Stay With You (Anthony Rizzo)

63

Anthony

Eventually Maliyah's family all comes into town and they stay in a hotel not too far from where her and I were staying. My family was going to come in a few days for all the big games so I'm sure it would be a lot of fun, but until then we have to work on getting the Collins heard into the Big Apple. Once they get settled in they agree to come over and help me make signs and get shirts made for when the real tournament is going to start. The quarterfinals was today and I was more than excited to be a fan instead of the athlete.

So we spread out in our hotel and start to make some posters. Everyone got their own and could put whatever they wanted on it, so I'm sure Jonathan's poster will be very interesting.

"Hey Tony, how have you been" Maliyah's favorite brother Adam asks. He places his poster on the floor next to mine and I smile to myself. I knew that if he liked me then I would be just fine. Maliyah trusted everything she ever had with Adam and I knew that I could too.

"I've been good. It's weird to be at a sporting event and it not be because I'm competing in it, but I'm enjoying the change of pace. I like sitting up in the stands trying to understand volleyball more" I admit.

"Yeah, it can be tricky sometimes. Especially with Mal who is always all over the court doing something on every single play" he admits.

"She's something else. And how have you been" I wonder.

"I've been good. Still up in Wisconsin coaching hockey, loving my life" he admits.

"That's awesome, I'm really happy for you" I smile.

"Thank you. I hope you know you're my favorite future in law" he claims and I laugh.

"Thanks. You're my favorite brother" I admit.

"You know, for a while I was really scared that Maliyah was going to get stuck with Ryan" he claims.

"Was he that bad" I question.

"Not at all" he admits. "He never hurt her, never said the wrong thing or thought to lay a hand on her" he explains.

"Then what was wrong with him" I wonder.

"He was just not good enough for her. And that sounds bad, but it was true. Maliyah is one of the greatest people I've ever known, of not the greatest. And I'm not saying that she had to have a guy that lives up to my standards of a guy that deserves to be with her. But he, he wasn't even close to what she needed. They were together because they felt like they should have been, not because they felt like they belonged together. He looked at her the same way he looked at every other girl. He talked about her like she was his sister and not his soul mate. They were basically like friends and not partners.

Then she got sick and he decided she wasn't worth the pain. He didn't want to be with her because going through that would be too hard on him. So he left her in the hospital alone to figure out what to do instead of supporting her. Never checked up on her or told her that he loved her. She was heart broken, she thought that he loved her. But he obviously didn't" he explains.

"Sometimes I feel like that's worse than him hitting her" I insist.

"I think it is. I never liked that man, now I can't even look at him without wanting to punch him in his perfect face" he admits and I laugh.

"You know, she's seen him a few times since he left. At least once at the hospital and once when we went back to northwestern" I explain.

"Did you punch him in the face" he asks.

"I wish, but no. Maliyah handled it in the best way she could have" I explain.

"She told him get lost" he says.

"Both times" I nod.

"That's my girl" he smiles.

We finish up with the posters and I was pretty happy with mine. I had "this Beauty is a beast" with her number on it and a poorly drawn USA flag on it. After we all finish up and the posters dry we meet Maliyah over at the arena. We find our seats right along the court and she comes over to visit us. She gives everyone a hug and we take one huge picture. Trying to fit everyone was hard but we did it. Timothy, Kevin and Peter had extra fun with the paint and painted their body blue and put "USA" in red on their chest. Now we just got to get them to stay in the right spot. Then Jonathan had her number painted on him and I have to admit, it was pretty amazing. Her family loved her so much and I was excited to be a part of the hype.

After a while the girls all start to stretch out and warm up. I know Maliyah made the playlist because there was a lot of really good songs on there and I know she said she always made the play list back in college. So I bob my head to the music and watch her warm up.

"Can I ask you something" I wonder as Adam turns to me. He insisted sitting next to me so he can help me understand volleyball better which I was thankful for.

"What's up" he wonders.

"Do you really think I'm worthy of being with Mal" I question.

"Yeah, I do. I think you guys are great together. You guys understand each other on a whole another level. And I'm not just saying that because you both had cancer, but because you both see the world the same way. And you both are very much capable of changing the world as you've guys were able to make a impact in each other's life. I think you guys are perfect for each other" he claims and I smile big.

"That makes two of us" I admit.

The game gets started and like always I stand in awe of what Maliyah can do. I never was into volleyball growing up, but I should have been. I think this sport is extreme difficult and exciting and unpredictable. But I kinda wish it never ended. She played with a huge smile on her face the whole time and each time she touched the ball I expected something amazing to happen, and it usually did. She worked so hard for this moment and I'm more than happy to see that she was finally here. And she was dominating everything thrown her way, that was made obvious in the devotion of her family I was in.