Page 123 of The Hat Trick

“Just give me a minute, girls, get everything ready and then I’ll come to your tea party,” I tell them.

“Okay,” they say in unison, running off to their playroom, I’m sure.

I find Em sitting at her dining table, she’s reading something on her laptop.

“Hey,” I say when I enter.

She looks up at me over her computer. “Hey.”

I sit down in a seat across from her, not really sure what to say. I know she saw the article, but we haven’t talked about it since. I haven’t wanted to. My parents have seen it too, and didn’t specifically ask, but they asked if I was okay, which I lied and said I am.

“How are you doing?” she asks, closing her laptop and giving me her full attention.

I shrug. “Fine.”

“Liar.”

“I’m…I don’t know, Em, this is not how it was supposed to be.”

She studies me for a moment before the sides of her lips pull up slightly. “You love her.”

“Your children? Of course, I do,” I deflect.

She just gives me an unimpressed look.

I sigh. “Yeah. I love her. I never got to tell her; she wouldn’t let me.”

“What?”

“I…tried, when everything came out, she was ending it, I tried to tell her and she didn’t let me.”

“You can be so stupid, little brother. You’re sweet. You have the biggest heart I’ve ever seen, but you’re also kind of stupid.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “Why are you kicking me when I’m down?”

“I’m not. But she had already made up her mind, and you tried to tell her you love her. She didn’t want to hear it at that moment. You should’ve told her sooner, or you should tell her now.”

“She hasn’t talked to me, she doesn’t want to hear it now,” I say, defeated.

“I can tell you that no matter what, she doesn’t want you to give up on her. Especially if she loves you too. Which I’m sure she does.”

“She won’t talk to me,” I repeat.

“Then do something to get her to listen. Prove to her that she’s worth it to you.”

I lean back in the chair, thinking about what she’s saying. Prove it to her. I had a plan in the works to get back at her ex for being a piece of shit and then have the audacity to ask her for tickets to a game before all of this. I just know that wouldn’t be enough. Em is right, she needs to know how I feel. I don’t know if she will want just me, or if Collee and McQuaid even want to try to get her back, but I’ll leave that up to them.

I just know I want to try. I’ll do what it takes and if she still rejects me, then maybe I’ll try to move on. But I have to try. I told her I wouldn’t say goodbye and I meant that. No matter what happens I won’t tell her goodbye.

After playing with Josie and Alana for a little I am surprised to be feeling slightly less numb than I have in the last couple weeks. I hear the front door open, and my nieces jump up to see who is at the door. I follow at a slower pace than them.

When I get the foyer, I see each girl hanging on to my parents.

“Hey, I didn’t know you guys were coming over,” I greet, giving them each a hug and my mom a kiss on the cheek.

“Em said you were here, and we decided to see our son who is too good to come see us anymore,” my mom teases.

“Oh stop,” I chuckle.

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