Finally Breathing

~ Chapter 17 ~

Tobin's POV

Sky had been living with me for almost two weeks now. Despite everything the was cheery, eager to get on with her physical therapy so that she could go back to soccer. However, I'd experienced something similar before. Under the façade I knew she was hurting. Yet sometimes it's better to hide it from everyone else so that you can believe that it's hidden from yourself. We were in my living room, working through her exercises for the night. I stretched her leg up towards the ceiling.

"This hurt?" I asked. She shook her head, so I strained its flexibility a bit more.

"Ow! Toby be careful!" She complained, a playful look on her face.

I laughed, seeing the pain beneath her eyes before lowering the leg back to the ground. "Only two more days to go Sky then you're free to do whatever." I told her as she sat up on the couch, rubbing her hip in fake annoyance. The exercises were meant to be focussed on her neck and spinal cord, but we added a few extras so that she was ready when the time came for national camp.

Sky rolled her eyes, collapsing onto my lap. "Yeah, free to go and live in a stupid group home with stupid kids until I'm 18."

"Its not stupid Sky. You're safe there, with people who will look after you and treat you with love and kindness. You can have a family again." I stroked her soft brown hair as I spoke, her blue eyes glistening in front of the TV.

It was around 6pm, and the pasta I'd been cooking was bubbling in the pan in the kitchen. She held my hand firmly, deflated. I knew she didn't want to move, that she was happy here, but she had to go. The authorities just had that kind of power, I guess. I was only semi-surprised to find that I was sad that she was leaving. I'd still see her every month for camp, but the thought of not waking up to her smile after she'd made breakfast for me was heart breaking. In the short time I'd known her, she'd made such a big impact on my life. Sky was a special kid, and one that I was glad found her way into my life. I would miss our mornings in the car on the way to school, and the afternoons that she would come home raving about some transfer that had just been made. I would even miss the entertaining days, when she would come home with a new story about a fight or argument she'd had with her archenemy Jess.

I made my way to the kitchen, straining the pasta before adding the Pesto. The sauce was thick, full of herbs. Good for someone that was recovering from surgery. Sky deserved better than to just be chucked into a home with a load of kids she'd never met. It would take a lot to trust them, and I wouldn't be there to help. Her other option to get out of there was adoption. Was it possible? I already treated her like my kid. But with the soccer season incoming, I don't know if I would be able to look after her. I looked at her, sprawled out on the couch, limbs dangling everywhere, eyes closed. I guess she could move over to Portland with me after my recent transfer from Arsenal. I was sad to leave, but I knew it was better for me to be in America, with all the camps leading up to the World Cup. It was definitely an option. But would she even want me to adopt her? She'd been messed around so much; would an adoption just tip her over the edge? Yet it was better than to let her stay in that awful home for a year, despite what I'd told Sky. Group homes were not nice places to be, and I should know having lived in one for two years while finishing high school.

"Sky dinner!" I called, watching her drag herself off the couch, rubbing her eyes. She was tired. The last few weeks were tough for her to cope with, and while she was doing well, I was still worried about her.

"You okay?" She asked me, catching the staring.

"Yeah, just thinking. I'm going to miss you Sky." We sat down at the table, grabbing a fork and tucking into the pasta.

"Me too." She whispered after a rather long pause. "It felt good living with you. Like I finally had a home."

She swung her hand across the table, so it held mine. "Please, let me stay with you." She was begging, and I knew it. I wish she could stay with me; I really did. I didn't know much about the adoption process, or what it involved, but I was sure there had to be two parents, something that I could not qualify for. I was ready to share my life with Christen, but I hadn't even asked her out yet. Was there too much uncertainty in the situation for a child? We continued eating dinner in silence, Sky's hand holding mine the whole time. Her warm hands were comforting, reassuring me that she would be okay. I couldn't leave her.