Page 48 of Things I Wish I Said
“You know what the worst part is?” she says, slicing through my thoughts.
I exhale, not sure I want to know. “What?”
“I know I should be hellbent on fighting for my life. Treatment, healing, getting better, and staying positive should be my main focus—but without soccer, everything feels impossible. I’m this shell of myself, this alternate version of me that doesn’t make sense, like a ghost, still here but already gone. Because who the hell is Ryleigh Sinclair without it?”
Chapter twelve
RYLEIGH
The doorbell rings, butit’s way too early to be Grayson.
I swing it open, shocked to find John and Katie standing on the porch.
“Hey, kiddo!” John pulls me in for hug, squeezing past me into the living room while Katie seems to wait for an invitation.
Spinning on my heel, I follow John into the kitchen where Mom’s hard at work. I grab her arm, pulling her from the room. “Can I speak to you for a minute?”
“Ryleigh! The chicken—”
“The chicken’s fine,” I hiss once I have her down the hall. “Mom, what are they doing here?” I ask, waving back the way we came.
“John and Katie?”
I nod, eyes bulging. “Grayson will be here in thirty minutes for dinner. Now is not the time for unexpected guests!”
“Unexpected guests?” Mom laughs, parroting my words. “Honey, he’s my boyfriend and Katie’s his daughter. I’d hardlycall them unexpected guests when they’re always welcome. Besides, I invited them.”
“What? Why?” I whisper-yell. “Why would you do that?”
Mom stares at me like I’ve grown a third head. “Because I figured John would like to meet Grayson. It’s nice to get a second opinion.”
I frown. If I had hair, I’d rip it out. “Mom, you’ve already met Grayson and liked him. We don’t need a second opinion.”
Mom rolls her eyes. “Stop fretting. It’s fine.” She waves a hand, then heads back down the hallway.
I follow after her, scowling the entire way. When I reach the kitchen behind her, John is scrubbing potatoes at the sink.
Fucking great. Now they’ll never leave; he jumped right in and started helping.
Tonight was supposed to be a low-key, easy way for Mom to spend time around Grayson with little pressure prior to heading out to the party, but John and Katie have added a whole other dynamic I wasn’t prepared for.
“Honey, you really should smile,” Mom says, glancing over at me as she returns to seasoning the chicken. “Grayson will never want to kiss you if you scowl like that all night.”
Oh. My. God.
My cheeks burn with embarrassment.
John glances over at me and chuckles.
I want to snap and tell her no one said anything about kissing, but we are dating. And if he’s supposed to be my boyfriend, there would naturally be kissing involved.
Great. Now I’m thinking about what it would be like to kiss Grayson.
“I’m going to get ready,” I mumble before she can say anything else to embarrass me.
“Why don’t you take Katie with you?”
I stare at my mother, pleading with my eyes, but she’s not having it as she holds my gaze, beseeching me to acquiesce in a heated look of her own.
