Jack sat at the kitchen table staring at the phone. Amanda was the main thing on his mind. They hadn't talked over the phone in weeks and her abrupt departure from him at the tournament tormented him all week. Coach Roderick's up tempo practices all week didn't affect the strong emotions he was feeling for Amanda. Know it was the night before the tournament and he tussled with the decision to call her or leave things alone. Ox had told him to leave it alone, that he had done enough damage. Jack felt like he could make things right again, but he really just wanted to tell Amanda he was sorry.
He picked up the phone and dialed Amanda's number. He looked in the living room where Ox was falling asleep to a cop show on television. The phone continued to ring and eventually went to voicemail. Jack heard Amanda's voice.
"Hi this is Amanda. Leave me a message."
Jack waited for the beep. He thought about hanging up, but knew he needed to make an attempt to make things right.
"Before you delete this I just want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a jerk about your dad. I hope you can forgive me. Bye."
Jack felt relieved as the words finally came out. He didn't know if it was cowardly to apologize over a voice message, but he didn't know how else to do it. Standing up from the kitchen table he stretched and started to walk into the living room when the phone rang. Spinning around he grabbed the phone.
"Hello."
"It's me."
"Amanda?"
"Yeah"
"Did you get my message?"
"Yeah, I got it."
"I should've called sooner...are you doing alright?"
"I'm fine."
"I really meant what I said...I was a complete jerk and I'm sure not calling all week hasn't helped."
"I don't know if I was ready for you to call any sooner."
"What do you mean? Are you sure you're alright, you sound different?"
"Look Jack. I can't really talk or see you anymore."
"Is that what you want?"
"I don't know what I want right now, but I don't think it's a good idea for us to be involved."
"I've felt bad all week about what happened."
"You shouldn't feel bad. You were honest with everything you said, it just hurts when you hear the truth coming from someone else."
"You're not mad at me?"
"I got over that pretty quick, but I haven't got over how right you were."
"What are you talking about?"
"You were right about my dad. He's only dating your mom to get close to you. I overheard him tell one of the other coaches he was working on a plan to get you on his team next year and it involved your mom."
"Really?"
"I think he's going to ask your mom to marry him."
"What! That's just stupid! Why would he do that?"
"If he's married to your mom he'll have a lot more say about your life."
"Does he know how I feel about you?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"If he marries my mom you'll kinda be my sister."
"That's why we can't see each other anymore."
"I'm sorry Amanda, but all of this is crazy. Are you coming to the games tomorrow?"
"I've got a swim meet tomorrow."
"What time does it get over?"
"Not sure, but they usually last all day."
"So you're gonna miss the games."
"Yeah. Look Jack, just go do your best. This might be the last time you'll be able to play without my dad hovering over you. Promise me you'll win."
"I'll do my best for you. Thanks for talking. It really helped, more than you know."
"Not a problem. See ya around?"
"Yeah...see ya around."
Jack didn't hang up the phone until he heard the line go dead. Feelings of relief and anxiety hit him all at once. He was thrilled that Amanda had forgiven him and couldn't believe the lengths that Greg would go to win in basketball. Focusing on Amanda he pushed the other emotions aside and flopped on the couch to tune out the reality vacillating around him.