I stared at Blake. I didn't know whether I should be mad or try to understand. I get he's concerned, but being in the pros means they don't look at disabilities. It doesn't matter if I have one leg, I need to be as good as someone with two legs. My disability is to be made invisible. They're gonna treat me like everyone else, I need to be like everyone else.
"Babe?" Blake snapped me back to reality. I glared at him, crossing my arms over my chest. I choose to be mad at him. Even though I have no reason to be mad at him. I still choose to be mad at him.
"You can't be mad at me for caring." Blake stomped upstairs, slamming our bedroom door in the process. I rolled my eyes.
"How am I supposed to get upstairs now?" I groaned. DJ glanced at me before shrugging.
"You have no right to be mad."
"And you have no right to play the victim." DJ sighed, nodding. "You cheated on her and got a bitch pregnant. She'll forgive you eventually. I don't think she should, but she will, and you guys will get back together. So just leave her alone for now."
"Ok."
I heard the door open and Blake came back downstairs. He picked me up and brought me upstairs. I sat on the bed while he rummaged through the drawers. I wonder what he's looking for.
"I'm not mad at you, I'm just annoyed." I sighed.
"Why?" Blake slammed his fist on the top of the dresser before turning around. I won't lie, I'm a bit frightened.
"You don't understand where I'm coming from." I explained. "This is much different than returning after a broken bone or torn tendon. I have to retrain myself more than you ever had to after returning. I get I have one leg and might never be as good as I once was, but I still have to be up to all the WNBA standards like I was when I had two legs. I'm lucky. They could have pushed me aside and forced me to play in the handicapped league. I have to prove to them that I'm still good enough to be in the pros."
"What about your family? You're never here. You're always at the gym. One of these days, you're gonna hurt yourself."
"Oh, please-"
"Allyson, just give up this ridiculous plan to return. It's too good to be true."
I stared at Blake as his back was faced to me. My eyes welled up. I forced the tears back before he turned around.
"I'm gonna go spend the night at my brother's."
"Why?"
"I need time to think. We both do."
I let the tears fall as Blake began packing a bag. He left without saying goodbye. I couldn't really get that much sleep. In the morning, I had to figure out how to get to my leg. It's in the corner of the room.
I hopped wobbly over to the leg, collapsing once I reached it. I put the leg on, shakily pulling myself up.
I had texted magic last night, asking to talk to him. He replied with a time and place for today. I met him at a coffee shop in downtown. He stared at me dumbfounded as soon as I told him what I wanted to talk to him about.
"Ally, you're a hell of a player, even with one leg." he began. "You and Blake got into a fight. Things are said in fights that aren't meant. I believe that you will play again. I want you to sit on this for the rest of the week. If you still feel the same way, I'll accept your resignation."
X
All week, Blake has been acting weird. Ever since the conversation we had, he's been mute. Not to mention, he won't let TJ stay overnight at the house. He takes him to his brother's house, and they both spend the night there. In the morning, they come back. It's almost like he doesn't trust me.
I walked downstairs after getting ready for the day. Blake was sitting at the table, texting, while a couple of his teammates and his brother and sister sat around him. I grabbed TJ out of the bouncer and walked over to the fridge. Nothing was in there, so I walked over to the pantry. Nothing was there also.
"I thought you were gonna go grocery shopping the other night." I said, searching through the cabinets.
"I thought it was your turn." Blake said. I turned around, glaring at him. "Oh wait, you're too busy."
I put TJ into the bouncer again.
"What is your problem?" I yelled.
"My problem is you're too busy trying to fix a broken career than spend time with your family." Blake slammed his fists down onto the table as he stood up. TJ's screams echoed through the otherwise silent kitchen. Marieka tended to him.
"Enough!" Taylor snapped.
I backed away from my husband before walking up the stairs to our bedroom.
****
"What was that about?" Taylor asked. Marieka took TJ with her to check on Ally. I shrugged, resuming my conversation through text. Taylor pulled my phone out of my hands, looked at the person I was talking to, and slammed the phone onto the table.
"What was that about?" Taylor repeated, much louder this time. I was about to answer when Marieka came back downstairs. She didn't even have to say it because everyone's phone lit up with the notification.
"I told her to go stay somewhere else for tonight." Marieka said. "I really hope you're happy."
She threw a baggy at me before setting TJ down in the bouncer. Taylor and Marieka left after that. I scanned the contents of the baggy. I told my teammates to leave, running upstairs with the baggy and TJ. I put TJ in his room before going into ours. Ally was gone already. She probably went through the man cave to avoid me. I pulled out my phone with the intentions of calling my wife only to find a text from her.
