
Logan clapped a hand against my shoulder, his grin stretching across his face. “Dude, that’s big.” His voice softened slightly. “I can see why though. She’s definitely your match.”
“Yeah.” I nodded, but something still felt unsettled in my chest. Am I hers?
Logan exhaled, shaking his head slightly. “Neither of us are kings of relationships, but my advice? Trust her. If you don’t, it’ll be over before it starts.”
“I want to. I do. But she fucked me up two years ago.”
“I remember.” He let out a long breath and clicked his tongue. “Gotta go out on a limb then, bro. Give her a chance to break the trust.”
I knew he was right. Give her the chance to hurt me. Wasn’t that the fear of any relationship? The mere fact that it could end in pain?
“I guess, yeah.”
But even as I said it, that unease in my gut didn’t go away. Something was wrong. I could feel it. And I needed to see her to figure out what it was.
We pulled into the parking lot of the facility, and a different kind of weight settled over me. The kind that had nothing to do with baseball, training, or Michelle's sudden distance. This was the weight of uncertainty, of not knowing what version of my mom we’d be walking into today.
She could be having a good day, sitting up and chatting, remembering our names, laughing at Logan’s dumb jokes. Or she could be somewhere else entirely, lost in a time where we didn’t exist, where our dad was still around, where she was waiting for a life that was long gone.
That thought always put a knot in my stomach.
I locked the doors and was heading toward the entrance when something caught my eye. Across the parking lot, sitting on a bench, was a middle-aged man staring right at me. He wasn’t even pretending to be discreet—no sunglasses, no book, no pretense. Just a phone in his hand, aimed right in my direction.
He snapped a picture.
Fucking fans.
I clenched my jaw, shaking my head, forcing myself to ignore it. It wasn’t uncommon to get recognized, to have someone take a photo without asking, but there was a time and a place for that. Here, visiting my sick mother, was not one of them.
Logan snorted as he caught my expression. "You’re famous, bro. Comes with the territory."
