City of Champions: Jalen Hurts

24

Jalen didn't come back to his house that night.

That next morning, Reese returned to her parent's house and spent the day in bed. Her brain was moving a thousand miles an hour for many reasons but the most important being the child in her stomach.

Reese had way too much going on to carry and give birth to a child. She was smart enough to know that. It was near impossible to solve all the problems in her life and conceive a child at the same time.

After a week or two of only leaving her room to eat and use the bathroom, Reese finally put her phone on the charger. It had been dead since that night and Reese made no move to charge it.

After scheduling a quick walk-in appointment, Reese took a quick shower and made her way downstairs.

"Hi, Reese's Cup." Jordan said, looking over her face. "What's good?"

She shook her head. "Literally nothing at all."

"Jalen lookin' fa' you."

Reese responded in a short hum, hobbling over to the counter to make a smoothie. She didn't want to talk to Jalen. His initial reaction to her being pregnant rubbed her in every wrong way and she didn't want to put more stress on her body.

"Ree, I know you feelin' bad 'cause of soccer and shit but-"

"Jordan, I just really, really don't want to talk about it." Reese spoke firmly but quietly. "I'm sorry."

He held his hands up in surrender. "When you get ya' cast off?"

"Next week."

That was one silver lining in the timing of everything. Reese would be getting her leg cast removed next Thursday and to say she was ecstatic was a miracle. She could start her rehab and get back into the gym like she'd wanted.

Rehab would be very long but if she could walk with a hard cast, she would be able to walk with a soft one. She'd just have to take things easy so her recovery could go smoothly.

"Where you headed?" Jordan asked, plugging the blender up for her.

Reese took a seat in a chair, letting her brothers take the reigns. One thing about Reese's big brother was no matter how much of a bitch she was being, Jordan was still gonna be her protector.

"A doctor's appointment." Reese retorted.

He cut the tops from the strawberries, dropping them into the blender. "Follow up for ya' leg?"

"Mmm." She ran her nails back and forth across the back of her neck. "No."

Jordan nodded. "What for?"

Reese hadn't told anyone that she was pregnant. She wasn't keeping it a secret but she also wasn't wanting to just let everyone know. There wasn't gonna be an announcement or anything.

If they found out, they found out.

"Mmm." Reese mumbled. "An ultrasound."

The defensive lineman paused what he was doing, not thinking he'd even heard her correctly. What would she be getting one of those for?

"You pregnant or something?"

She rubbed her eyes, feeling the anxiety rise in her chest again. "Yeah..."

As he stared at her in disbelief, the former soccer goalie thought about the current state of her life. She'd made her bed. Everything she'd done had led up to this.

Getting a contract with the Spirit? Reese wanted it so she got it. Did that so it's done. All in all, it ended up being another thing she ruined that she used to do for fun. Another piece of nothing to toss as if it were just that. Nothing.