Page 217 of The Surprise Play

“They said we could see you before you go in for surgery.” His mom beams at him, having obviously put on herpositiveface this morning.

But that smile can’t hide the strain in her eyes. The makeup she’s wearing is no doubt covering dark circles. She probably got zero sleep last night, and I get it. She’s worried about her son.

His dad doesn’t look much better. I steal a quick glance at him, wondering how long it will take him to notice me this time.

I’ll no doubt be asked to leave in five, four, three, two?—

“Oh, shithead, what have you done to yourself?” The young woman takes one look at him and shakes her head, while her mother gasps and promptly tells her off for talking to her brother that way.

This must be Wily’s sister, Blake.

I glance at my boyfriend, watching him share a secret smile with his sibling.

Squeezing his fingers under the blanket, I try to catch his eye. I want to share a smile with him, too, but he’sstaring at his father, and it’s only then that I realize Mr. Wilson is glaring at me.

I turn to face him, my insides jittering when he crosses his arms and narrows his eyes. “Why are you back here? Wily shouldn’t be thinking about school right now. He’s got enough on his plate!”

“Oh, I’m…”

“She’s not here for school,” Wily clarifies.

“Oh yeah?” His dad frowns. “Why is she here, then?”

“Because I’m his girlfriend.” The words are out of me before I could even think, and I nearly gape in surprise at my boldness but manage to bite my lips together instead, stealing a quick glance at Wily.

Whoops. He probably didn’t want me to just blurt it like that, but… Oh hey, he’s smiling at me. He looks… grateful.

I grin back at him, lost in our silent conversation, until his mother tears us apart.

“His girlfriend? I don’t think so. Wily doesn’t have time for women. He’s focused on his football career right now. He needs to pour all of his energy into getting better, so you, little miss, can just be on your way. This is a family affair.”

Blake winces at her mother’s rudeness, pulling a face behind the woman’s back, which makes my lips twitch.

Her dad snaps his head to look at her and she puts on a sweet smile for him, her entire demeanor changing to that of a perfect angel.

Reaching for her hand, Mr. Wilson pulls his daughter close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders before looking at me.

Shit. Is he about to back up his wife?

“It’s time to go.” He tips his head toward the door, and my legs are honestly itching to just get up and flee, but Wily’s fingers tighten around mine, and I force myself to stay.

“She’s not going anywhere,” Wily softly informs them. “I need her here.”

“Son—” his dad starts, but he doesn’t get a chance to finish.

“She’s my girlfriend, okay? And she’s been that for a while now.”

“No, she hasn’t.” Mrs. Wilson laughs. “You haven’t said anything about having a girlfriend.”

Wily shuts his eyes with a sigh. “Because I knew if I did, you’d tell me to end it and get all stressed that she’d be distracting me when I was on the field.”

“Well, girlsarea distraction,” Mr. Wilson says. “College is not the time to be getting into a serious relationship. You need to focus right now, son.” He points to Wily’s leg. “Look what happens when you don’t stay the course.”

“His injury has nothing to do with our relationship,” I pipe up, once again shocking myself by being so bold.

I glance at Wily, and he nods. “It’s true. She wasn’t even at my practice. In fact, she hasn’t come to any of my practices or my games. Satch is not distracting me.”

“Satch?” Mrs. Wilson’s nose wrinkles. “Your name is Satch? I thought you said it was Elizabeth.”