The Path To You

43. Nothing

Waking up without Connor next to me was not a common occurrence. I'd grown used to having him next to me radiating way too much heat. I almost always woke up on the verge of sweating due to his closeness. I didn't mind and waking up cold was an unwelcome surprise.

I peered my eyes open scanning the room for the brown haired boy but found his room to be empty as well. He didn't say anything about having a shift this morning so I pulled myself out of bed to go look for him.

Once I'd determined the bathroom and the upstairs was free of Connor I slipped down the stairs to see if he was in the kitchen having breakfast. It would surprise me since most mornings he waited to have breakfast with me but maybe he woke up extra hungry.

I tried to ignore the little voice in my head that was telling me something was wrong. Connor had been acting weird lately. He'd been quieter and coming home late from work. Every time I'd asked him about what was going on he told me everything was fine. I'd dropped it then willing to wait for him to open up on his own but now I was regretting that decision.

What if something was actually wrong? What if something had happened and he'd been hurt all over again?

I'd been ready to do anything to protect him but what if I had already failed?

I hoped with everything in me that I'd find him sat in the kitchen perfectly fine.

I felt all my hopes get crushed at the sight of his parents sat at the table with no Connor in sight.

"Where's Connor?" I questioned.

"Early shift at work." His dad answered his eyes glued to the paper in front of him.

"Can you even believe this? It took all of this for something to actually happen, makes my stomach sick just thinking about it." Connors mom frowned down at the paper she was sharing with her husband.

"He's lucky murder is illegal," Connors dad grumbled.

"I bet you aren't the only one to feel that way." She laid a hand on her husbands shoulder soothing him.

"What are you guys looking at?" I asked deciding to make conversation to try to distract myself from this sinking feeling.

Connor hadn't said anything about a shift so it seemed weird he just disappeared this morning without saying anything to me.

"Connors article." His mom handed me the paper and my stomach dropped at the words in front of me.

It was Connor's story, everything about his coach and the abuse he suffered. It went into detail about the police not listening to him and the principal turning him away when he went to get him fired. All of the pain he went through was right here for everyone to read. It lacked details but it was clear what he had went through. And it wasn't just Connor, it was someone else. Another player talking about their own experience.

Connor had been working with a reporter to publish his truth and he hadn't shared any of that with me.

I did my best to ignore the way that stung.

Instead I focused on the fact that this article was released today and Connor was nowhere to be found.

—

Connors pov:

I looked down at the words for the millionth time. All this time I'd done everything I could to get here. I'd fought so hard for someone to believe me and now I finally got somewhere. Everyone would see this, parents would read this. This was enough to change things.

With accusations like this parents weren't going to want him coaching their kids. He might not end up in jail but he'd have a lot harder time getting close to anyone's kids in this town.