Don't Let Me Go (Don't Let Me Go #2)

by Kelsie Rae

Part of me wants to say yes. To beg him to let me come back and finish out the season. If he’d shown up thirty minutes earlier, I would have. But that was before my conversation with Bridger. Before I met a little boy who’d never had a Take 5. The boy with the broken family and a penchant for soccer. Before I felt needed. Before I felt like I could truly make a difference. An impact reaching a hell of a lot further than athlete recovery and injury prevention. Don’t get me wrong. Those things are still important, but in all my studying, all my experience from shadowing Russ, I never felt needed in the way I did with Bridger. Never felt important in the way I did with Bridger. The realization is staggering. Trudy’s van pulls out of the parking lot, and I watch the brake lights disappear down the street. “Blake?” Russ prods. Holy shit, am I really doing this? Am I really giving up my lifelong dream despite the second opportunity to have it? Am I letting it go willingly instead of having it ripped from my fingertips? Am I crazy? Am I going to regret this? An image of Bridger rises to the surface, followed by a dozen more faces belonging to the other kids I met today. They were all so sweet. So desperate for affection. My heart cracks, and I rub at the ache, indecision threatening to tear me in two. “You’re going to say no, aren’t you?” Russ murmurs. I can feel his stare on the side of my face. I blink and tear my attention from the empty parking lot. “I appreciate the offer, R...