I looked over at Violet sleeping. “She’s okay.”
“Good.” He sighed. “I know she probably doesn’t want to deal with reporting and all that now, but if there’s any way we can help her as an organization, please tell me.”
“Thanks. I’ll let her know. She’ll appreciate that.”
“Bring her around sometime.”
I startled. “Okay, you’re sure this is Coach? You sound like my mom.”
“Well, anyway,” he said. “You know where our next game is. I understand if you want to sit this one out.”
We were supposed to leave later that afternoon for Dallas. This happened sometimes. Playing a team back to back, first home, then away.
“No. I think I need to be there. If I back down, that’s kind of an admission of guilt, isn’t it?”
Coach grumbled. “Maybe. Maybe not. It could be considered a distraction. You did take a check to the back of the head if you need an out.”
I rubbed at the sore spot. “It’s just a bruise. They didn’t get me that good. But I don’t want to do anything to hurt the team,” I said. “If it’s better for me to hang back, I will.”
Coach sucked his teeth on the other end. “No. Fuck ‘em. If you feel good enough to play and you want to, let’s play you.”
The proud asshole in me wanted to be able to stand my ground on this. I wasn’t afraid of Dallas, or Pete, or any of their fans’ wrath. “Alright. I’ll let you know if I change my mind. Otherwise, see you this afternoon.”
“See you then.”
I stared at my phone in my hand after I hung up. How was I supposed to feel? Relieved? Happy? Guilty? It was really a conflicted mix of all three.
But for the moment, I had Violet next to me in her bedclothes, and all I wanted was to savor the time with her. I tossed my phone aside and snuggled up to my love who was finally mine.
There were consequences.
Things were quiet on the flight over.
“Have you read anything online?” Sorrento asked.
I winced. “I’m afraid to.”
“I would follow that instinct,” Leroy said. He looked worried. If even he looked worried, it must have been bad.
“It’s bad,” Owen said from across the aisle, like he could read my mind.
There was no chorus of “shut up, rookie.”
I felt betrayed. “What gives? You don’t tell him to shut up when Ineedhim to shut up?”
“He’s not lying,” Garner said. “It’s bad.”
I looked to Sorrento for some kind of support. He put on an overenthusiastic smile and his voice was high-pitched. “It’s not great. But it’s only been a day or so. It still has time to fizzle. Talk is just talk.”
“Does the talk involve Violet?”
Sorrento opened his mouth to put it lightly, but Leroy, as per typical form, did not sugarcoat it. “They think Violet’s cheating on you with Doyle.”
I didn’t breathe for so long that my lungs hurt.
“She’s not, obviously,” Sorrento said, but it was just a suggestion that he wanted me to confirm or deny.
I shook my head. “No, she’s not. But . . . it’s so much worse than that.”
