Page 23 of Anatomy of Us

“I should've expected it. I'm sorry,” Tessa says, and her voice cracks on the last word. “Nate always hated me. I'll ask Diana to replace me. I won't go to Florida with the team. I'm sorry I caused you problems.”

“No.” The word comes out like a growl. I slap my palm on the table. “If you step back, they'll say they were right and that this was planned. They'll say you're not a professional. If you go to Florida and keep doing my recovery, they'll say I get special treatment. You lose either way. But I swear I'll prove I can be who I was on the field again.”

Tessa's jaw sets.

“Okay,” she says. “Screw those damn assholes. You'll come back even stronger than before.”

I laugh and cry at the same time. That “screw them” feels too familiar. Too intimate. Like when we were young and thought the world ran on pride and kisses.

“Thanks for coming to support me,” I whisper, and I rest my head on her shoulder.

“I wasn't there when you needed me seven years ago,” Tessa says. “Now I know that what I told myself was the right decision was really just fear.”

“Tessa...”

“Let me finish.” Her breath warms my hair. “I chose Munich. My career. Running. I was scared of you. Of what you made me feel. Of not being enough. I'm not asking you to erase the last seven years, but I'm not running this time. When this custody mess ends, I'm going to ask you if there'sstill anything between us.” She kisses my forehead and wipes a tear off my cheek with her thumb.

The door opens, and Tessa pulls back at once.

Yvonne walks in with her phone in hand, her expression almost satisfied.

“Good news. Your coach confirms Dr. Clark's record is spotless and very strong. We'll present it later. Harrington raised doubt, but he has no proof.”

The mediation ends without a resolution. Patricia Roberts schedules another session for three and a half weeks from now, right after we get back from preseason in Florida.

Nate leaves first, without looking at me. Harrington follows with that shark smile I want to punch off his face and maybe take a tooth or two with it, even if I have to pay for them later.

“Zoe... be careful in Florida,” my lawyer warns me. “Nate will look for anything he can use against you.”

**

That night, after I put Wesley down, I sit on the couch with my laptop open and a packing list on the screen.

Two and a half weeks in Florida. Full preseason. Sun, double sessions, a match or two, and all my teammates living in the same hotel with the coaching staff. With Tessa.

And Wesley.

Because I'm not leaving him. I can't. I can't go that long without seeing him, without smelling his hair after hisbath, without hearing that giggle when I blow raspberries on his belly...

No. Impossible.

My phone buzzes.

Tessa: How are you?

I stare at the message for thirty seconds.

Me: Packing. Wesley is coming to Florida no matter what.

The three dots appear. Disappear. Appear again.

Tessa: Are you sure? it's going to be complicated.

Me: I know. But I can't be without him that long.

A long pause.

Tessa: Then we make it work. We'll all help with him.