Quarterback's Secret Baby(57)

"Nat," she said, touching my arm. "Are you sure? You don't have to talk to him, you know. Ed can ask him to leave."

But I was already on my way out. "No, it's OK," I called back over my shoulder.

Kaden saw me as soon as I walked out the front door. Our eyes met and I actually wondered if I was in a dream. Everything suddenly felt blurry and slow-motion. As I got closer to him I could see that his eyes were red and his face was puffy. He'd been crying.

It struck me like a thunderbolt. Kaden? Crying? I knew instantly that something terrible must have happened. He started walking towards me.

"Kaden?" I said. "What's happening? What's wrong?"

But by that point we were right in front of each other and instead of answering he just bent down to let me put my arms around him (I hadn't even realized I was reaching out) and buried his face in my neck. We stayed there, like that, for a long time. Kaden wasn't actually crying but he was taking the deep, rough breaths of someone who was in some kind of distress and was trying to maintain control of themselves. He felt exactly the same in my arms as he always had - big and muscular and warm and perfect. When we pulled away from each other a few minutes later he was just staring at me like he might have thought I was a ghost.

"What's wrong?" I asked, grasping his shoulder. "Kaden, what's going on? Why are you-?"

"Can we talk about this somewhere else?" He asked. "I can wait until you're off work, Tasha."

Oh, God, hearing my name spoken in that voice after so long. It made me want to cry and throw myself into his arms and run away all at the same time.

"I can leave work now," I said. "My boss will be OK with it. Are you going to tell me what's happened?"

Kaden closed his eyes. "Yes, Tasha. But please, can we go somewhere first? I don't want your entire office watching this."

I turned around to see the office drapes twitching in multiple places.

"Sure," I said. "Just let me grab my bag. Wait here. I'll be-"

Kaden was nodding, and it took me a few seconds to realize that he was doing it because he couldn't speak. He was on the verge of breaking down.

"Oh my God, Kaden!" I said sharply, freaking out a little because I'd never seen him like that before. "Just give me two-"

"My mom got into a car accident," he blurted out suddenly, covering his face with his hands as the tears started to fall. "They don't think she's going to make it."

There wasn't a single part of me that, in that moment, wanted to do anything other than provide comfort. Nothing else mattered. Not my broken heart, not the passing of time, not my own fragile sense of purpose in a life I had already accepted would not have Kaden in it. The only thing I was focused on was him. He needed me.

"Nat!"

I turned around to see Jennifer walking towards me with my bag in her hand. "Here. Ed says it's OK if you leave. Call me tonight, OK?"

I took the bag and gave my friend a hug. She didn't need an explanation, she could see that the situation was serious.

"Yes, I will," I told her. "Thanks, Jen."

I turned back to Kaden.

"Let's go," he said. "I don't want to be standing out here - anyone could be taking pictures."

Of course. He was on the verge of real stardom. He had to think about things like people taking pictures in public.

"Where are we going?" I asked when we were inside the Audi. Kaden would tell me the details of what was going on in his own time.

"My parent's house," he said. "They're not home. My dad is at the hospital with my-"

I reached out and touched Kaden's arm as he lowered his head again. "Hey. Kaden, let me drive."

So we stopped the car and switched seats. And as I drove, he told me what was going on in a halting, cracking voice.

"Someone hit my mother on the highway, a drunk driver. She's in a coma with swelling on the brain and the doctors told us this morning that she's probably not going to make it. I'm so - Tasha - I'm so sorry to show up at your work like that but I didn't have a choice. I'm falling apart here. I don't know what to do."

"Don't worry about that," I told him. "It doesn't matter."

We got to his parents' house a few minutes later. Once we were inside, we went into the kitchen.

"Do you want something?" He asked, opening the fridge. "Uh, a drink?"

"No, I'm good."

He turned around and bent down over the kitchen island, holding his head in his hands for a few seconds before looking up at me. His eyes looked haunted, it was awful seeing him like that.

"I don't know what to do, Tasha," he said. "I don't even know what to say to you. I told you all there is to tell. I just don't want to be alone right now."