I could only grit my teeth, because I knew that was true. I didn’t mean to be so distracted, I’d just been worried after the last time Zoe spent the night in my place. It didn’t help that I hadn’t seen her much since, and she seemed to have disappeared recently.
In the end, I decided starting a fight would be a quick way to get myself kicked off of my team. I didn’t want to be out, not yet, at least. I finished getting dressed and left quickly, not pulling away when my shoulder knocked into the other guy’s. There were some grumbles behind me, but I completely ignored them.
Chapter Fourteen
Zoe
When I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar room. It took a minute before I remembered where I was, and stretched out, then sat up. I slipped out of bed and went to my luggage for a change of clothes before I headed for the bathroom.
I was in Montana, in my grandma’s house. It had been a while since I’d been here, but nothing had changed, and unlike my stifling house, this was comforting. After getting dressed, I made my way downstairs and found Grandma up and in the living room, watching TV.
“Good morning, Grandma.”
“Morning, Zoe,” she said, looking up with a smile. “Though you’re a little late getting up, it’ll be time for lunch in under a couple hours. Are you hungry? I had some cereal for breakfast, but I can make you something to eat.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll just have some cereal, too. Sorry for sleeping in.”
She waved a hand at me. “No need to apologize, it’s not like either of us have anywhere we need to go.”
I could have cooked myself, but I didn’t feel like it. Grandma was good at taking care of herself, and since I’d come here, she was insistent on taking care of me, too, because it had been so long since I visited, but that just made me feel guilty. Besides, it had only been a few days since I got here and I was feeling the most relaxed I had in weeks, but that didn’t mean I could completely ignore my worries as if they never existed.
“You can come and sit here with me while you eat, then, don’t stay in the kitchen by yourself.”
“Okay, Grandma.”
I walked over to give her a kiss on the cheek before heading to the kitchen. I found the cereal and poured some in a bowl, then added milk and some berries from the fridge, before going back to the living room.
She patted the space next to her on the couch, and I sat down. The program on the TV looked to be some kind of soap, but I’d never been interested much in TV if it wasn’t the sports channel. Still, the guys looked cute, and I was trying to distance my mind from football for the time being.
After I finished eating, I went to wash the dishes and returned.
“I saw you didn’t have a lot of food in the fridge, so do you mind if I go to the supermarket? I wanted to get something, too, but I could bring you some groceries.”
“Well, I’ve been meaning to go. Why don’t I come with you?”
“No, no, you can just sit here. It’s not that far of a walk, anyway, and some exercise would do me good.”
She gave me a worried look, but let out a sigh as she nodded. “Fine. But don’t take too long, okay? I’ll text you a list of what I want. Do you need money?”
“Let me treat you. I’ll see you soon, Grandma.”
I was already dressed, so I just pulled on a pair of sneakers and left the house. The neighborhood Grandma lived in was an old one. Mom was even born and raised here, though not in that specific house, Mom had told me when I was younger that they only got the house when she was around ten years old.
Grandpa passed away after Mom got married and moved away, I was only five at the time, and Mom and I had moved in with Grandma for a while to keep her company until she all but threw us out. I’d come here often, but not much since Mom got sick. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, I either didn’t have the time or just forgot completely.
The street was familiar, since nothing had changed much in the area. The same supermarket that had been there when I was five still existed. Not that I thought they’d be running out of business, soon. I could see some new stores that hadn’t been there at my last visit, but it was still the biggest supermarket in the area.
Walking there took about fifteen minutes. I got a cart and walked slowly down the aisles. My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see what Grandma wanted, then went arou
nd picking up the things on her list, and getting a few things for myself, not that I needed much. I was mostly just picking up a bunch of snacks. I wasn’t depressed or anything, but I did like snacking a lot when I was upset and had nothing to do.
I didn’t realize I’d taken a while until my feet started aching. When I checked the time, I’d been in there for forty minutes already. I hurried to finish then went to pay. The bags I left with were a little heavy, but I took my time walking back.
The reason I came all the way out here wasn’t just to get away, but because I knew no one would come and look for me here. If Dad even realized I hadn’t been home the past few days, he would assume I was with my friends instead of going hours away to Grandma’s house. He hadn’t even tried to contact me.
Howard, though, had tried, and I’d completely blown him off.
I’m sorry, Howard.
It wasn’t fair of me to just shut him out like this, especially after he’d told me he loved me. He might get the wrong idea, but I knew I needed this break. I loved Howard, but I still wasn’t sure getting into a relationship with him was the best idea, with us being legally related and all. Especially now that I was pregnant. I’d been the one to say not to let our parents know about us, but with this, I would have to even if I didn’t want to.
Dad would ask who the father of the baby was when he found out I was pregnant. I’d thought of moving out before I started showing, but where would I go, and where would I get the money for it? I had some money, I wasn’t entirely broke, but not enough to live on my own, especially with a baby on the way since I’d have to put on hold any job plans for months before and after the baby was born. I didn’t want to ask Dad for the money, either, even though I knew he had plenty.
This was going to devastate them, Dad and Katie, both.
I needed to think, though, and not just about how they would react, but what I was going to do with my future. Turning down the GM job with the team wasn’t going to cripple me or anything. I didn’t think Howard would refuse to take responsibility for the baby, but I didn’t want to end up like my mom, playing housewife while my husband worked and brought in money. It had worked for my parents, but there were times when I could tell Mom wasn’t all that satisfied having nothing to do, especially since her own parents had worked hard to get her through university before she got married.