“You don’t have to,” she said.
I gave her one more kiss and told her goodnight. Then I drove Margie and I home. I carried her to her bed, and she still didn’t wake up.
“Good night, princess. I love you,” I said and kissed her gently on her forehead. She moved a little, but she didn’t wake. I watched my daughter sleep for a full five minutes before I finally made my way to my own bed.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Anna
It was Justin’s final fight. I couldn’t believe it was finally here. My nerves were all over the place, worse than any other time before. This was, of course, the most important fight of them all. I didn’t want to think about what might happen if he lost, but it was hard not to. I couldn’t shut my brain off.
I drug Ally out with me again so I could have someone to help me get through it in one piece. I figured at this point she might actually enjoy the fights. She always seemed to have some random guy’s number every time we left.
My parents were watching Margie again. She had been happy to hear that this was going to be her dad’s last fight.
“Yay!” she had screamed loudly. “You’re g
onna win it, Daddy. I just know it.”
“Thanks, baby girl,” he said to her and then he put her back down on the ground.
“And if you get hurt, Anna and I will take care of you,” she said proudly.
Justin looked at both of us. “That’s very nice of you both, but I won’t get hurt.”
I wanted to tell him not to get too cocky, but decided to keep the comment to myself, and instead, I said, “Please be careful tonight.”
“I always am,” he said with a wink.
He gave us both hugs goodbye and then left.
It had been three hours since I saw him. I hadn’t even texted him because I wanted to make sure he stayed focused on the fight.
Ally and I found our seats, and when we sat down, I turned to her. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom.”
“Okay. I’ll save your seat until someone better comes along,” she said with a laugh. I ignored her and maneuvered my way through the crowd.
I walked back down the stands and followed the signs for the bathroom. When I went in, I went into a stall and sat down. I didn’t have to go; I was just trying to stop myself from having a panic attack.
I left the stall after taking a few deep breaths and calming myself down. I would have splashed water on my face if I hadn’t been wearing makeup. So instead, I washed my hands at the sink for a few minutes. The motion was calming, and soon I dried my hands and left the bathroom.
As I was making my way to the stands, I heard a man say, “Well, hello, gorgeous.”
I turned to see who it was. The guy looking at me was a lot older than me. Maybe fifty. He was over-weight, almost balding, and wearing a gold chain around his neck. Just looking at him gave me a bad feeling.
“Yes, I did mean you,” he said and took a step toward me.
I really didn’t like the way he was looking at me. Just his eyes on me made me shiver uncomfortably.
“I have a boyfriend,” I mumbled and moved past him.
As I put more distance between us, I swear I heard him say, “I know.”
I tried to ignore the creepy feeling I had and made my way back to my seat.
I got back just in time, because not thirty seconds later, the announcer called out Tyler’s name, and a bigger portion of the crowd than normal cheered. I wasn’t sure what that meant.
Then the announcer yelled Justin’s name and Ally, and I stood up with the crowd and cheered.