55. Corey

Ireturn from brushing my teeth to find Fallon curled on her side, fast asleep.

I pull the blankets up to her shoulders and turn off the lights before slipping into bed beside her, where I grab my phone, knowing I have a message from one of the guys. They check in with me several times a day.

Palmer: How are things going? Did you guys get the results back from Anna’s scans?

Me: Anna is going to be discharged tomorrow, and the scans came out better than expected. Her doctor thinks she might be able to stop taking the meds next month.

Palmer: All great news, buddy. We’re happy to hear it. How’s Fallon? Did she make it okay?

Surprise has me glancing at Fallon’s sleeping form.

Me: She’s here, safe and next to me. A heads-up next time would be appreciated, though. I thought I was hallucinating.

Palmer: She didn’t call me until she landed in Colorado to let me know she didn’t need a ride and to get the name of the hospital you were at. Besides, after she’d stayed up all night and flew across the damn world for you, I didn’t want to ruin the surprise. That’s some big gesture shit right there. I think she might like you.

Me: I hope so because she’s stuck with me.

Palmer: With us. We’re a package deal.

I shake my head as silent laughter shakes my chest.

Palmer: When are you two heading home?

Me: I’m going to book our flight for tomorrow. Fallon will need to get back to practice and resolve shit with her team. Has Nolan gone through the rest of the footage?

Palmer: Yeah, but I’ll let him tell you the good news. Hannah’s working her magic now. Let us know when you need to be picked up from the airport, and one of us will pick you up.

Me: I owe you.

Palmer: No. You deserve this, Corey. Sit back and soak it up.

I set my phone down and curve my body around Fallon’s. In her sleep, she makes a soft sigh of contentment as she nestles closer to me, and just like Palmer said to, I soak up every damn detail from the sweet scent of her, the softness of her skin, and the way my heart beats a different rhythm when pressed against hers. I haven’t managed to sleep more than a couple of hours at a time since arriving here, but sleep pulls me under within seconds tonight.

I wake up too early. I’ve never slept well in this house.

I fish Fallon’s insulin pump from her pocket so I can check her blood sugar, a habit I developed last week at Camp after learning how dangerous a low blood glucose level can be.

I’ve read four books this week on type one diabetes, learning the terrifying realities of this disease that made Anna’s hospitalization even more taxing. Each time I read a disconcerting fact, I focused on what I’ve seen Fallon accomplish. She meets everyday head on, and I’ll be damned if I’m the one who slows her down. But I want to be there for her, taking a little of this weight off when I can.

I slide out from the blankets, throw on a tee with my sweatpants, and go downstairs.

Dad’s in the kitchen, already dressed and ready for the day, as he eats something green from a bowl that was clearly made by Mom while hunting and pecking keys on his laptop.

“Morning,” he says, glancing at me.

I nod.

“Is Fallon still asleep?”

I nod again as I turn my full attention to him with a clenched jaw. My hackles rise this easily. This quickly.

I know he’s never approved of Vic, wishing Anna had dated someone who was a doctor or corporate lawyer, so I’m expecting the worst from his evaluation of Fallon.

He takes in my slightly clenched fists and tight jaw before meeting my stare and raising his eyebrows. “It was just a question.”

That doesn’t ease the tension in my muscles.

“Did you know my parents didn’t approve of your mother?” he asks, taking me by surprise. “I won’t ever do that to you, Corey. I won’t make you choose. If you like her, I’ll like her.”

“You’ve never approved of Vic.”

Dad leans his head back, revealing the slightest wince. “It wasn’t that I didn’t like Vic. I didn’t want Anna to marry the first guy she dated. I wanted her to experience life. Travel. Make friends. Figure out what she wanted before settling down.”

“It has nothing to do with the fact he’s a nurse?” Doubt seeps into my words, and I don’t try and hide it.

“Wait until you have a daughter,” he warns me. “And the guy she brings home is five years her senior and responsible for caring for her. Then we’ll talk.”

I feel my own flinch, already hating this fictional asshole for a daughter who doesn’t exist. I push that thought away to focus on my point. “Vic wasn’t like that. You’d know if you’d been…” I don’t finish the sentence. I never do. Instead of telling him his absence made him see Vic through that tainted lens, I approach the coffeepot that goes unused unless company is here and start brewing a cup.

“If I’d been here?” he asks.

I glance at him. We never talk about those lost years. Never discuss his absence or Mom’s erratic behavior that began after Anna was diagnosed.

Dad swallows and closes his laptop. “If I could do it again, Corey, I would. I’d be there for you and Anna and your mom.”

“It’s easy to say that now.”

