Ties (Book 1)

15. She had a Heart

"It's okay; it was a great last game." I tried to console Levi, but I was unsuccessful.

"We failed miserably, Mackenzie. We lost 74-31. Tell me how that's great." In his flustered state, he used his hands to help him express his feelings. It was amusing to see so many hand movements.

"Honestly, y'all got further than you thought. Who would've hoped that y'all even made it to playoffs! Stop punishing yourself."

"Whatever," he huffed.

They had started off the season roughly, but they improved at an incredible speed. Everyone was surprised they reached the playoffs. I shook my head and tried not to laugh, but I couldn't help myself; a little giggle escaped my lips.

"You're laughing at me?"

"No," I squealed. I recognized that smirk; my legs were prepared to make a run for it. "You better not, Levi." I narrowed my eyes and pointed my finger at him. He always did this to me. I felt like my short stature made him think I liked childish things.

"All I hear is 'do it Levi,'" he mimicked a girlish voice and pretended to do a hair flip.

I was trying not to smile when I suddenly heard my name. I turned around and saw my mom, someone I would have never expected to see at a football game in a million years. She waved and smiled as she walked towards us. I looked at Levi, and he had the same dumbstruck look as I did.

"What are you doing here, Mom?" Her outfit looked like it was ready to be on the front cover of a magazine showing the latest winter fashion. The woman was beautiful, and all the dads who stared at her as she walked towards me was proof.

"I came to see you cheer and support Levi as well, but I honestly didn't think it would have been possible because of your wrist."

I forced myself to snap out of the daze I was in because of her presence. "I hardly did anything, Mom. I tied the pom to my cast, and I had to constantly worry about being careful of how close I was to the other girls; if I got too close, I would definitely knock them out." I chuckled at the thought, maybe it made me a bad person. Oh well. "I couldn't do stunts or anything cool," I rambled on.

She kept smiling and looking at me with what appeared to be devotion. Over the past week, she had been attentive and looking after any need of mine. I was very happy; there was no other way of putting it. She was trying to be a mom, and that was enough for me.

My father was on the flip side of the coin. He spent a lot of time at the museum or anywhere else that was not home, but he had not traveled since he came back on the day after I was released from the hospital. When he came home, he walked into my room and asked how I was feeling. He stood at the edge of my bed while he told me how glad he felt that I was all right. After a few questions, he exited my room and that was it. I should not have expected more. Maybe the only reason I had waited for more fuss from him was because my mom had changed.

Mother and daughter, that was established; father and daughter, only by blood. Sometimes I wondered if I was my father's daughter, since he played the part of a distant and respectful relative more than a dad. I would have liked to ask, but I never could build up the courage for something like that.

"You came by yourself, Mom?"

"Yes I did." Her red lipstick surrounded her bright white smile.

I scowled. "I'm surprised, since you never do anything without my dad."

"He's been feeling a little down lately; he wakes up tired and with joint pain, so I think he is coming down with a cold."

With pursed lips, I said, "probably." Or maybe he just doesn't care about me, Mom.