I smiled. “Thanks. Me too.”
“This isn’t some weekend project. It’ll take time and effort,” Sam warned.
“I’m not afraid of putting in the work. We’re going to catch them in their lies and then we’re going to become the best team in the league,” I promised. “We win, they lose.”
Iknewsomethingwaswrong with Naomi the second I stepped into her room. It wasn’t the clay that gave it away—I hadn’t seen that yet. Her smile didn’t come easy when she met my gaze.
“How was practice?” She popped up from her desk chair and hurried over to greet me. “I’m so excited to finally see a game.”
I pushed away the drama with Sam. There was no use in troubling the already troubled Naomi.
“It was fine.” Before she could pull away from her welcome home kiss I asked, “Look at me?”
Naomi froze and blinked. “What? What’s wrong?”
“You tell me.” I rubbed her dangling earring between my fingers. “You’re crafting.”
She made a face. “I craft when I just want to make something, too.”
“Naomi. Our promise.”
“You’re right…okay, come look at this.” She sighed and walked back to her desk. I followed, standing behind her as she opened a screen with her inbox pulled up.
“What am I looking for?” I asked, scanning through a multitude of junk mail. It amused me how well she kept the house in order while everything in her personal life was in disarray.
“That.” She pointed to two emails, both from the same sender. “My mom. Her email came early.”
“Right.” I nodded. “Your birthday.”
“My birthday,” she said in the most lackluster tone imaginable.
I massaged her shoulders and rested my chin on her head. “Are you going to read them now?”
“No… maybe. I don’t know. I haven’t even gone to see her since… you know. It feels too weird. All of this feels too weird.”
“You don’t have to,” I whispered. “You can take your time.”
“I need to do it sooner than later.” There was determination in her voice. Pressure.
I shook my head. “Not necessarily. Yes, you should face it eventually to get some closure. But what’s wrong with waiting for now?”
“Because I need to get over it. I need to get rid of h—” She stopped short. My forehead wrinkled when she covered her face with her hands.
I couldn’t begin to imagine the heartache that came with losing a parent. Sure, I wasn’t close to mine, but they were still there, willing, and able to help me if necessary. Outside of Celeste, Naomi didn’t have many people. I kneeled in front of her and rubbed her back as she hid. My body went cold seeing her in pain. I knew it was impossible to take that from her, but I still wracked my brain for some solution.
“Take your time,” was all I could offer for now.
“I’m fine.” She waved a hand as she sat up straight. There was a small smile on her lips. I wouldn’t call it fake. Naomi’s smiles were never fake. They were careful constructions created from years of practice.
“You’re not,” I murmured. “Talk to me. This is about more than the emails.”
She shook her head, not meeting my gaze.
“Naomi, I want to be here for you, but you got to let me in.” I massaged small circles on her knee. “You deserve to be happy. I can tell when you’re forcing it.”
She met my gaze, confused. “What?”
“I see you do it all the time.”