He grimaces. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes.” His throat bobs, and I wonder how hard it is for my father, this proud man who no one questions, to admit he was wrong, or if this is all an act. I don’t know him well enough to be sure. The realization has me recognizing my dad for what he is: a near stranger.

I pull out the first cup and prepare a second coffee.

“I want to be a part of your life,” he says. “And I’d like to get to know Fallon and your friends at Camden. Anna’s told me a lot about them.”

It’s difficult not to feel betrayed by my sister.

“I don’t know,” I tell him honestly, because I don’t. I don’t know him well enough to trust him with those who mean the most to me.

“I’ll keep trying,” he tells me.

I stare at him for a moment, trying to discern his intentions, then slowly nod. I can’t make any promises, but I won’t slam the door on his face. Not yet, anyway.

I take the coffees upstairs to my old room, where Fallon’s still asleep. It pains me to wake her up, but I need to see Anna before we leave in a few hours, so I set the coffee cups down and gently shake Fallon awake, wishing this could be another slow morning like we had at Camp.

Anna’s already been disconnected from her IVs when Fallon and I arrive. Likely, it will still be another hour or two before she’s discharged, but seeing the proof that she’ll be discharged today makes our leaving today easier.

“How was last night?” Anna asks, eyes bright as she looks between Fallon and me half a dozen times, failing at any attempt to be subtle.

“It was fine,” I tell her, glancing at what equipment she’s still connected to. “Mom and Dad said they’ll be here in an hour or so, but to let them know if you need them sooner.” Our goodbyes were similar to how they always are: cordial and unemotional, but my dad held me a little tighter, and Mom asked me to text her to let her know when we got home.

“Have you guys decided when you’re going back?”

Just yesterday, I told her I’d be staying. A snowball of guilt quickly becomes a mountain when I see the hope in Anna’s eyes.

“We have to leave this afternoon,” I tell her.

Anna hides her disappointment with a smile I know too damn well.

“I’m going to grab a coffee. Would you guys like anything?” Fallon asks.

“A maple scone if they have one, please,” Anna says. Yesterday, she only took two bites, but even the glimmer of her appetite has me feeling hopeful.

Fallon smiles. “You’ve got it.” She silently closes the hospital room’s door behind her.

Anna’s gaze sharpens, a significant contrast to when I arrived, and she could barely stay awake. “She has the utz, Core.”

I don’t deny it. I don’t know if there’s a word sufficient for what Fallon is or has that makes me feel completely undone and complete at the same time, but if she wants to call it utz, I can’t find it in me to care.

Instead, I nod.

Anna squeals. “Are we thinking a summer wedding? Autumn? Winter?”

I chuckle, but the words don’t chase fear into my thoughts. Instead, anticipation follows them. “It’s only been a couple of months.”

“What are you waiting for?”

“If I come on too hard and too fast, she might get cold feet. Let’s give her a few months, maybe a year, to realize us Bishops are the clingy type.”

Anna laughs. “I’m insulted. We’re loyal. Not clingy.”

I pull up the empty chair and sit beside her. “I’m sorry to be leaving so soon.”

She shakes off my words instantly. “Don’t apologize. Your life’s in Oleander Springs. I’m happy for you, and I’m so glad I got to meet Fallon. She’s special. I knew she was, but meeting her confirms it.”

I nod. “She is.”

“Don’t let her go, Core. Remember to trust yourself, and remember you have a lot to offer. You make her shine just as bright as she makes you shine.”

“Stay out of this place, okay?” I say, not wanting to remember how fast despair had grabbed ahold of me when considering Fallon might stay in Spain or that I might not be enough if she did.

“Corey,” Anna says, relentless as always. “She’s not Breanne. Don’t assume she’s going to hurt you. It’s obvious by the way Fallon looks at you how much she cares, and that whole flying across the world and surprising you…” Anna grins. “That will be a story you tell your kids one day.”

The door opens, and Fallon steps in with a drink tray and paper bag. “They only had two scones left, so I got them both.”

We spend the next forty-five minutes talking. Fallon tells her about her family and game nights, and Anna does her best to embarrass me by bringing up every childhood tale, like she’s spent time preparing for this moment.

I’m not ready to leave Anna, but as I hug my sister goodbye and turn to Fallon, a rightness burns in my chest, making this departure easier than the last one.

“I’ll see you soon,” Anna promises.

Fallon peers around the airport lounge, her carry-on by my feet. “I had no idea these places existed.”

I kiss her knuckles as I lean back, feeling the shadow of exhaustion edging closer. “They have snacks if you’re hungry.”

Her gaze shifts to mine, slowly taking in my features. “I’m fine, but you should rest. You look tired.” She slips her hand from mine and pulls her laptop from her bag.

“What are you working on?”

“Our project. It’s due Monday, and we still have one movie to watch.”

