Page 79 of Redeeming Heart

“The past is the past. We are living in the present. I don’t care what you did years ago or that we didn’t acknowledge each other in the school halls. What I care about now is that we are here, talking to each other and getting to know one another.”

I smiled at him.

“Are you sure you failed literature because you sound quite clever?” I teased.

He chuckled and pulled his shoulders up. “I just learned the hard way to never let the past define your future. Learn from it, but don’t let it drown you.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

We had our third game on Saturday and I intended to leave the house fresh, early morning while everyone was asleep. Megan offered to pick me up as we were meeting our rivals outside of Louisiana and she was waiting outside for me while I was gathering the last pieces of my gear.

I softly jogged down the stairs reaching to grasp the door handle of the front door when my shoulders jumped from surprise at the sound of my father’s morning voice.

“Where are you heading at this hour?” My father asked coming out of the kitchen. Dressed in his navy-blue fleece nightgown, holding by the looks of it a fresh cup of coffee and looking like he hasn’t closed a wink last night.

I was still unsettled about what he said a few days ago and I know I messed up in the past, but it gave him no right not to trust me or say things like that.

“Would you even believe me if I told you?” I left the question hanging in the air when I opened the door and ducked out before he could say anything. I ran across the lawn and over to the sidewalk where Megan was parked.

I greeted Briana and Nicole who were seated at the back when I hopped in, and then Megan who was giving me a curious look.

“Why does it look like you snuck out of home, but got caught in the act?” She asked, putting the car in drive and pulling off into the street.

She had no idea how right she was. “I was planning on avoiding my father as I have been doing all week and my plan just blew up in my face,” I muttered, pulling out my phone when I felt it vibrating.

I saw my father’s name flashing over my screen and I let it go straight to voicemail because I had nothing to say to him.

Brandon has been helping me out all week with Jonah, picking us up in the mornings and picking me up from practice, and driving us home so my father won’t suspect anything. I felt like I was ruining his free time with his friends because he also had a life outside the rink and instead, he was taking care of us.

“He used to attend every game,” Briana noted from the back.

I remembered—he was a different man when mom was alive. Over the years he became someone I didn’t recognize. He was always the strict one compared to mom, but he never did something that wasn’t fair.

“Things changed after my mom,” I muttered looking out the window.

“He doesn’t see my ambition. He sees me as a criminal and I don’t blame him because I did mess up.”

“You lost your mom, Sasha,” Nicole said with sincerity and understanding.

At some point, I have to remind myself that he lost his wife who was his first love and became the love of his life. For me, it’s hard to grasp that he lost more than I did because I didn’t understand the love between two people. I understood the love for my friends and family but love involving romance. I didn’t get it, yet.

I know my mom and dad loved each other dearly. Every day proved it. My dad stayed with my mom through everything and didn’t once want to bail or betray her.

I caught my reflection in the window when we drove past a truck and I remembered what Isabelle said. I had to leave my emotions at home and focus on my team when I go out on the field or else my mind won’t be in the game.

So, I decided to change the subject.

“Why aren’t any of you in college or varsity?” It has been bothering me senseless from the start. Megan graduated with honors. She used to be the nerd brain of the team and colleges were lining up to offer her bursaries and scholarships.

Briana was a science geek, who loved playing around with science and sharing weird stuff with us which in the end was awesome from the stuff we could do when she demonstrated it.

“I wasn’t ready for all of that. My heart was stuck between a rock and a hard place. College sounded awesome, but I just didn’t feel ready.” Megan explained.

Briana just shrugged her shoulders. “I started with my first year when coach Peterson showed up with his offer and I the thought of being able to play again was just more exciting than becoming a boring science major.”

Megan snorted like she didn’t agree with Briana. “Weren’t you always the one who said that science is never boring?”

“Why do you have a brain like an elephant? Do you have secret compartments in your brain from every single conversation that happened in the past?” Briana shot back with a grin.

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