Page 58 of Shoot Your Shot

When she left the first time, it had taken a lot for me to push her to the point of giving up. Making her stay will be no different.

“Do you really want me to stay, Kolt? Even after I left?” She squeaks the words like she’s scared of the answer.

“Fucking right I do,” I say in disbelief that she even has to ask me that. “Baby, I will always want you to stay.”

Her face falls, and her lip trembles. “I should have stayed. Instead, I gave up.” She sniffles. “You know, you’ve been feeling guilty, carrying around your secret all this time. And I … I feel guilty about mine—”

“Don’t feel guilty about what you just shared with me, Paige,” I say quickly, cutting her off.

“That’s not what I feel most guilty about.” She inhales, closing her eyes for a split second. “I feel guilty because … I made a promise to your mother on the night of our graduation. A promise I didn’t keep.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, confused—because I don’t know what promise she’s talking about.

And she must see it on my face because her eyes glaze over, like her mind is traveling far away.

I drag in a breath through my nose and let it out through my mouth in a controlled fashion. I’m about to say the words out loud. Something I’ve carried immense guilt over for so long will finally be out in the open. And that’s terrifying yet sort of freeing, all at once.

“Your mom … I know you wish things had been different—and maybe could still be different—but I promise, Kolt, she loves you. She’s always loved you and Klay so much.”

“What are you about to tell me?” he murmurs. “What did she say to you?”

Closing my eyes for a moment, I inhale once more and try to think back to that night. The night I saw Kolt as a little boy, who was scared and wanted someone to tell him it was all going to be okay, instead of Kolt Kolburne, the hockey god everyone has painted him to be.

When we had arrived at his parents’ house, their mom had been in pretty bad shape.

I just kept thinking, How was Kolt’s life this cruel and I didn’t realize it?

I had known his father wasn’t the nicest guy to him or his mom, but I’d had no idea it was that bad until we pulled in, parked, and heard the commotion inside.

I watched Kolt knock his father out to stop him from killing his mother. And I stood there, with my hands over my mouth, while Klay held his mother close to him and told me to call the police.

It was clear then that the two boys each had a job when it came to this household. Kolt’s was to protect, and Klay’s was to soothe.

When the police arrived and took their dad away, it hurt my heart to watch the one I loved go from a teenager to a rash protector to a broken boy who needed a hug, all within fifteen minutes.

As she’d sobbed in their kitchen, I’d stared at their mom. I had no idea how the situation she and the boys were in had let them become the men they were. Both were smart, funny, responsible, and respectful guys, though Kolt was a little rough around the edges and carried himself in a colder way than Klay. But his heart was golden.

After we had been at the police station for a while, Marilyn asked to speak to me alone, and I was nervous. I had no idea what she was going to tell me or if she would scold me for calling the police. Instead, she surprised me with the words from her mouth.

“My boy loves you, Paige.” She said with a smile. “Well, both my boys. One of them loves you like a sister, and the other … you’re the love of his life. His soulmate.” Her voice was filled with so much sadness. The kind that couldn’t be mistaken for anything else.

Before I could answer, she started again. “He loves you more than he’s ever loved anyone else. But more importantly …he trusts you too. And that’s not something Kolt does easily, as I’m sure you know.”

I couldn’t stop the frown that spread across my lips. I loved her son more than anything too. And I trusted him with everything I had. But I wasn’t sure why she was telling me this or why she seemed so sad about it. I just hoped she wasn’t going to push us away from each other.

“I love and trust him too, Mrs. Kolburne,” I said, swallowing. “You raised one of the best humans I know. He’s … he’s my best friend.”

My words only seemed to pain her more, and she grimaced.

“I didn’t have anything to do with it, Paige. I just got lucky.” She leaned forward, scrubbing the palms of her hands against her legs. “With both of my boys, I lucked out. Because the things those two have seen—” Her voice cracked, and her face crumpled. “They’ve been through more in their short time on earth than anyone should ever experience. They are still just boys.”

My mom always taught me to listen when someone needed an ear, to give them space when they needed a minute, and to hold them tightly when they needed a hug. The trouble was … in that moment, I wasn’t sure what she needed. But then I thought about what I would do if it was Kolt. And even as tough as he was, I knew that without a doubt, I’d hold him close. So, without permission, I wrapped my arms around her. At first, she tensed up. But within a few seconds, her shoulders began to shake, and she leaned against me.

For a little bit, we sat there, just like that. I didn’t rush her to talk because I figured she wasn’t ready. After a while, she slowly pulled back and wiped her face.

“Paige, there’s going to come a day when my boy pushes you away. Because for his entire existence, he’s been told he’s not good enough. And he’s watched his mother be told thesame thing.” She sobs. “When he does that … when he tries to sabotage anything good that life has given him, promise me something.” She reached up, cupping my cheek. “Promise me that you’ll fight. Fight for my son, Paige. He deserves that. Especially when, for his whole life, nobody has. Not even his mother.”

Opening my eyes, I tell Kolt exactly what his mother told me and admit that I betrayed her. She trusted me, and she shouldn’t have.

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