I shake my head. “I watched it and answered all the questions.”

“You didn’t have to—” she starts.

“I told you I was a good partner.”

She grins, but it tapers off too quickly. “I’m sorry I made you watch all those movies. We should have just copied stuff like everyone else.”

I shake my head. “Your hard work, honesty, and tenacity are some of the things I love most about you. I don’t regret a second of that damn project.”

Fallon’s gaze dances over my face again. “Me, either.” She wrestles her computer back into her bag but remains restless.

“What’s wrong?”

She shakes her head. “After everything you’ve been through with Anna, my concerns are so inconsequential and trivial.”

I wrap my hand around her shoulder, pulling her closer to me. “Fallon, let me exchange the favor and be there for you like you were here for me. Your concerns are important, and they’re significant to me.”

“I’m just trying to figure out what to say to Becca. I can’t continue the season status quo. I can’t let her keep avoiding me on the field.”

I lean forward, and gently brush a kiss across her forehead while internally my protective instinct rallies violently, prepared to do whatever it takes to remove this challenge for her.

We spend the time until boarding discussing what she plans to say to Becca and then board the jet that’s taking us back to North Carolina.

I don’t know which of us falls asleep first as she nestles against my chest, but before I’m ready, the captain is welcoming us to Oleander Springs.

Palmer drives us back to the dorm and carries Fallon’s bags while I take my own to the elevator up to Fallon”s floor. We walk her to her door, ensuring she makes it there without incident.

“I need to shower, call my mom, and do some laundry before I come upstairs,” she tells me as she unlocks the series of locks.

I nod. “I can come down here if that’s easier.”

Fallon shakes her head. “I”d rather not run into anyone.”

My heart rate spikes at her admission. I swallow the anger that bubbles to the surface and give a firm nod before leaning in to kiss her. “I”ll see you shortly.”

She smiles before slipping into her room.

I turn to Palmer as soon as her door closes. “Where’s Nolan?”

He pulls a stack of photos from his pocket and hands them to me. “I already have what you need.”

I sort through the pictures as my heart rate accelerates again, and nod.

“Want me to come with you?” he asks.

I shake my head. “No. But if you don’t mind taking my bag up, I’d appreciate it. I’m going to head over there now while Fallon’s busy.”

Despite looking reluctant, Palmer nods and reaches for my suitcase. “Text me if anything goes sideways.”

I give a firm nod and head for Becca’s room.

Becca’s expression morphs from passive to murderous when she spots me. “What do you want?”

“I have something you should see.”

Her eyes narrow with repulsion. “I’m not interested.”

I flash the top photo before she can slam the door in my face.

Becca stops and studies the photo. “Where did this come from? How did you get it?” she asks.

“Because while your teams were getting the hell out of dodge, our group cleaned up your mess, and pulled the security tapes so no one would get in trouble.”

Becca crosses her arms over her chest and backs into her dorm before waving me inside. Murphy sits up straighter from where he’s lounging on the couch.

“What the hell?” he says as she closes the door.

“How do I know this is real?” Becca asks, ignoring him.

“Want to see the tape? I’ve got that, too.”

Becca shakes her head. “It doesn’t mean?—”

“That Zoe paid the guy who started shit?” I ask, pulling the rest of the photos from my pocket.

“What?” Murphy steps beside me, taking the deck of photos and peeling through them, stopping on a series that clearly shows Zoe’s face and the stranger who punched Murphy in the nose. I can tell he recognizes him. The next is a zoomed-in photo showing money being exchanged. Murphy swears. “What the fuck was she paying him for?”

That question has been burning in my thoughts, evoking a full stream of nightmares since Nolan texted me a few days ago to tell me he’d found footage of Zoe with the asshole who started the fight at the bar. He needed Hannah to piece things together because the camera footage continuously skipped to different angles. Sure enough, Hannah worked her magic and was able to piece it all together, providing time stamps that proved Zoe had approached the asshole an hour before hell broke loose.

Becca stops looking at the pictures and stares at me. “Why are you showing them to me instead of the athletic director?”

“I want you to get off Fallon’s back and give her a chance, and for this shit between our teams to finally be done and over with.”

She pulls in a long breath through gritted teeth, knowing I have her cornered. Athletes at Camden are required to sign a code of conduct that ensures they’ll professionally represent Camden, and getting into fights and being drunk in public are among the many violations on that list. “I thought she was with Callum?”

“He was there for me because Fallon doesn’t want to hurt Kelly. But that’s beside the point. She’s worked her ass off to be here, and this proves she didn’t start the fight at the bar.”

Murphy clears his throat. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but she’s a damn good player.”

I glance at him, and for the first time in three years, I don’t have the burning desire to punch him in the face.

Apparently, the impossible can happen.