All That Matters

02 | Lasting Impressions

His eyes shot to the led-lit dashboard of his Audi, reading the numbers and quickly guesstimating if he had enough time to run home and be at the practice facility on time.

It was a long shot that he'd make it, but he had this feeling in his gut that he had to go. Maybe it was his subconscious telling him that he needed his own protein shake since the ones at the facility always had him running faster than ever to the nearest bathroom.

Pulling away from the well known sweet shop, A Bite of Blue, Damon tried his hardest to dodge the early morning traffic by taking back roads and shortcuts. The meeting he'd just had with the husband of the building's owner was heavy on his heart as he could imagine the plans going from paper to reality.

Demetrius LaCour, co-owner of the LaCour and Brown community center—LAB for short—was eager to update Damon with the latest about the football field he was sponsoring at the center. As the quarterback of the Atlanta Blaze, Damon was compelled to give back to his community with something he could only dream of having access to as a child. He wanted to be a part of every step of the process, and not just donate money so they'd slap his name on there for societal praise. 

The beauty he'd met briefly on his way out also lingered in his mind. The little interaction ended almost as quickly as it started, but the way she smiled at him was burned into his memory. It was brighter than the sun that was peeking over the horizon. He felt blessed that the third face he saw this morning was her gorgeous one.

His gaze made its way back to the clock as he pulled into his round, pebbled driveway. He was doing terribly with time. Jumping out of the silvery gray SUV, Damon quickly hopped out and ran to the door, inputting the code. He darted inside and went straight to the kitchen to grab his protein shake out of the refrigerator.

Turning on his heels, he headed back to the front door but was sidetracked by the theme song of Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse.

"Capri?" He questioned aloud.

"In here!" The response was unexpected since he knew his niece should have been at school by this hour. He walked in to see her as he'd left her, dressed in her uniform with a, now soggy, bowl of cereal.

"Where's my mom? I'm an hour late for school." She looked up at him through her glasses that made her eyes appear a little bigger than they actually were.

Damon took a deep breath, trying to hide his frustrations from her since Capri was too smart for own good. He didn't know where his sister, her mother, was. And he didn't have the heart to tell his niece that her mom had forgotten about her. Again.

"I forgot that I was supposed to bring you this morning, I'm sorry." He was sincerely apologetic for other reasons. "Come on, let's go." Damon grabbed her backpack as she cut off the tv, knowing Damon hated it when it was left on.

He helped her into her car seat, calling his coach to let him know yet another family emergency came up and he'd be late for practice.

The traffic became worse by the time he made it back out. Thankfully Capri's school wasn't far from their home, but he knew what it was like to be the last kid walking in class after instruction started. Capri was turning five soon so she wasn't numb to the feeling of embarrassment, and she was getting to the age where she'd never forget it. He still remembered being one of those kids who'd always come late. The stares and whisperings of teachers were weaved into his memory.

He thought Reyna felt the same way, and they vowed never to expose their children to the things they went through without their mother being present in their lives. It was difficult for Damon to realize his little sister wasn't who he thought she was. He couldn't grasp the person Reyna had become. Or rather what she pretended to be.