Page 51 of Anteros' Return

“Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here.” Liam responded, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

“We cannot wait to see you back to full fitness. I always watch La Liga!” With a spark in his eyes, the host clapped his hands and spoke with contagious enthusiasm.

“I hope to be soon, but I guess we have to see how long it takes.” I looked down at Liam, who was flicking through his programme, not paying attention to what we were discussing.

“Why don’t you two head up to your private box, and I’ll have them bring in the food you requested.” He swept his hand out in front of him, guiding us in the direction we needed to go. “Box number nine. Best in the stadium.”

“Thank you.”

We arrived at our box as the energy around us began to shift, it was unmistakably electric. It wasn’t just noise, it was a current in the air, alive and thrumming with anticipation. Liam rushed through the door to our seats, his face lit up like a Christmas tree the second he saw the pitch like a dream finally came to life.

The early afternoon sun casted a warm glow over the sea of blue and white that surrounded us. The stadium stood tall and proud, its bright sapphire walls adorned with the home team’s flags and banners. It was still relatively quiet, but I knew that it would be filled to the brim with passionate fans soon, all eagerly anticipating the start of the game.

Liam smiled wider than I’d ever seen, and it made me so grateful and happy to be spending moments like this with my son.

“I can’t believe we’re here, Beckett!”

“You’d better believe it, mate. Today is all for you.” I walked closer to him. “I’m going to nip inside the box and bring the food out, okay?”

“Okay! I’ll be here, watching them warm up.” He couldn’t even look at me, he was too engrossed with what was happening.

The match finally kicked off. Over the next ninety minutes, Liam never took his eyes off of the pitch. He was mesmerised, especially once they were three-nil up.

“Did you see that goal?! It was top bins!” He bellowed, making me chuckle.

“I saw. It was incredible!”

“I bet you can do that with your eyes closed, can’t you?” he asked.

“I can but not with my eyes shut.” I laughed. It was the first time I felt like he was being himself with me. Sure, we had some great times out so far, but he had still always been a little closed off.

The referee blew his final whistle. Liam jumped up and cheered for his favourite team. A team that had once wanted me, but I chose Sevilla Sols and declined their offer. Looking back, I wish I would have fought more to come back. Maybe then everything would have been different.

“Beckett, are we leaving?” Liam interrupted my thoughts.

“Not quite. I have one more surprise for you.” I took his hand and walked with him downstairs where we met the same guy as before.

“Did you enjoy the match?” he asked Liam.

“So much! And we won!”

“Too right we did. We’re top of the league now!” They high fived as I looked on. “Mr. Ashmore, you have a tour now, correct?”

“A tour?! This day just keeps getting better!” Liam practically bounced in place, his voice high with excitement. He tugged at my sleeve, eyes wide and shining, barely able to stay still. His feet danced with every step as we followed the host downstairs, and he kept turning back to grin at me, as if needing to make sure I was just as thrilled. His words tumbled out in a rush, faster than his mouth could keep up, and he pointed at everything we passed like each hallway held some hidden magic. It was all a wonder to him—pure, unfiltered joy.

“Right, well, this is the changing room.” The host gestured proudly.

“I’ll take it from here, Peter.” Jerry, the manager of Bluehaven United, said when he came up behind us and approached our host. He stuck his hand out for me to shake. “Hey, Liam. Beckett.”

“You know my name!” Liam’s mouth hung open before splitting into a grin so big it looked as though it might take over his face.

“Of course. Beckett told me we had a special guest today.” Jerry crouched down to Liam’s height. “That’s why the guys played so well today.”

“It was amazing to see a game that wasn’t on the TV.”

“Well, how would you like to meet the team?” Jerry asked, already opening the door that led to the team’s changing room.

“Yes, please! I’d love to.” Liam was polite when he spoke, and it made me realise just how much of an amazing job Emily had done raising him.

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