Forever You - Evening the Score // Book Two

Chapter 29

Elena had her phone pressed to her ear while her mother rattled off her flight information and the dates she and Frank would be there. Thankfully her mother had sent an email with the information earlier so Elena didn't really need to remember it since she was half paying attention.

Joey had been a dream so far. He wasn't really fussy, nor did he cry a lot and he smiled all the time. While Elena knew that was probably going to be short lived, she couldn't help but feel guilty for having even thought about aborting him. He was such a light in her life.

"Elena?" Carolyn's voice broke into her thoughts, "Elena Rose Bennett are you listening to me?"

Elena snapped to attention,

"What? Yes. Yes."

"What is going on? I thought you said Joey was fine and Harry was fine but you are definitely not fine."

"I'm fine, Mom."

"Are you sure?"

Elena let out a deep sigh as she sat down in the rocking chair in Joey's room. Joey had been peacefully asleep for the last 20 minutes, the entire time she'd been on the phone with her mother,

"Liv called yesterday."

Carolyn nodded while she pushed herself onto one of the stools in her kitchen,

"I figured she might start getting antsy."

Elena nodded as she studied her broken nails. She hadn't had time to file them down lately,

"Yeah. Antsy is a good word for it."

"So what's wrong, Honey? What's she asking?"

"Nothing. Nothing out of the ordinary at least. She wants to know why I haven't called my coaches yet."

"Why haven't you?"

"Joey isn't even a week old yet."

"Fair point."

"I get why she's shocked. The Elena she knew before she had a kid would've been on the phone from her hospital bed."

"But this Elena..." Her mom trailed off.

Elena let her hand drop,

"This Elena...this Elena isn't so sure I wanna play soccer anymore."

Harry happened to be walking down the hallway when he heard Elena's conversation. He knew it was an asshole move to listen, but to hear her say she didn't wanna play anymore would've stopped anyone cold. He stepped near the wall to hide himself while she spoke.

"It's not that." Elena replied, "I don't know if soccer is for me anymore."

Carolyn was happy she was an ocean away as her eyes just about popped out of her head,

"Ok." She said finally.

"I know...it sounds crazy. I just..."

"Elena, it's your decision. Liv, Harry, me, your father...none of us can make the decision for you."

"I know that." Elena countered, "I just don't know what to think. I feel like I let Joey down...when I-" Elena stopped abruptly before she said it.

"Elena..." Carolyn breathed, "Honey, you can't keep beating yourself up about that. You didn't do it."

"What if I had?" Elena asked, tears stinging her nose.

Carolyn hated being so far away from Elena when it was clear she so desperately needed her mother. She sniffed back her own set of tears,