Page 112 of Endgame

Shoot. Now I’m crying.

Our sniffling sends both of us into a fit of giggles. Delilah grabs the dish towel and lightly swats me with it playfully, before returning to the sink.

“Enough of this sappy shit. We’ve established your love for my baby boy, but tell me, sweetie, what are your plans when your contract ends with the Strikers?”

That’s a great question, and one I don’t even know the answer to.

I grab the wet plate from her hand to dry before telling her my plans.

“To be honest, I’m not sure. I haven’t been offered anything official yet, but I love this team, and nothing could make me leave. If I have any say, staying here with Callaway is my only option. That’s why when I got a phone call from the Denver Devil Rays offering me a posit?—”

“You’re leaving?”Callaway.

My eyes dart up as shock takes over my face. “Oh, hey. I was just telling your mo?—”

The rolling of his eyes tells me something is wrong. He’s standing where the kitchen meets the dining room looking like he saw a ghost.

“Don’t, Dakota. I’ve heard enough. I can fill in the blanks from here.”

He must have just walked up because it seems like my last sentence is all he heard.

“Callaway.” That came from Mrs. Hayes.

I haven’t moved an inch. The glass plate and towel still rest in my shocked hold.

“I’ve got to go.”Wait, why?

He’s rushing off before I can register what’s happening.

I quickly lay the plate on the kitchen counter and send Delilah a look of apology, but she’s already encouraging me to go after him. I walk around the kitchen, heading to the front door where I know he’s probably headed to get some air.

Everything will be fine. I’m sure of it. As soon as I get outside, I’ll explain the conversation; he’ll see it’s not what he thinks, and we can go back to having a great night with his family.

The sound of the front door slamming breaks the worried bubble he’s placed me in. Deciding I need to move faster, I grab my things and chase after him.

He’s gone.

The moment I open the front door, the sound of screeching tires confirms my biggest insecurity of all—he left me.

He left me at his parents’ house without allowing me an explanation or a believable chance at talking through whatever it was that upset him so badly.

I would never intentionally hurt him.

I was only trying to tell his mom how much Ilovehim. I know how much she means to him, and I wanted her to know before I poured my heart out to him.

Except that’s not what he heard.

Now, all I feel is hurt.

Like him, my biggest insecurity is people leaving. When you’re limited on loved ones, the ones still here mean more than most things in your life.

He’s a fraction of that small number.

I’ve never known Callaway to automatically assume the worst. It doesn’t change how I see him, but it makes me question how he sees me.

He didn’t give me the slightest bit of room to explain.

I was the villain right away—he had already decided the second he turned his head around the kitchen corner.

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