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“I know,” I interject quietly, not wanting to hear her name again. All it does is dredge up old problems. Ones I still don’t have solutions for, even after all this time. “I know that. I’ll think about it, okay?”
I won’t though. There’s too much at stake. Too many people to disappoint. I think she knows it, too, but she thankfully doesn’t push me on it anymore.
“Well…regardless. I’m happy you’re coming home. We’ve missed you.”
“No, we haven’t!” Bella calls from further away.
I smile despite everything. “I miss you guys too.”
“Is Jack going to pick you up from the airport?”
“Yeah,” I tell her. “He’ll be there when I land.”
“Go out for dinner! Don’t stay at home moping about the internet.”
“We’ll see,” I mutter back.
“Babe!” Bella shouts. “Beach! You promised you’d let me put sunscreen on your ass, and I’m collecting.”
“Wow,” I groan. “That’s not what you want to hear about your ex.”
Mei giggles, and to be honest, I love hearing her happy. “Call me when you’re settled, yeah?”
“I will,” I promise. “Have fun over there.”
I tuck my phone back inside my pocket after we hang up, sinking deeper into my chair. I’ve just resolved myself to a nap when a throat clearing from the next row up catches my attention, and when I crack open one eye, I notice a guy not much older than me eyeing me with excitement.
“Hey, sorry. You’re Ian Chase, aren’t you?”
I give him a thin smile. “Yeah, man. I am.”
“So sorry, but could I get your autograph? Big fan.”
“Sure, of course.” I take the napkin and pen he hands me, scribbling my name. “You a Wolverines fan?”
“Nah, Druids, actually. I’m super stoked about you going back.”
“Ah, well. I’ve missed playing at home, for sure.”
“And I never bought all that bullshit they say about you online,” he says earnestly as I hand the napkin back. “You never seemed like the cheating type to me.”
It’s a little harder to hold my smile, but I manage somehow. “Right. Yeah.”
“Anyway, good luck next season, yeah?”
“Sure. Thanks, man.”
I close my eyes again to discourage any further conversation, irritation simmering in my skin.
Six years. Six fucking years, and absolutely nothing has changed. I’m still defined by rumors and speculation, my entire life a show for others to pick apart. And I’m flying right back into the heart of it all, certainly in store for more of the same, maybe even worse. All for the sake of finishing my career on my terms.
Home sweet home, I think irritably.
“Man, it’s so cool to be back here with you,” Jack says beside me, practically bouncing with excitement.
He’s been the same ball of energy that he’s always been in the twelve hours since he picked me up from the airport last night—the only difference now being the garishly pink sling his arm is wrapped in. Even if he hasn’t shut up for a single minute that he’s been awake since picking me up, it’s still incredibly good to be with him again. Jack is just as much my family as the one I share blood with. Hell, all the Bakers are.
“I have to admit,” I say, “there was a time I didn’t think I’d ever be here again.”
