Page 64 of Redeeming Heart

“I’ve got a game.” That should explain everything to him.

I didn’t stay to find out as I continued making my way over to where Hailey was parked and waiting patiently for me.

“Morning.” She greeted me with an amused grin after I threw my stuff in the back and got in with a sigh.

“I can’t remember the last time I was up this early.” I don’t think there wasn’t a day that I was up this early, ever.

“Well, this should do the trick.” She held a warm coffee styrofoam cup out to me.

“Why can’t you stay?” I asked, feeling excessively grateful that she was in town and I wish she could stay forever.

Hailey shrugged and tilted her head to the side. “Guess, my dreams are too big to stay in one place forever.” She noted and I wondered if her dancing career takes more from her than she ever expected it would.

“So, are you ready to kick some ass today?” She asked, giving me the impression that she was excited for my sake.

I wondered if she ever gets nervous or butterflies before a recital. Hailey takes things as they come and figure them out along the way. She barely looks stressed or worried and I wish I can sometimes have her mind for a day. Mine couldn’t come to rest for a single moment.

“I want to do more than kick some ass. I want to help the girls get noticed and make a point that we have potential just like them.” I answered.

“So, it’s not all about winning today?” She queried with a quirked eyebrow.

“I want to have fun and kick-ass, of course, but I want the girls to believe that they have what it takes to get out on top, with or without me,” I explained, feeling that they aren’t getting the chance to shine because of me. People were out there shouting hate at me for coming back after three years of retirement. It was obvious that they hated me and it wasn’t fair to the girls.

“You don’t want them to rely on you?” She sounded confused.

“What if I am the reason that they will never get noticed or get a chance because the world made up their minds about me?” I asked.

“Then you take that negative energy and you create a positive outcome for you. Do what you can to take a stand. Don’t let people who don’t know you or know what you went through make choices that belong to you.”

“You are Sasha-Lee Adams, a girl with mountains of potential and talent. You don’t need the approval of the world to go out there and prove anything. You’ve already proven your worth years ago and when you decided to do what you love.”

“If Jaylin was here, she would have called you untameable,” I noted.

She shot me a smile. “I think she did once.”

I snickered and got out of the car and she followed. I grabbed my things and together we crossed the parking lot, noticing all the cars for the first time and the crowd that showed up.

“Oh…my…gosh…” Hailey drawled and I suddenly felt the pressure. There was no way in hell I was going to survive this. I felt like backing out when I felt a hand pressing me forward even when there was no one standing behind us.

We found the girls waiting for us in the locker rooms and they didn’t look any better than me. The pressure was really on today. “It’s safe to say that all of those people are here for the guys,” Tammy grumbled and I felt the tension of feeling miserable surfacing the room.

“Then let’s get the crowd on our side.” I began, holding my face composed while I was having a panic attack from the inside.

Having 14 girls’ eyes on me didn’t make me feel any better. “They think we’ve already lost and we are probably going to get booed because of me and I am sorry in advance.” I continued feeling as if was ready to pass out.

“I don’t care what any of those people say out there. I believe in each of you. I know what an amazing team I have and I never thought I would get this lucky twice in my life especially since I turned my back on my old team.”

My gaze connected with Briana and Megan’s.

“I was lost when I found out my mom was dying. I hated the world and yelled at it every day while she suffered. I was diagnosed with anxiety months later after my mom got ill and I haven’t found a way to control it.”

I had to be honest with them. They deserved the truth because they were my team. My family.

“Breaking your nose was the first sign and the second was when I destroyed the girl’s locker room with my hockey stick.”

I clenched my quivering hand into a fist.

“I am going, to be honest. I am afraid to go out there—not because of the crowd, but because of me. I am unpredictable and anything can happen out there.”

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