Page 49 of Our Hearts to Break

“I know you, right? You look so?—”

“Familiar?”

She nods. “Yeah.”

“I have one of those faces, I guess.”

A massive grin tugs at her mouth, curling up her pale pink lips. She takes a step back, still looking at me, and pauses. “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

After she disappears, Nate puts his elbows on the table and whispers, “If she only knew you play for the other team.”

All of us burst into a fit of laughter. It’s the first time I’ve felt anything but anger and sadness in over an hour.

“I’m so glad River has you,” my mom says to Nate. “You’re good for each other.”

He looks at me and smiles. “Yeah, we are.”

A few minutes later, the server arrives with our drinks and sets a glass of soda in front of me.

“I figured it out.” A smile reaches her eyes. “You’re River Rousseau.”

I nod. “That’s me.”

She removes a pen from her pocket and says, “You probably get this a lot… but would you sign something for me? My younger brother is a huge fan. He follows all of your games.”

“Sure.” I take the pen from her and scribble my signature on the paper she places in front of me. “What’s your brother’s name?”

“Brian,” she lilts. “Oh my god. He’s going to freak out. This is so…” She takes the paper from my hand. “Thank you.”

My heart feels fuller as she walks toward another table, cheeks flushed. The fans motivate me to keep going even on my worst days. I refuse to lose this feeling.

I glance at Nate. “That’s why no one can know about us. My dad was right. He just had a shitty way of going about it.”

My mom frowns. “Your father… Rivie, I’m sorry for what he said. I know he means well. He loves you. He only wants you to succeed. But I… I can’t forgive him for calling you…that.”

Clutching her arm, I force a smile. “Momma, you have to go home. Dad’s already called twenty times.”

“He doesn’t deserve us.”

“I go back to school on Sunday,” I remind her. “You can’t stay away forever. It will only make him worse.”

Nate shakes his head. “Stop defending him.”

Mom’s cell phone rings. She checks the screen, rolls her eyes, and stuffs it back into her purse. “It’s your dad again. That man is relentless.”

“Did you turn off your location?”

“Oh, shit,” she mutters. “No.”

“Watch him show up here.”

She bites her lip and scans the busy restaurant. “He won’t make a scene in front of these people.”

An hour later, we’re all stuffed full of turkey and heavy side dishes, rubbing our full bellies. Nate is buzzed and mumbling as we head toward the car. Thankfully, my mother is sober and coherent.

We walk to the parking lot, and as I had predicted, my dad waits by my car. Wearing a winter coat and jeans, he folds his arms across his chest, a stern look on his face.

He steps forward, his eyes lighting up when they land on my mother. “Baby, look, I’m sorry. I overreacted. I didn’t mean to?—”

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