Celestial Love (Anthony Rizzo)

.22. Liar

Anthony

After Hannah's thirteen month battle with cancer she was finally free. Her doctor gave her a clean bill of health and all the freedom in the world. She was so excited to get out and see the city and I was excited to show her.

"Alright, I'll talk to you guys later" Celeste says as she gets the last of the things into her moms car.

"You're not coming with us" Hannah asks.

"I would love to catch a game but someone decided to piss off James and now I'm grounded" she says as she looks at me and I blush.

"I regret nothing" I claim as Callie laughs at me.

"I'm sure you don't. But whatever you said has got him heated. You might be public enemy number one now" she claims.

"And that automatically makes me a good person" I claim.

"You're a mess, that's what you are" she accuses.

"When can I see you again" I beg. I didn't want to not see her, even for a little while.

"We will find a way. We always find a way" she promises.

I somberly watch her walk away before turning to her mom. She had a smirk on her face as she looks me over. "What got you in the dog house" she asks me.

"I might have called him out in front of the best athletes in the entire Chicago area and almost started a fight" I admit.

"Was that smart" she asks.

"No but when it comes to your daughter common sense becomes a thing of the past" I explain.

"You're blinded" she asks.

"Yeah, not a lot seems to focus for me when she's around" I say.

"I've been there before. But I also wasn't trying to fight people because of it" she jokes.

"That was never my intention. I fight for what I believe in, what I love, therefore I fight for Celeste" I admit.

"Because you believe in her or because you love her" she asks.

"I don't think I'm ready for that conversation yet" I insist.

"That's fine. You should be talking with her about that instead of me anyway. We have our own matters to figure out" she admits.

"You're right. Let's go get you set up for your stay and then I'll bring you to the field early. It's beautiful when no one is in there" I smile.

"I can't wait" she smiles back.

So I get her things squared away and we get to the field. I get her one of my jerseys and a hot dog before I show her around. Most of the remodeling was done and Wrigley was looking good. She mostly enjoyed the food but I don't blame her, part of the appeal of this city is the delicacy's you can find. So I find the best Chicago dog and let her enjoy it.

"Do you treat all the people you help with cancer like this" she wonders.

"As many as I can, yeah. Bringing the kids here always puts a smile on their face. For some it's a bucket list thing, for people like you it's a reward for everything you've been through. A light at the end of the tunnel" I try.

"Well I really appreciate all of this. I'm a little sad to have to leave at the end of the week" she claims.

"You can stay. I'm sure Callie would love it and we can hang out. It'll be fun" I try.

"I would love to but this isn't where I belong. I have family back in Seattle and a job to get back to. I enjoy being here but this is a part of my journey, not the destination. My being here isn't helping Celeste any and in order for me to move on I need to be back home" she assures me.

"That sucks. I really like your company. I would have let you be a part of the foundation and help people like us" I admit.

"That's really sweet of you Anthony, whenever I am around I would love to be a part of it. Help in any way I can" she promises.

The game comes around and I keep her close to me. There wasn't a lot of people in the organization her age but she makes some friends around the clubhouse. Lester's family especially since he has had his fight with cancer too. I know she was well taken care of with the families allowing me to get ready for the game.

"So you're a liar" Kris says as he sits next to me.

"Wow, you're so good at conversation staters. I mean really, I'm sure you have a lot of friends" I say as he rolls his eyes.

"I'm talking about that girl you are talking to. There is no Amanda" he accuses and I raise a eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? Then who is the girl ever so unlucky to have my attention" I question.

"It's Celeste" she announces and my eyes go big. I thought I was going to throw up everywhere.

I pull him to the side and look around so no one knew. "Who all knows about this" I demand.

"It's just me! I figured it out like ten minutes ago when I saw her mom in the boxes wearing your jersey. You said you were bringing someone you had gotten close with to the game today to celebrate her beating cancer. When I didn't see any kids but I saw her I knew that's who you were talking about from Celeste's Instagram posts. Then from there I connected the dots, you celebrated this Amanda girls birthday the same day as Celeste's and your problems you have with her husband match your hatred for James. I only know because I have a lot of clues, besides Jon no one else could figure it out" he assures me.

"Please, please don't say anything. Her well being is at stake here and I already got her in trouble as is. If word gets out people will paint her as the bad guy when she is literally just surviving right now" I beg.

"I got it Anthony, I wouldn't do anything to hurt you guys. I just think you're crazy" he admits.

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm digging myself into a hole so deep I won't get out. But to me it's worth it. She is kind and creative and funny and so freaking brilliant. And she's only like that around me. Her mom and I are trying to help her but she's in a tough situation. Real tough. But I'm willing to wait this out" I insist.

"I'm with you bud" he says as he placed a hand on my back.

"Thanks man" I smile.