He’s not in any state to listen to words, though. I see his arm cock back, and when it moves forward, I throw myself in front of Lily, taking the punch. It lands square on my jaw, and it’s hard enough to knock my head sideways and splatter blood out of my mouth.
“Dad,” Tanner cries, but I shake my head, showing him I’m okay.
Hayes tackles Zeb to the ground, detaining him while he fights against him, and Campbell already has his phone out, calling for backup. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Morgan holding Mia to him, and through it all, a soft voice says my name.
“Theo, let me see.”
Lily walks around me so she can see my face.
Blood is pouring out of my mouth. I try to wipe it away with my shirt, but Lily stops me, taking my face in her hand and turning it back and forth.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she says, her eyes staying on the blood.
She’s crazy if she thinks there’s a world where I would ever have let her take that punch.
“Yeah, hopeless. I did.”
Her fingers are gentle as they probe along my face, searching, but even that gentle touch seers. Burns itself into my soul.
“Thank you.”
______________________
Half an hour later, Zeb is in the back of a squad car. The game has ended. Tanner left with his mom without speaking to me, and Morgan still holds his sister. Mia has long since passed out in his arms, and Lily is speaking to him in soft tones.
When sheforcedme to adopt Lucy, she accused herself of being unable to love, but I wonder if she could see herself through my eyes if she would say the same thing. She might not love loudly, but she loves all the same. It’s in the way she looks at Morgan and the little girl she just met. Her love is quiet enough that people miss it because they aren’t paying attention.
But I am.
As if they feel me watching, Morgan and Lily’s heads snap up to where I’m standing. I can’t tell what they are thinking from this far away, but even from here, I can see the tension coiled in Morgan’s shoulders.
My hand goes to my neck, rubbing out knots that have been there for as long as I can remember as I walk over to join them. A thousand more knots form when I’m finally close enough to see Lily’s face.
She’s furious, and all that anger is directed at me.
“Coach,” Morgan whispers, so not to wake up Mia. “Tell Ms. Carson that Mia and I are fine. She’s trying to report us, man. You promised.”
Lily’s gaze snaps to me. “Promised what? What is he talking about, Theo?”
I sigh, digging my fingers deeper into my neck. “Lily, can we talk in private?”
Her eyes flash to Morgan, as if afraid he and his little sister will disappear in the moments we are gone.
“Morgan, why don’t you and Mia wait for me in my truck. She’ll sleep better there. The keys are in it. Start it and get the air going.”
He shifts Mia higher in his arms but otherwise doesn’t move. Helooks torn between getting her some place comfortable and staying to plead with Lily not to turn them in to social services.
I place a hand on his shoulder, and wide green eyes stare back at me, begging me to keep my promise. “It’s okay, Morgan.”
I’m lying. I can’t guarantee that for him, but I will try.
Morgan stays quiet for a moment longer, then concedes, walking to the parking lot holding his whole world in his arms.
My hand moves from my neck to my jaw, trying to scrub the exhaustion away. Lily watches them until they disappear, and then her attention returns to me.
And just like every time she looks at me, I’m not prepared for it. It’s too much and not enough all at once.
Clearing my throat, I motion toward the bleachers. “Let’s sit.”
