The whole week was an entire blur. Once I had had my conversation with Sofia about Lydia, we staged a breakup but it leaked to the press that she was talking to Tyler Reed before we could tell our 'sources' to sell our breakup news to the tabloids. We hadn't ever posted about each other on social media so it wasn't even that serious.

I felt bad that Sofia was painted as a cheater but she said that her fans would be so happy that she was back with Tyler that they wouldn't care, not to mention I was going to be with Lydia again, I hoped.

After I got the news that she was in the hospital everything moved faster than the speed of light, or so it seemed.

The doctors thought they knew what was wrong with her but she wouldn't wake up, and being stuck with no answers wasn't good enough for me.

I paid the best doctors I could find to study her condition and before her parent's plane even touched the ground I had her moved into the best wing of the hospital which awarded me much more privacy.

They were surprised to see me but I hardly paid her mom any attention, spending most of my time with Amalia and her brother and father, her friend Malcolm hanging on the outskirts staring at me with wide eyes and a starstruck half smile on his face.

It was only when I was practically pulled away with the threat of a lawsuit and losing my position on the team that I reluctantly left with my coach and my manager and made my feet carry me to the airport, the bowl game being held in Atlanta this time.

I didn't miss the reporters and photographers camped outside of the hospital but they were at least classy enough to not ask that many intrusive questions. They probably assumed it was just a family member.

The entire game was completely surreal. I was living my dream through the lens of fear and anguish, but I still tried my hardest to soak up the feeling of being on the world's stage.

This was the culmination of years of blood, sweat, and tears and at twenty-three years old, this was probably the highlight of my career.

This was for everyone who said I would never make it far. It was for my ex that cheated on me, and then tried to play me with my competition just to climb the social ladder.

This was for my father, to prove to him and to myself that I wasn't an addicted worthless piece of shit who chose drugs and alcohol over my family, who stepped out on his wife and beat him and his son whenever he got a chance.

This was for my mom, a victim of the abuse who wasn't strong enough to face her demons head on for her son, so she fell into the same pit of despair as her husband and left that little boy anyway, the same way his father did, through the grave.

Now they were both buried six feet under and I was doing this to prove to them and myself that I would build a bigger and better legacy for this family than they ever could have. I was there to create something better than they ever could have been and they weren't even alive to see my accomplishments and own up to their shortcomings.

I tried to imagine a smiling and cheering mother and father in the crowd, proud of their son...but there was no one in that crowd for me, save for a few friends who'd asked for a ticket last minute.

They might've been there for my team, for the football, but they weren't there to support me as a person.

While I watched as all of the other player's families flooded the field and their kids ran and jumped in their awaiting outstretched arms, I felt a stabbing pain in my chest where that love was supposed to be.

And then I remembered Lydia. She would've been there for me, I knew it in my bones.

So I suffered through the insufferable- anguished waiting with painfully sore muscles until I was back on a plane so I could see her with my own two eyes again. I laughed at some of the questions the reporters lobbied at me- the stuff they came up with was downright ridiculous but it didn't matter all that much to me, because what really mattered-who really mattered, was lying in a hospital bed and according to a frantic text from Lucas, was awake and we finally had some answers on her condition.

I didn't hesitate on calling up a car to take me to the airport. I'd have my manager send my things to my apartment once I was gone, but in that moment I just knew I needed to see her.

"Shh, be quieter, she's still sleeping."

"Adsila, you know what you need to do to make this right. What you've done to this family disgusts me and if things don't change I don't know if I can stay and watch the train wreck continue to harass our family."

"What are you saying, Jonathon?"

My father let out a twisted sigh.

"You know what it means. I love you, but isolating our daughter and blaming her for things out of her control at such a young age did more than damage your relationship to her. She doesn't want to come around anymore because of you, and you won't even admit that you were wrong! You're so stubborn."

"I admit I was wrong all those years ago with how I handled her...assault. I know that now. I'm not without fault, I'm only human. I was faced with what seemed like an impossible decision and I chose wrong, I didn't choose my daughter. Do you not think I don't haunt myself every night with that wrong decision? And all the other wrong ones after that?"

The ice around my heart began to slowly thaw as I heard my mother's hushed words growing louder in her passion.

"I'm not the one you need to be telling all of this to, Adsila," my father said and I evened out my breathing, making sure they didn't realize that I was actually awake and had heard every word they'd uttered.

"I'm very aware of that, thank you. I just don't want you to think that I'm not always trying to repair this family, it's just hard when she won't even try."

"I wouldn't want to try with you if you were my mother and you'd said the things to me that you'd spoken to her."

"That's harsh."

"Harsh but fair. Either you fix it or I won't have a choice. I'll leave."

"I'll fix it Jonathon. Just...give me a little time. You saw how hard she was around us when she woke up, she is going to be so cold at first."

"Then make her warm up."

And that was that. The conversation was done.

The door opened and the sound made me jump so I had to stretch and make it seem like that sound had just woken me up.

"Mmm, what time is it?"

I opened my eyes and there were two nurses around me, the doctor had entered the large room as did Lucas.

The doctor eyed all of us with his yellowing irises and began his speech.

"Alright, so now that we know you don't have a concussion from your hit that you took on that treadmill, we just have to discharge you into the care of someone willing and able to watch you like a hawk."

I eyed all four family members in front of me and grimaced.

"Does it have to be a family member?"

The doctor furrowed his grey eyebrows.

"No, you are an adult, but everyone here is a family member..."

"What about Amalia? She's my roommate."

"Lydia, she's in a wheelchair! And don't think we didn't hear the story of your car accident, either. We'll talk about that later, though. I'll be moving up here semi permanently until she's better and I'll stay with her at her apartment."

I gave my mother a wide eyed, shell shocked stare.

"Um, no offense, mom, but I don't really want that."

Her face crumpled but she put her walls back up right after I saw it fall. She always was quick with a good facade.

"Well then that leaves your father or brother?"

I shook my head, putting my foot down. It was Amalia or no one.

"Amalia can't help you properly. What if you need-"

"She's perfectly capable."

"I have to agree with your mother on this, unfortunately. You need to decide who to stay with, Miss Montgomery. If not your brother or parents, who will be able to take care of you in this capacity?"

I briefly thought of asking Malcolm and just saying his name for my doctor's and family's sake and then when they left I'd do it all on my own, but another voice beat me to it.

"She can stay with me."

I didn't have to look to see who'd walked in on our conversation.

He'd finally come for me.