At first, my mouth falls open in shock.
My fucking heart can’t take it.
I have lost my best friend…
And more.
He’ll never trust me again.
He’ll never accept me with his sister.
My throat burns like fire, keeping the emotion under wrap.
“Get out,” he murmurs, an order, but my presence is obviously exhausting him.
I can’t leave quickly enough. There’s no talking to him when he’s like this.
Charlotte and Giana stand in the doorway.
Great. We had an audience.
Keeping my head down before they see my bloodshot eyes, I move past them. If they ask me something, I’m going to lose it.
“Babe.” Charlotte lays a hand on my arm.
I can’t look at her. “I’m outta here.” It’s all I can manage without the tears choking my damn throat.
“Give him time,” she whispers. “He only just got out of surgery.”
“I tried,” I whisper. I hold my breath but shake my head as though it’s pointless. “I’ll see you later.” I hold in the sniff until I’m past the nurses’ station heading toward the exit.
How do we come back from here?
It’sthe day after arriving home from being on the road for the last four games. Before getting out of the car, I read Charlotte’s last text sent three days ago.
Hey, BJ, let’s keep it quiet for another week. I’m with Byron most days and want to be there to support him while he is going through this. We’ll catch up next week and chat.
I know it’s for the best.
Dressed in a business suit, I walk into a private meeting room in Jobe’s office, where he and Franklin await.
No one knows about the trade—especially not Charlotte.
I loosen my tie not only because I fucking hate suits—it feels like it’s choking me—but because of the lump in the back of my throat I’ve been carrying around for weeks. The receptionist alerts the men to my arrival, and then Jobe steps out of the doorway down the hall.
He extends his arm toward the room. “BJ. Please come in.”
I barely lift my eyes from the marble floor, only glancing up to shake the brothers’ hands.
“Take a seat, BJ.” My heart is in my mouth from just being around these two, the power emanating from them being in the same room as me. Wiping my hands on my trousers, I sit down.Christ, I’m sweating bullets. How am I going to think straight?
“Are you sure about this?” Franklin begins. “We’re at a crossroad here, and it’s not too late to change your mind.”
I shake my head. “It needs to happen.” I slowly raise my eyes and look at Jobe, the least intimidating one out of the two. “I have to go away for a while until it all blows over.”
“Things don’t blow over. You address it, own it, and everyone moves on,” Franklin states, but he has no clue how bad the situation is.
Charlotte is torn in two. I need to make it easier for her because she cannot choose me. I won’t be responsible fortearing this family apart, and we cannot simply put our love on hold. Eventually, she’ll realize it’s not a choice, and then the heartbreak will follow. I don’t want to stick around for that.
