He kissed me. “They will. Okay? We need to believe it. Now, tell me how you want it to go though. Do you want me in another room? Or on-screen with you? Or I can leave if—”
“No, don’t leave,” I said quickly. “I know it sounds stupid, but I think that’s the only way they’ll stop talking long enough to listen. If they see you.”
He smirked. “I’m that sexy, huh?”
I snorted. “Well, yeah, but…”
“What about Harris?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Not yet. I’ll tell them about him, but they need to chill the fuck out before they meet him.”
Jake exhaled. “Good. We can do it now if you’re ready. And I think we should tell Harrison tonight.”
I finally smiled, letting it sink in that this was really happening. “Yeah. I agree.”
We settled onto the couch, and I stared at the tablet for a long time, waiting for the text from Des to say everyone was there.
“Can you tell me what you’re afraid of?” Jake asked in a gentle tone. “Is it rejection?”
I took me a minute to answer. “No, not exactly. All I’ve ever been to them is an obsessed soccer player. I just don’t know what they’ll see me as once they realize that’s really over.”
Jake’s smile was sunshine in my darkness, warming me from the inside out. “That’s exactly what I think they need though. It might take them a while, but I think this might help them see you’remorethan just a position on that team. They got used to seeing you as the player because you’re so damn driven to be the best. You wouldn’t have gotten as far as you did if you weren’t. I think they just need to remember that you’re more than that. You’re their son or brother or whatever first.”
His words echoed Max’s almost perfectly, giving me the confidence I needed. Before I could reply, my phone buzzed with a text from Des.Everyone who can make it is here. Call soon.
“Okay. It’s time. Just let me tell them about you before they see you, okay?”
He moved over a few feet but kept a hand on my leg, knowing I needed the connection. Before I hit dial, I looked Jake in the eyes and said, “I really do love you, Jake.”
He laughed. “I love you too, but stop stalling.”
As it turned out, nearly everyone in my family was there. The only ones missing were Sari and her daughter. Even Paul and the twins were there, which surprised me since I’d expected them to be in school. Since my parents only knew how to do Skype from their desktop, it meant everyone was able to congregate in my parents’ living room. They’d even moved the couch back so I could see everyone on the screen. The large audience was making me a nervous, especially when I took in their worried expressions. It made me wonder what exactly my brother had told them.
I used a pillow to prop the tablet up and reached for Jake’s hand, linking our fingers together as I stumbled through greetings.
“Yeah, so. I think you all know I have some news,” I started. “Well, I just thought you guys should know I’m moving to South Carolina.”
Almost immediately the group broke out into disagreements.
“Cállense todos!”
“Casper!”
“What!”
Pa silenced them all with one quick swoop of his arm, just as he had several times when we were kids.
“I’ve bought into a business here. The same one I’ve been working at. I’m coaching now, and I really love it. Probably more than playing if you want to know the truth.”
My eldest brother and youngest sister looked absolutely mortified that I wasn’t returning to play professionally, which told me Des hadn’t filled them in.
“But what about Mexico?” Mia said, completely dumbfounded.
I ground my teeth together before saying, “I’ve been telling you guys for months now that I was let go from the team. I didn’tquit,Mia,”I quickly added before she could accuse me again. “I was let go. My knee injury last year slowed me down too much, but it’s fine. I’ve found something else now.”
Jake must have heard something in my voice because he squeezed my hand.
“So you can try—"
