Page 12 of Wildflowers and Wide Receivers

“What happened to her parents?” I finish zipping the boot, slip on the other, and then turn to stare at the flowers as if they have all the answers.

“How do you not know this? We had to have talked about it at some point. It was a huge deal for a while, and the entire Tarpons organization rallied around him.”

“I don’t know, and no, we’ve never talked about him. Not once. And you know I’m not on social media.”

Well, at least I’m not anymore. After waiting for him for an entire day and feeling like the stupidest person in the world because I believed our night together meant more, I stopped looking at anything to do with sports, especially Tarpons football and deleted any app that might show him. Surprisingly, I didn’t miss them and never redownloaded them.

“Are you sure we’ve never talked about this?” she asks skeptically.

“We haven’t.”

“Oh my God, Sophie. You remember our silver-and-gold New Year’s Eve party, right?”

How could I forget? Visions of him laughing in a tux and then naked, sweaty, and above me flash through my mind.

“Of course.” I have to clear my throat.

“It was that night. His brother and sister-in-law were killed in a car accident. He got the news when he woke up on New Year’s Day and had to fly out to go to his niece.”

New Year’s Day.

I gasp.

Dread and guilt fall heavy into my stomach, and I sink back into the couch. The same couch we made out on, which feels like ages ago and yesterday at the same time.

I had no idea, but thinking back, he turned his phone on right before he left, and it lit up and chimed with messages. And through the window, I watched him sit in his car with his phone to his ear. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but then again, I didn’t stand there long enough to get caught staring at him. I had no idea he was getting devastating life-altering news.

Camille ignores my silence and continues. Internally, I’m freaking out.

“He’s her next of kin. It was awful. A lot of us flew to Boston for their funeral. I’ve always thought a grown man crying is sexy, but watching him, his uncle, and Vivi lose themselves while trying to hold it together at the same time was one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen.”

Tears fill my eyes, and I close them, feeling this foreign pain for him and most definitely for that little girl I just met.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask.

“I don’t know. I just assumed you knew like everyone else. But call me curious. Why would I?” she asks.

Right, because she doesn’t really know about us. No one does. At least I didn’t think so. I was so hurt and embarrassed after he stood me up that I didn’t tell anyone. Yeah, I’m sure a lot of people saw us, but no one did afterward. Just me and my foolish heart.

“Because I know you saw us together the night before at your party. It just seems like something we would have talked about.” I look around my townhouse and remember Jonah being here. After I received my offer to stay on with TBPO, I thought about buying my first home, but then changed my mind, as I have no intention of staying here.

“I guess it just didn’t occur to me. That time was crazy. It was all over social media and news outlets for weeks. He was photographed at the airport on New Year’s Day. Even though he dressed in disguise, he was spotted. Dark circles under his eyes, tears on his cheeks, and grief so strong you could feel it from just looking at the image. ESPN followed the story through the funeral, and players from all across the league sent flowers and donations to a college fund for Vivi. Reid, Bryan, and Tyler found him a house in our neighborhood on the island, and while he closed down his brother’s home in Boston, Lexi, Missy, myself, and team members moved him out of his condo and got the house ready to go. We decorated a room for Vivi. We all wanted her to have a safe place when she got here. She still isn’t doing too well, and it’s been over two years. Then again, can you blame her? How sad.”

They moved him into a house.

They decorated her room.

I could have helped.

“I didn’t know,” I say, just more than a whisper.

Then again, I guess he didn’t want me to since he didn’t bother calling. Well, that’s not fair for me to say. Clearly, I’m finding out that there were a lot more important things on his mind at that moment, as they should have been.

“Yeah, but they’re hanging in there. One day at a time. I’m really proud of him. At twenty-four, he stepped up in a way not many others could.”

Twenty-four . . . that makes him twenty-six or maybe twenty-seven now. He’s six or seven years younger than me. I had no idea there was such an age gap.

Thinking of the two of them, I remember the way he wrapped his arms around her and she cried into him. The love between them was evident. Maybe that’s another reason I just assumed she was his daughter.