In Chap­ter Fifty-Five of “If These Wings Could Fly,” the pro­tag­o­nist grap­ples with the weight of a promise made to Liam to attend his game, feel­ing regret and anx­i­ety through­out the event. The atmos­phere is charged, filled with noise from excit­ed fans and the ener­getic per­for­mance of cheer­lead­ers. As the fam­i­ly sits togeth­er in the bleach­ers, famil­iar faces from their town sur­round them, high­light­ing the com­mu­ni­ty’s pres­ence. How­ev­er, the pro­tag­o­nist notices an under­ly­ing ten­sion among their par­ents, par­tic­u­lar­ly stem­ming from her father’s increas­ing­ly volatile demeanor.

As the game pro­gress­es, the father’s irri­ta­tion becomes appar­ent, cul­mi­nat­ing in a con­fronta­tion with the moth­er. The fam­i­ly’s pub­lic appear­ances mask deep­er issues, and the father’s behav­ior esca­lates, draw­ing atten­tion from those around them. The moth­er attempts to defuse the sit­u­a­tion with a smile, con­ceal­ing the tur­moil beneath the sur­face. Even as the crowd cheers for the Wolves, the pro­tag­o­nist becomes acute­ly aware of the dam­age under­ly­ing their fam­i­ly dynam­ics.

In a tense exchange, the father forces the moth­er to leave, exhibit­ing a grip that sig­nals a trou­bling esca­la­tion in their rela­tion­ship. The pro­tag­o­nist yearns to inter­vene but feels par­a­lyzed, caught between loy­al­ty to her fam­i­ly and the instinct to pro­tect her moth­er. Amidst the back­drop of a foot­ball game, a sense of dread lingers as the pro­tag­o­nist wit­ness­es the emo­tion­al strain and the poten­tial for vio­lence, yearn­ing for a sense of nor­mal­cy that remains elu­sive.

As chaos unfolds, the pro­tag­o­nist decides to fol­low her moth­er and attempts to shield her younger sib­lings from the fray. In a moment of dis­trac­tion, she receives sup­port from friends at the game, yet it pro­vides lit­tle solace against the real­i­ty of their fam­i­ly tur­moil. The chap­ter con­cludes with a poignant sense of urgency as the pro­tag­o­nist races to catch up with her moth­er, under­scor­ing a theme of long­ing for sta­bil­i­ty in an unsta­ble envi­ron­ment.