All Chapters of Deflected: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

I underestimated the vastness of the housing market in Houston. By a lot.Who knew when you have a decent-sized budget and a good realtor, you could spend hours upon hours searching for the perfect home?I didn't. And now I regret it.When Rowen's mom, Denise, invited me to come along with them, I reluctantly said yes. I am almost out of my first trimester, but the exhaustion and sickness is still taking a huge toll on me. I really wanted to nap instead, but they're my husband's parents. My child's grandparents. I want us to be close since they're going to be around so much more in the next few months.Plus, a small part of me still feels like I'm trying to impress them. It's overcompensation for the embarrassment I still feel about our first meeting. I know I shouldn't feel that way. They've made it very clear they don't look at me differently or anything. But damn if that insecurity doesn't rear its ugly head if I think too hard. Hormones don't help.So I agreed to go house hunting,

Losing in San Jose is not something any of us anticipated. They're a strong team, but we're stronger. Or at least we thought we were. That is, until Santos didn't show up for our trip.No one knows where he went. Last I saw him, we were talking in the locker room about nausea and hormones. Then suddenly, he disappeared.When someone finally asked Coach about it during warm-ups, all he said was, "He's not here but you are. Do your job and focus on the task at hand!"We all shut up and went through the motions of warm-ups. And then it all fell apart.Logan has proven himself to be a great back-up goalie, but he wasn't prepared to jump in at the last second because of an injury to our second stringer. That was his own damn fault. It's not like we don't train enough. But the last minute change got into Logan's head, and he couldn't keep the ball out of the net.That's how the ricochet effect began. I couldn't seem to block for shit. Daniel kept kicking too wide. The stress of the change, a

Practice was a bitch today. We're finally starting to gel again after Santos's sudden departure, but it hasn't been without growing pains. Our record has dropped into the shitter, but hopefully, we can pull it together for play-offs. The season is long enough, so we have time. Kicking the door shut behind me, I drop my bags on the floor and head straight for the kitchen. Tiffany drank most of the broth to my mom's chicken noodle soup - it's the only thing she can really hold down, and even then, not always - but that leaves all the hearty stuff for me to eat. With as hungry as I am after practice, none of it is going to waste.Popping the Tupperware of leftovers in the microwave, I thank my lucky stars my parents are moving here. Yeah, we have separate lives, but if I know one thing, they'll implement family dinners once a week. That means home cooking for this growing boy.Grabbing my bag, I head into the bedroom while I wait for my food to heat up. I need to get some laundry done so

Peeling my eyes open, I don't move, instead assessing my body. It's become my normal. I'm pleased to discover warmth, I'm comfortable, I'm nauseous, but what else is new? I'll take a little stomach churning over actually having to run for a bucket anyway.Overall, though, this isn't terrible. I'm not sure what the doctor put in that IV, but it made a huge difference in how I feel. I was hooked to it for a few hours before they deemed me well enough to go home with the understanding that I take today off at minimum. Tomorrow is still to be determined.The bed dips next to me, and I roll over to see my husband situating himself against the headboard, long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles."What are you doing here?" I question. Usually, I wake to an empty house because of our opposite schedules. Needless to say I'm surprised to see him casually lounging around. "Shouldn't you be at practice?""I took the day off." He grabs the remote off the nightstand and flips the TV on.Tuc

Closing the door behind me, I try not to intrude on the quiet. It's been hell getting back to Houston.First, our flight was delayed due to weather, then our team bus broke down, so we ended up getting home way later than anticipated. After five days away, everyone was antsy to get home. Maybe antsy is the wrong word. Cranky is more like it. Glancing at the clock to see it's three-sixteen on the dot, I tiptoe my way to the bedroom. I need a quick shower to wash the travel off me, then I'll be wrapping my body around my wife. Man, I've missed her.When I cross the threshold into the room, though, I stop. This is not what I expected to find happening in my bedroom, with my wife of all people. My almost six-month-pregnant wife."Um, what are you doing?" I'm thoroughly confused as to why she's jumping up and down in the middle of the night, one hand holding her belly in place."What does it look like I'm doing?" she says through her exertion as one arm raises and lowers."It looks like yo