Page 39 of Red Zone

Footsteps pounded behind me, and I quickened my pace, slipping through the front door and outside. The door never shut behind me—either it was Skye or the guys. I hoped it was the guys. With the way I felt, I was afraid I would say something to her that I couldn’t take back.

A small hand locked onto my bicep and tugged. I fought the urge to yank my arm free and forced myself to turn and face Skye. Kylian and Ares stood on the front steps, the door closed behind them, wearing wary expressions as they gave us space.

Red rimmed Skye’s eyes as she stood before me, her face unnaturally pale, and tears lined her cheeks. With no coat, she shivered from the cold December air, and I cursed, whipping off my letterman jacket and draping it over her.

“Don’t even start.” I crowded her, my fists clenching at my sides in pure frustration. “You knew all this time that Lily’s my daughter, and you didn’t tell me?”

Skye’s trembling hand shot out as if to hold back the storm. It wasn’t just that she’d kept Lily from me. It was what that meant—Skye didn’t think I would step up. Maybe back then, she was right to worry, but not now. Not anymore. I just… I needed time to process.

I ignored the shocked “What the fuck?” that came from my friends and shook my head, taking a step back to stop her from getting closer. I clenched my jaw tight, my breath ragged as the weight of it all pressed down on me.She knew. She fucking knew.“You didn’t just ghost me,” I said, my voice rough. “You made a choice. You knew you were pregnant, and you decided to keep it from me. Two years, Skye. Two fucking years.”

“It wasn’t like that.” Skye glanced behind her, pupils blown wide. “Liam, please. Keep your voice down. My uncle might hear you.”

“I don’t give a fuck.” Two years of first steps, first words, first everything. I’d missed it all. Because of her. Because of me.

“Go inside, Skye,” Kylian said. “You guys can talk somewhere else when Liam’s had time to calm down.”

“But…” Skye trembled, her gaze locked on me.

I averted my eyes. I couldn’t even look at her right now. I had a daughter, and I’d missed two years of her life.Just… fuck.I ran my hands through my hair, gripping the strands tight. No—hurt barreled through me—I wouldn’t let her get off that easy. I swung my gaze back to her, locking on like a heat-seeking missile. “How could you do that—not tell me? I’ve missed out on so much of her life—she doesn’t even fucking know I’m her dad.”

“I-I…” She faltered, her lips trembling before she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “You didn’t want this, Liam. You made it clear that football came first. We weren’t serious—your words. And I thought—I thought keeping you out of it was the best thing for Lily. For both of us.”

“Bullshit.” She knew better than that. “You’re the one who ghosted me.”

“Because you didn’t want more!” Her voice rose with each word.

“Hey, guys.” Kylian moved toward us, a glance behind him at the house. “This isn’t the place or time for this discussion.”

“Besides,” Skye said as if Kylian never interrupted. “You’re a shoo-in to be drafted to the NFL, and youtoldme nothing would get in the way of that—including a future with me.”

“That’s not what I meant. It didn’t go down that way, and you know it.” Anger rolled around in me at her snort. “You never told me, and I had a fucking right to know!”

Kylian and Ares moved fast then.

Ares clamped a hand on my arm, his grip firm but calm. “Not here, man. Take a breath.”

Kylian shifted between me and Skye, his eyes sharp. “You won’t fix this yelling on Coach’s lawn. Let’s go.”

Each took one of my arms and pulled me back. Ares opened the rear door to Kylian’s SUV. It took both of them to shove me inside.

I wasn’t having any of it, so I rolled down my window as soon as Kylian started the SUV. “How could you do this?”

“What would’ve happened if I hadn’t, Liam? Football’s always been your everything. You’d have seen us as a distraction. Lily and I—we weren’t. I wasn’t stupid. I heard Cassidy and Jennifer brag about you and warn me off too.”

“No one has a right to speak for me. And who the fuck are they?”

“Your jersey-chasing posse.”

Tears filled her eyes, but I felt nothing except anger for once.

“You would have left us.”

“You don’t know that,” I growled. I wanted to be furious at her, to make her feel the weight of what she’d stolen from me. But some small, ugly part of me whispered that she wasn’t entirely wrong.Back then, would I have stepped up? Would I have chosen her and Lily over the dream I’d been chasing my whole life? Especially after that dressing down from our freshman-year coach?

“It was easier this way. Besides, would you have wanted a family if you possibly had to forgo your dreams with football? I guarantee that your coach, and probably my uncle when he took over the position, would have lost their shit. You might not have gotten the opportunities you did if they’d known.”

I hesitated. Not because I wanted to know or be a part of Lily’s life any less, but because she wasn’t wrong. I would have been riding the bench.

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