Page 35 of Your Second Chance
I shook my head, the weight of everything crashing over me—anger, disgust, sadness all clawing at my chest. I couldn’t think straight, couldn’t even piece together what I wanted to say, so I stayed silent. I pulled the car toward the training grounds, my grip on the steering wheel tight, knuckles white.
Training was going to be a bloody mess. I was a wreck—an absolute wreck—and there wasn’t a single thing I could do to pull myself together. The more I tried, the more she unraveled me.
When I finally parked, I kept my eyes forward, refusing to look at her. I couldn’t. If I did, I’d fall apart completely.
“Mum’s coming to the game in a couple days,” I said. “She says she wants to see you. She’ll be here after practice if you want to stick around.”
I didn’t wait for her response. I didn’t dare look at her. I got out of the car, slammed the door, and walked away, my boots crunching against the gravel. I kept my focus on the training ground ahead, ignoring the ache in my chest and the pull to glance back.
I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stand it.
Nova was stitched into the very threads of who I was. I needed to let her go, to cut her out of me completely. The truth was, I didn’t know if I had the strength to do it.
Training went... as it always did. Between Will chewing me out earlier, calling me the “biggest bloody waste of assistant coach talent” he’d ever seen, and running into Nova, my mind was shot. I couldn’t focus. My commands to the team were sharp but automatic, the usual phrases rolling off my tongue without thought.
“Get low on the tackle.”
The lads grunted in response, pushing through scrums and lineouts with the kind of determination that usually made me proud.
Eventually Will called it. Training was over. The players clapped each other on the back, dragging their tired bodiestoward the changing room. I stayed behind, needing a moment to myself. I grabbed my clipboard and turned toward the sideline—and stopped dead in my tracks.
There, standing by the edge of the pitch, was my mum. She was chatting with Nova, her animated hand gestures matching her usual warmth. But it wasn’t the sight of them talking that froze me. It was the way my mum’s hand rested gently on Nova’s stomach.
Nova’s stomach.
My breath hitched, the clipboard slipping slightly in my grip. It was a small, subtle gesture, but people didn’t go around holding each other’s stomachs... unless...
No.
No. That wouldn’t?—
Wait.
No. That would make sense. It would absolutely, one hundred percent make sense.
But . . . who?
Unless it was . . . his?
“You coming in?” Will’s voice broke through my haze, snapping me back to reality for a moment.
“No,” I muttered, my eyes still fixed on the two figures at the sideline. “Mum’s here, so I’m going to say hi.”
“Cool.” Will shrugged, waving in their direction.
Mum waved back, radiating her usual excited energy. Nova, on the other hand, looked like she said something to Mum before turning and heading toward the car park.
“Gotta run.” I barely registered Will’s response as my legs moved on instinct.
I broke into a full sprint. I wasn’t letting her disappear this time—not without answers. I managed to get into the car park as she walked toward the tube.
“Nova,” I shouted. “Turn around.”
I slowed to a stop as she turned to face me, her expression guarded. My chest heaved from the sprint, but it wasn’t the run that knocked the wind out of me—it was her. The pieces were falling into place.
Baggy sweater, loose jeans. She looked normal enough at first glance, but I’d seen it earlier. That slight, swollen curve of her stomach.
I swallowed hard, my gaze dropping to her middle again. It wasn’t in my head.
