Page 3 of Chasing Football Dreams

“But?” Xander asked.

“I overheard the woman who looked after me at the orphanage tell someone over the phone to come and fix their mistake,” It still pained me that Kelly was behind my kidnapping.

“She was referring to me as the mistake,” Kelly was acting suspicious after I told her about my recurrent nightmares and let it slip that they were of my father.

“Damn, Zoey. This is serious,” Andrew noted.

I nodded my head. “I know,” I was aware of the consequences and the unexplainable hurt I can create. But I was hurting too.

I curled against Duncan when he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him. “We are not going to make any assumptions or talk about any of this to anyone,” He instructed. “Zoey and I know of the consequences of our assumptions and that’s why we are not going to make a big deal of this until we have concrete evidence,”

“Why would anyone want to do that?” Wesley asked.

“Shane Martin was seen as one of the most successful Quarterbacks of that time. He was once stalked to the point of getting threatened to lose a game or he would feel the repercussions,” Xander explained.

Everyone’s attention turned to me. I was the repercussions.

“Why go through all that trouble to fake your death only to place you in an orphanage?”

I pulled up my shoulders having no idea why anyone would do that to anybody. As I see it, it was the most awful thing aperson could do to anyone—to separate a child from their parent and make them believe they were thrown away.

“But how did you not know when you started having these dreams?” Freddie asked.

“Their faces are blurred at all times. Coach Shane. His voice sounded familiar but I just could never figure it out until the other day when he said something to me that the man in my dream said,”

“The day you zoned out?” Andrew asked.

I nodded. “I’ve never zoned out like that in the past twelve years of my life,”

“And the other night,” I looked at Duncan. “Instead of having the same dream. This one was new,”

“What was it about?” Xander asked

“I was sitting in a corner of what looks like my bedroom, hiding. A man called out to me and in my dream, I recognized his voice because I let him take me away. I remember seeing street lights before I passed out from a strong chemical placed under my nose. The last words I said before I drifted off was when I asked the man where my father was,”

All around the table, I was met by silent stares.

“Man, I got chills,” Freddie exclaimed, shaking his shoulders to get rid of these so-called chills that he caught the eye of one of the waitresses. He shot her a grin but it turned into a scowl when Andrew slapped him at the back of the head.

“Focus, doofus,”

Freddie grumbled under his breath causing the tables to erupt in laughter.

I always thought that I would never belong but having my whole team here with me, listening to things I have only shared with Eliza. Made me feel like I finally made my mark in the world.

I don’t want to be anywhere else in the world right now.

I raised my gaze when out of the corner of my eye, I caught Brenda leaving the kitchen holding a massive cake shaped like a football in her hands.

The team started clapping their hands and letting out hoots when Brenda came over to place the cake down in front of me.

They started clapping faster as Brenda lit each candle and they broke out singing the birthday song. I laughed more than I cried at how off-key they were.

“Make a wish, Zo!” Terence coached.

I looked at Duncan and I didn’t know what to wish for anymore. I didn’t care about finding my family anymore because they were it. They are the family I’ve been searching for all of these years and I finally felt at home.

Duncan traced the curve of my cheek with his knuckles. “It doesn’t have to be a wish,” He encouraged.

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