I text him a few suggestions and then toss my phone in my bag. I have to concentrate if I want any hope of getting this essay finished.
I’m finally able to make it home just shy of nine p.m.
Where I find Maggie in almost the exact same position she was in this morning, and I’m starting to worry something’s really wrong.
I hate waking her up, but if she’s not feeling well, how am I going to know when I’m gone all day?
“Babe,” I whisper as I lean over to kiss her forehead. She’s sweaty, and in the low light, I have a hard time making out whether she’s changed her clothes.
Her swollen eyes open slowly, and my heart sinks. She’s obviously been crying.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She shakes her head. “Everything.”
I wait for her to explain, but she doesn’t say anything, just curls up with her pillow and closes her eyes.
“Are you sick? Are you getting Braxton Hicks contractions again? Did you overdo it today?”
The anger in her eyes when they pop open takes me aback. “Since I’ve been lying on my ass all fall, I wouldn’t say I’ve overdone it. But no, I’m not having contractions.”
Help her look on the bright side, man. “That’s good, then. You’re feeling okay.” She doesn’t say anything, so I try again. “Did you eat dinner? Are you hungry? Can I get you anything?”
“I’m fine.”
I go to brush the hair out of her face, but she turns away.
Jesus, maybe Billy’s right and she is mad at me.
“Maggie, what’s wrong? I can’t help you if I don’t know what happened or what I did.”
“What happened is I got knocked up by a football player who has to be on campus almost twenty-four seven. And forgive me, but I’m a little pissed about it at the moment. It sucks that we both had a role in this situation, and yet I’m the one on bed rest who can’t go to any of my classes. Who can’t go to work. Who has to take off second semester to take care of the babies. While you, what? Play football. Get lauded on national TV. Get ogled by women everywhere you go. Have everyone congratulate you when you go get coffee.”
I’m so stunned by her outburst, I don’t say anything.
She sniffles and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. Her voice softens. “Olly, I know you’re busting your ass to make this work. I know you’re up at the crack of dawn and hustle all day, and I’m so proud of you. I am. I’m just frustrated I can’t do more. My life is a mess. I probably can’t afford this year’s property tax bill, even if they let me do two payments, because it went up again. I don’t have any money to send my mom. I won’t graduate on time. I can’t even go to your games.” Fat tears stream down her face. “No one is ever home. You and the guys are always on campus. It never bothered me before, living by myself, but it bothers me now. I feel invisible. Like I could get sucked into this bed and disappear and no one would notice.”
God, she’s breaking my heart.
“Darlin’, I’m sorry.” I take her in my arms and hug her to my chest. “We’ll figure this out. I swear it. You’re right—none of this is fair. You have the greatest burden by far. I know what it means to have your body hijacked by injury, but even that doesn’t come close to what you’ve gone through this year.”
“It’s not fair. I can’t see my ankles, my boobs hurt, and my ass is the size of the Titanic. And you strut around looking like a Greek god, smiling on camera and being so handsome it hurts to look at you.”
I smile against her hair. “You’re so beautiful right now. You have no idea. But it’s true that I haven’t the foggiest what it feels like to have those luscious tits. If I had those, man, I’m not sure I’d ever get out of bed.”
I groan in twisted delight, and she snort-laughs. “You’re weird.”
Obsessed is the more accurate term. “No, I’m just in love with you.” I wipe her tears. “For the record, you’re the only woman I want ogling me. We’ll figure out what to do second semester. I swear you’ll graduate on time.”
I have no idea how I’ll make that happen, but she’s right—no matter how important my football career is, her future’s just as important as mine.
59
MAGGIE
Staring at my computer screen, I smile. Sienna is going to love this logo for her yoga company. At least I hope she does.
It feels so good to be productive. While I’ve been doing my best to stay on top of my coursework, I’m not super motivated. Not being in class for the lectures really blows because that’s my favorite part of college. I have some great professors who are passionate about what they teach. Reading through lecture notes doesn’t compare at all to being in class while they teach.
