The Beautiful Truth

// 8

It was Saturday morning, and I couldn't sleep anymore. It was seven a.m., and I was wide awake...and I knew exactly why. Football was back for the first time in eight months.

It was game day, and I couldn't sleep because I was nervous. This was the first time in six years that I wouldn't be there to watch Talyn. Last fall, I'd even scheduled my college interview around our homecoming game. I made it to the field just before half time. That was as close as I'd ever come to missing one of his games.

Unable to bear it anymore, I tossed the covers aside and pushed myself out of bed. Micki was gone with the rest of her squad and the football team to Tennessee. They'd left yesterday morning. I was immediately bored without her, although Barton Black offered up an acceptable solution—we'd gone down to Fisherman's Wharf and people watched, for the most part. There had been some hand holding involved...but nothing else, much to my ever-increasing disappointment.

However, that was secondary to my overwhelming disappointment this morning that Talyn Parrish would be playing football without me. I decided to run it off.

I blasted the playlist titled 'Talyn Parrish's Greatest Hits' the whole time.

Five miles later, I was no less anxious. I showered, and settled in to watch what was left of College Game Day on ESPN. The Cal game wasn't until four, but USC started at 12:30. I wondered how unhappy the hungover kids on my hall would be if I started throwing things at my walls.

My phone rang a few times before I was aware of it. I jumped toward it from my bed, and answered before it could go to voicemail.

"Hey Sawyer," my dad answered on the other end. "You watching Game Day?"

I smiled. "You know me well, dad."

"Ah, I was actually kind of surprised you didn't ask me to send you down to LA today. I would have, you know," he offered.

My stomach dropped with an expected pang of disappointment. "I know. I just...I mean, he's gotta learn how to play without me," I forced a laugh to cover how sad I was all the sudden.

"I'll call you after the game, I just wanted to check in...hear your voice, you know."

And then I was suddenly homesick, too. I'd done so well so far. "OK, I love you, dad."

It was all I could do to get him off the phone before he really made me cry. My throat was tight as it was.

I'd just about straightened up when my phone rang again. Flipping it over to see who was calling, I knew this one would be twice as bad as the first. I couldn't even get the word 'Hello' out without cracking my voice.