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Caleb
Caleb
JJ, where are you?
JJ baby, let’s talk.
Please don’t do this. I’m sorry.
Come home.
Today is my first game since JJ left. My team had a bye week, which we spent relaxing and practicing so we don’t get rusty. The days passed by in a blur. I wake up. Go to practice. Drive by JJ’s house to see if she’s home. Figure out she’s not home. Go home. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.
Not bothering to talk to anyone because the only person I want to talk to doesn't want to talk to me.
My phone has missed calls and messages from JJ’s parents and Trevor. But I can’t face them. I can’t. I don’t know what she told them, but they must hate me. I tried to hold on to everything I had but still ended up losing everything.
I’m alone.
Once again. But this time, it’s my fault.
At the sound of the doorbell, I let out an annoyed sigh.
As I open the door, I start to say, “Trevor, please leave me—”
On the other side of the door is JJ’s dad. I was hoping I had more time to figure out a way to fix this before he came to cut me off from his family.
“Sir—”
“Enough of that shit, Caleb,” he admonishes, shoving me aside and stepping into my home.
Closing the door, I turn around, ready for him to yell at me for hurting JJ and how they will never forgive me.
Instead, he shocks me by saying, “Do you know how worried we’ve been?”
“I-I didn’t know you were worried,” I stutter. “I thought you guys hated me.”
He gives me a bewildered look. “What the hell would make you think that?”
“Because JJ left, and I thought she told you how badly I messed up.”
He waves me off. “She told us you both needed some time. But you both will figure it out. You love each other. Shit happens, kid.”
I sigh and tell him the truth of it all. It’s time he knew. “It was all fake. JJ and I were never dating. We lied to everyone. She agreed to help me so I could look good for my sponsors.”
“If you thought you two were faking it, you are sadly mistaken.” He chuckles. “Let me tell you something, son. From the day she brought you home to meet us, we knew you two had something special. But you had to figure it out for yourselves. Love ain’t easy. Especially when you’re young. School, ambition, careers, and so on get in the way. Fear gets in the way. And man, are you scared.”
I tilt my head. “How do you know I’m scared?”
“Every time you look at us, you have this worried glint in your eyes as if we are going to disappear from your sight forever. I get it. You were alone for a long time and now have a family. We are your family.”
I inhale a deep breath. “And I don’t want to lose you all. You're like a father to me.”
“You aren’t like a son to me,” he states, and with that one sentence, my world comes tumbling down. “You are my son. I would die a happy man if you became my son-in-law so that I have more security in ensuring you can’t just disappear. The Lord knows I’m outnumbered by the women in my life.”
I hang my head. “What if I’m not good enough for her and mess it up?”
He places a gentle and loving hand on my shoulder. “If you want the reward of loving and being loved, you have to be willing to take a leap of faith. Do you love JJ enough to risk it? Because if you don’t, then you can’t hold onto her. You both will need to move on.”
