Page 33 of Chasing Football Dreams

“I’ve never been to or seen her grave,” I didn't remove my eyes from the ground.

He nodded. “I’m sorry that the interview turned out that way. I didn’t know he would ask those types of questions,” I wasn’t the only one hurting from the speculation of a sports channel.

“You couldn’t foresee it,” I muttered, wiping away my tears.

He draped an arm over my shoulders. “Let’s get you out of the rain before you get sick,”

I shrugged—my shoulders slumped. “Is it worth it to jog out this weekend when everyone has made their mind up about me?”

“Yes, now come on,” He held his hand out to me.

I was hesitant but I decided to let him pull me to my feet and wrap his arms around me, embracing me with a hug. I let the shock dissipate and clung to him, uncaring if a few more tears escaped my eyes. We stood for a while with me wrapped in Coach Shane’s—my father’s arms with the rain falling around us. I’ve been fighting the rip current so long that his comfort was welcomed with open arms.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, letting go and stepping back to see that he had a few tears in his eyes.

He shook his head. “It’s okay,”

He looked at the tombstone of his daughter and I saw the strain on his face when he looked back at me. This whole situation was making us both suffer with hurt and pain.

“Can it be true? Could you really be my daughter?” He asked.

I couldn't handle seeing the pain in his eyes and decided to be honest with him. “I think I am,”

Chapter Sixteen

Coach Shane drove us across town to grab lunch while the downpour of rain continued. I had no idea what was on his mind when he sat opposite me, staring out the window. I looked at my reflection in the mug until I was drowning.

“How did you find out?”

I raised my gaze—he was staring at me now. I didn’t know if what I confessed was the right move since it had been a terrible day. I lashed out at Duncan because of my anger. I held my feelings once inside instead of sharing them with him. I didn’t know how to get out of this dumb cycle.

“I didn’t. Eliza suspected for years that something wasn’t making sense. She kept looking at the news articles and going on about how my case didn’t make sense to her,”

"But something must have spooked you,"

I wringed my fingers togethers feeling a wave of guilt wash over me. I didn't want to give Shane the wrong impression about the orphanage. They were planning on donating a great amount of funds to convert it to a foster care program.

It was difficult for me to accept that the orphanage can be an accomplice to my kidnapping.

I unzipped my bag to grab the file I took from the orphanage and pushed it over to him.

“What is this?” He asked, picking up the file.

“My file,”

He opened it up and I focused on his face as he read through each page until he reached the last one. There was a gasp as he found the photo of me when I was taken to the orphanages. He held it between his hands as if would disappear if he blinked.

“This is you?” He asked with tears shimmering in the corner of his eyes.

I nodded. “That’s from the night they brought me to the orphanage,”

“You look exactly like her,” He noted with a sad grin.

It wasn’t the answer I exactly wanted but at least he didn’t reject the idea of me being his daughter.

“Why do you have the orphanage file?” He asked, his suspicion growing.

I rubbed my hands together beneath the table, my palms sweaty for feeling as if this was turning into an interrogation and maybe it was. “I was ten years old when I started having dreams that felt like memories. I had snippets of a girl and her father. He would take her to a football game, show her how to play football and remind her that no matter what anyone says, she’s strong enough to beat the stereotypes,”

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