Matchpoint

Chapter 61:

I'm pacing outside the warm-up room. Fifteen minutes, 35 seconds. That's all we have until Dom has to walk out onto the court. And when he does, everything is out of my hands.

I couldn't sleep last night, I was tossing and turning, wishing I could be close to Dom, feel the beat of his heart in hope for some relief.

Footsteps behind me catch my attention, breaking me from my trance. I turn, expecting to find Holly or Ladley coming to check in on me, but instead, I'm faced with eye of my own. 

"Mother?" I whisper, her being the last person I would've expected to see today. I had assumed she had left back to the academy.

"Hi darling," she finally makes her way over to me, arms reaching out and wrapping around me.

I don't really know what to expect from her. I mean, last time we talked, she made it very clear she wasn't going to make a change. I'm wary, looking into her face, trying to read those eyes that look like mine.

"How are you feeling about the big match?" She asks as her hand reaches out and brushes my cheek adoringly. She's looking at me like I've been missing for months, and this is us being reunited. I suppose it does feel as if we've been on opposite sides of the world for quite some time.

"Nervous, this means a lot to Dom. And if it means a lot to him, it means a lot to me." I emphasise my connection and loyalty to Dom, still trying to figure out her angle for being here right now.

Mum tilts her head slightly, a small smile splitting across her lips. "You make a good team." She compliments.

"I know." I say coldly. This earns a slight flinch from mother, something that slices through her robotic demeanour.

Then, there's silence.

And in this silence, she just watches me.

She watches me like she did when I was a child, barely able to reach her hip. In her eyes, I'm still a kid, still a baby learning to walk. But I'm not, and her view of me needs to change.

"Why are you really here?" I ask, hearing my own accusatory tone, but I can't just stand here watching her watch me like this.

"Can't a mother see her daughter?" She teases, reaching out to brush a strand of my hair, but I get to it before her.

My brows furrow, I'm not taking her jokes or laughing at her comments.

"Are you here to hand the papers to Dom to serve him with the payment he is required to give to leave you? Are you here to give me one, too?" Harsh? Maybe.

But it's my comment that turns my mother to steel. I watch the laughter fade from her face, and the mask slips. Finally, she's got a fire in there.

"You know that's not why I'm here," she says tersely. "I would never want that."

"Then what is it? Huh? Because Dom and I clearly dont have a spot at the academy when it comes to dad." I scoff.

Mother's mask continues to crumble. As if all the layers of skin have just come peeling back, leaving her raw and on show.

Then, with a small tear rolling down her cheek, she takes a breath and begins to speak. "The academy doesn't belong to your father. He might feel betrayed. He might not understand. But Clove, he doesn't get the final say."

"So, what? You're going to stand up to him? Where was that when I needed you the most? Where was that when I was being forced to abandon something I love?" I shake my head at her.

"I know. I know." Mother sniffs, moving closer to me so that she can take my hands in her own. "I didn't see it then. I didn't feel able to talk to your father. I didn't feel like I could change his mind. But I see it now. And after that last time we talked, it all came crashing down. Everything became so abundantly clear. I love your father, but he's wrong about this, and he's been wrong about a lot. And it's time he knew. I should've done this a long time ago, I should've listened to you the moment you came to me. I should've backed you, my daughter, because you have the exact same fire in you as I do. I let myself get caught up in the idea of reputation, something your father has always obsessed over. I fell into fears, and I lost my focus on the sport itself and joy it brought people when they worked together. It shouldn't matter what people say. Heck, there was an uproar when your father and I started dating. Everyone thought your father had rigged games in my favour. Of all people, I should've known better. I should've been your mother."