Page 53 of Sporty Girls Don't Fall For Loners

Zack turns around, his kind eyes filled with care as he gestures for me to sit down. I don’t sit, though.

Before either of them can utter a word, I say, “I’m sorry. For my attitude and everything. I was so rude to you and that wasn’t right.”

Ally stands and wraps an arm around me. “We’re sorry, too.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Zack gets up and places his hand on my shoulder. “Maybe we’re not doing enough to make you happy.”

I shake my head. “No, you guys are great. It’s me who…” My voice trails off.

“Let’s sit,” Ally suggests.

We settle down at the table and Ally takes my hand. “I want to call Principal Nakamura and explain everything to her. It’s not right for you to get suspended.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate that. But there’s something I need to talk to both of you about.” Glancing from one to the other, I tell them everything that happened, how I overheard Zack and Zoey’s conversation and thought he was talking about me, and how hurt and angry I was.

“But Zoey just explained it all to me. I misunderstood what happened and that’s why I was such a jerk.” I hang my head. “I’m sorry for all the pain and frustration I put you through.”

Zack takes my other hand. “I wish you would have talked to us about it. We’re all on the same side here. We want you to be happy and live a good life.”

“I know. I’m such a bad person.”

Ally scoots over to stretch her arm around my shoulder. “You’re not a bad person, Kade.”

“I was so rude to you in class today.”

She presses her lips to my cheek. “I won’t lie and say I wasn’t hurt, but I understand now why you were feeling that way. I’m so sorry about the misunderstanding.”

Zack squeezes my hand. “I would never throw you to the rats, Kade. Your safety, well-being, and happiness are very important to me. I want to do everything in my power to help you and make sure you have everything you need. I will never—never—abandon you. You’re like a son to us.”

Ally nods as she hugs me.

I swallow the lump in my throat as my eyes burn. No one has ever said that to me before. I don’t want to leave this house and the people in it. I know I’ll have to once Zack finds me another home, but it’ll be so hard. I love living here. For the first time in years, I feel like I matter to someone, and not someone’s problem. I convinced myself that Zack felt obligated to take care of me, but now I know he wants to. And so does Ally.

“Are you feeling better?” Zack asks.

“A little. I still feel horrible for what I’ve done.”

“We forgive you,” Ally says as she kisses my cheek again. “We love you.” I don’t remember when was the last time someone kissed me. Or said they loved me. It once again reminds me of Mom and tears prick my eyes.

I brush my sleeve across my eyes. “Thanks. Really, thanks so much.”

Zack circles both arms around me. “We’d do anything for you, Kade.” He looks into my eyes. “You’re not alone.”

I force myself to smile, but my lips tremble.

Ally releases me. “Let me call Principal Nakamura and get this all straightened out. I’m not hanging up with her until she lifts your suspension and removes it from your permanent record.” She leaves the room.

Zack grins at me. “My wife can be quite persuasive. Don’t worry, you’ll be back in school tomorrow.”

“Maybe I deserve to be suspended. I did punch those guys.”

“But you were defending yourself. Three vs. one is not a fair fight. It’ll be okay. Ally will take care of it and if Principal Nakamura won’t have it, we’ll keep pushing until you’re back in school.”

Normally, I’d do anything to miss classes, but being suspended is another story. It actually makes me a little sick, which is weird because I never cared about being suspended before.

I can hear Ally’s voice from the other room as Zack and I sit in silence, each of us thinking. From the look on his face, he seems to be in another lifetime. I wonder if he’s thinking about his past, maybe when he was my age.

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