Allygator: I took Marieka's advice to stay somewhere else tonight. At least you get to sleep in your own bed for once. I'm sorry for allowing you to think that I cared more about my career than I did about this family. Most of all, I'm sorry for thinking that I even had a career left in the first place. It was stupid of me to even think about it. I'm staying at Nneka's tonight, and tomorrow morning I'm flying into Boston. I'll be staying at my family's vacation home in cape cod for a couple weeks. I need time to clear my head, and I can tell you don't want to be around me right now. Don't try to call me, my phone will be off most of the time. Take good care of Tommy, and I'll see you guys in a couple weeks.
I ignored what she said and called her. She answered on the first ring.
"What?" she spoke softly, her voice shaking.
"You didn't have to quit." I said.
"Yes I did."
"Why?"
"It's what you wanted."
"No it's not Allyson!"
"You didn't want me to play, you didn't want me to return. You got mad every time I got serious about it again. Just leave it alone, I'm not going back."
I stared at the closet. It was empty. She packed for more than a couple weeks.
"You're not coming back in a couple weeks, are you?"
"I don't know."
Ally hung up the phone. Tears welled in my eyes, but I pushed them back. I just had to be stupid and push her away. All I want is for her to be happy, and she clearly isn't happy with me.
I glanced at the baggy on the dresser. A white and pink stick was inside with two lines etched on the small screen. Ally was pregnant.
****
"When you're single, you only really think about what's good for yourself. You do what you want and what makes you happy. When you're married, everything changes. You have to think about what your husband wants and what makes your husband happy, as well as what your kids want and what makes them happy. I tried to do both. It just wasn't working, and I found that, because my husband wasn't happy, I wasn't really happy with what I was doing. It was a lost cause anyways. I would never be able to pass the test and be a pro ever again anyways. The WNBA will always be in my heart. The girls in this league will always be my sisters. It pains me that I have to do this so early. It's way earlier than I ever planned for, but sometimes plans change, and you can't change that. It is with honor that I resign from the WNBA, and end my career as a professional basketball player." The screen switched from the press conference to the NBA studio.
"There you have it folks, Allyson O'Neal-Griffin is officially resigned from the WNBA. Later on tonight, we have a highlight reel of all her best moments. For now, thoughts on what happened, Shaq?"
"I think her husband didn't like that she had more fame than him. He pushed her to resign. It's clear in the facts with what she said in the press conference. If she was retiring, she would have used that instead of saying that she resigns."
"She definitely was in the spotlight more than he was."
"She was also a better player. A lot of celebrity families go through this. One person gets jealous of the other's fame. It's sad that he's the reason she quit."
"Who knows, maybe something came up with her leg. Maybe they figured that she wouldn't be able to play pros after all."
"We may never know the reason behind it, but we do know that Ally and Blake are on different sides of the country right now."
"I think they'll get a divorce."
"I think she just needs time after he forced her to quit."
"Shaq you don't know that."
"Yes I do, Blake Griffin is hot headed and spoiled. He gets whatever he wants."
I turned off the tv, rubbing my already swollen belly. I'm not that far along, but it's clear that I'm pregnant. NBAtv has been streaming my press conference for days. It happened a month ago.
I got up from my position on the couch, making sure not to bump into my little sister as I walked to the kitchen. Mom was making lunch and it smelled delicious. It was leftovers from our dinner from the pier last night, but it still smells like the best thing ever, because it is.
"Have you talked to Blake?" Mom asked. A pain in my heart pinged at the sound of his name. At first, he tried to call every hour. After the press conference, he stopped trying to talk to me. I tried to call him last week. I think we should talk. He sent me straight to voicemail. I think he's upset about what the NBAtv crew said after the press conference, and he has every right to be.
"I tried to last week, but I think he's busy and hasn't had time to call me back." I explained. "The season is starting soon, and his focus needs to be all on that."
"I'm worried that TJ hasn't seen you in so long." I nodded, agreeing. I miss him dearly. I regret leaving without him. I regret leaving at all. I wasn't expecting to be away for long, but I'm too scared to go back home. What if Blake actually wants to divorce me? I don't want that.
Just as I was about to answer my mom, my phone went off. Marieka was calling me. I quickly answered it.
"Ally?" she said through the phone.
"Hey." I could sense something was wrong.
"Do you think you could come home? Something happened."
As the words flowed out, it was like my heart stopped before it rapidly sped up like a ticking time bomb.
~~~~~~~
Hey guys!
This is the last chapter of the book! Keep an eye out for an update on this story about the sequel.
Thanks for all the love on this book.
Xx
Hydie Linn
