“I wish I could say the same, doc.” I smiled and walked beside him as we made our way out of the busy airport and into the hot Florida sun. This is where it all started going downhill.
The facility was nice. Small, but nice. A large lush yard surrounded the place and palm trees lined the walk towards the red brick building. Inside, the lobby was decorated in bright colors, tacky anywhere else, but somehow appropriate in Florida. Dr. Miller was lean, average height, and losing most of his hair. He wore thick glasses, which he constantly pushed up his long, thin nose. “This is Maryann. She’ll show you to your room.” He introduced me to a large woman with bright red lipstick to match her hair.
I followed her down a long corridor and into a small room with only a bed, a desk, a dresser, and clock. “No TV?” I asked.
“No. Only one in the community room. You have to agree on what to watch with the others.”
“How many others are here?”
“Nine, but that can change at any time.” She smiled and took my bag.
I watched her pull every item out, check it thoroughly and then set it aside. She opened all of my newly purchased hygiene items and put them into a plastic tub with my name on the lid. “This goes in the office. You need to check it out, and then check it back in every time you need it.”
I listened as she read off the rules like a drill sergeant. “No sexual interaction with the other patients, or the staff. No drugs of any kind, no alcohol, no smoking, no foul language, all sessions must be attended, and a full itinerary will be created for you that you will follow to the letter.”
Wow, no running in the hallways, no running with scissors, no smiling, no breathing — I continued the list in my head.
What had I gotten myself into?
I settled in, deciding to give it my best shot.
Every time I thought about something I was losing, I thought about what I would gain in return.
Holly.
Holly.
Holly.
God, I hoped so.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Holly
I couldn’t believe it.
Holding my iPad in my hands, I stared at a picture of Ace doing coke with a couple of kids. The tabloid’s caption read: Ace Newman Snorting His Sorrows Away.
From what the story said, the picture was taken months ago, the night his father died, the night we stayed together. It had been so special, to me anyway. Now I’m finding out he left me in the middle of the night to go to some party. Then lied about it. I was more hurt than I wanted to admit.
“Holly, you in here?”
Whitney burst into my bedroom, then stopped at the door. Calvin was right behind her.
I wiped my tears away and tossed the tablet down. “Hey, guys, what’s up?”
They looked at each other then came into the room. “We were going to warn you about that,” Whitney said and crawled onto the bed next to me.
Calvin stayed by the door. “And I have some other news to tell you too. But get dressed. I made pancakes. We can talk about it over breakfast.”
I nodded, and they both left while I changed.
When I walked into their kitchen, Calvin was flipping bacon on the griddle while Whitney sat at the table sipping a cup of coffee. I skipped the caffeine and went to the fridge for some juice.
Calvin slid two pieces of bacon on each of our plates and then slapped the pancakes in the center of the table. I reached out and grabbed one, breaking it apart on my plate as Calvin and Whitney took their share of the stack. I poured syrup all over my pancake, drowning it and my bacon, but couldn’t take a bite.
Finally, Calvin laid down his fork. “Ace is in rehab.”
My head jerked up at his announcement.
Whitney slapped his arm. “I thought we were going to be more delicate about this,” she scolded him.
I looked at them both. “Rehab? Did he get caught? Is he sick? What happened?” My voice got higher with every word.
“He did it voluntarily, Holly. When we were in Georgia, he asked me to come into his room. He told me he needed help, and even though it meant he’d miss most of the rest of the season, he didn’t want to wait. He wanted to get better.” His eyes implored me. “For you.”
Calvin stood up and walked to the counter. He opened a drawer and pulled out a white envelope. He handed it to me.
“What is it?” I asked, almost afraid to touch it.
“Just open it.”
I did and pulled out a letter. I recognized Ace’s handwriting immediately.
Holly,
I’m a worthless drug addict who is so fucked up in the head that I don’t recognize myself in the mirror sometimes. And I love you.
I don’t know if I can beat this thing or be the man you deserve, but I’m going to try. Because I love you.
I thought baseball was the most important thing in my life, and I was so afraid of losing it, of being a nobody. But I’m more afraid of losing the woman who found the crack in my heart and slipped inside it. I want a future with that woman. I want to be a better man for that woman.
And if you choose not to wait, or take the risk, I’ll still always love you. And I’ll be praying that you’re happy wherever you are.
Ace
P.S. A bet is a bet
Tears blurred my vision when I looked back up at my friends. “What do you think?”
“I believe he’s sincere this time. I think he was the last time too, but now he’s getting help,” Calvin insisted. “I went with him when he talked to Coach and Rhett. They were fully supportive, and we planned on telling the press he had an injury, then that tabloid picture hit the news.”
I looked back at the papers in my hand and turned to the second page.
It was a deed.
I looked closer, and saw it belonged to an address that seemed familiar.
“What is this?”
“He said you made a deal, and you agreed you’d take a bakery as a gift if he cleaned up his act.” Calvin smiled. “That’s the deed to the address you and Whitney loved.”
I shook my head. “This is too much. This is crazy.” I couldn’t pull my thoughts together long enough to absorb what was happening. “You knew about this?” I asked Whitney.
“Just now. Ace is on a plane heading to Florida, to a rehab center.”
I stared at her. “Really? Today?”
She nodded and took one of my hands.
Calvin reached over and took my other one. “You deserve this. That is all he kept saying to me, that you deserve this. He wants you to have it. I think he needs you to have it. Please, just take it and understand it comes from a good place.”
My heart swelled in my chest at the thought of Ace doing something so sweet for me. I put my hand on my belly. For us.
I looked back up at Calvin. “He still doesn’t know about the baby, does he?”
“No. I told you I wouldn’t tell him, and I haven’t. But you should. He has the right to know.”
I nodded. Calvin and I had a terrible fight about me wanting to keep the pregnancy a secret. In the end, he’d respected my wishes, although I knew it had been hard on him.
“I will. As soon as he’s out of rehab. I don’t want him to focus on anything but his recovery. That’s the most important thing right now.”
Calvin nodded and stabbed a bite of pancakes.