“It’s the right thing to do,” I tell him. “This is Liza’s home, too, plus she manages the house. It’d be a total dick move if I made her find a new place to live.”
“What the hell happened last night?” Ollie asks.
“Dude, where were you?” Mickey asks him. “I think the guys from the LAX house a few streets over heard the meltdown. It was rough. Blue and Liza broke up because?—”
“You broke up?” Ollie asks, directing the question, and his disappointment, at me. “You two literally just got together. I haven’t even framed the pictures from your first date yet. You need to fix this.”
“There’s no fixing it,” I tell him.
“Well, you better find a way,” Mickey interjects. “You can’t move out. You’re about to be a grandpa. Yeah, Doug and I are here for Hazel, but you can’t just leave her in her hour of need.”
Oh, shit. He’s right. Hazel’s due to have her kittens next week. “I’ll visit,” I assure him. “And I’ll be back for the birth. I’ll just crash at Bridgette’s every night and in between classes so Liza doesn’t have to see me. Well, except for practices and games, but I can’t really help that.”
“You’re giving up?” Ollie asks, his eyes going wide. “I wasn’t around for the blow up last night since Fallon and I were celebrating our four month anniversary. It’s a few days early, but we’ve got a game Friday night. Anyway, I don’t know what your dumb ass did, but you need to adjust your attitude, son, and get your girl back.”
“I wish it was that easy,” I say, running my hands through my hair. “But Liza made it clear last night that we’re over. She wants nothing to do with me, and I have to respect that.”
Dutton stands and stretches before moving over to the bar area and cleaning up my mess. "We've been friends for almost twenty years, Grover,” he says, using my given name for the first time since we were in preschool. “I’ve seen you make some questionable decisions. I watched you wrestle a goat once. I know you’re not a genius, but I never thought you were a quitter.”
“That goat was wily,” I say, recalling the time I tried to take on the mascot from a rival school. “And if you remember, I lost that battle. I’m going to lose this one, too. And I’m not quitting. I’m acknowledging defeat. There’s a difference.”
“Is there?” Ollie asks. “Because that just sounds like something a quitter would say.”
I look over to Leo, who’s been quiet this whole time. That’s not out of the ordinary for him, though. He’s probably wondering how to make his escape without any of us realizing it. He’s a damn good hockey player, but social situations are not his favorite.
I unscrew the cap of the sports drink he brought me—and he chose the blue flavor because he knows what’s up—and take a few sips. I don’t want to overdo it, but I’m thirsty as fuck.
Instead of leaving the room or telling us he’s got class, Leo turns toward me and studies me for a second. “Look, I’m no relationship expert,” he begins, “but have you thought about talking to Liza before you move all your shit out of the house? And I’m all for respecting boundaries, so if she tells you to fuck off, then that’s definitely what you should do, but don’t you think you should try apologizing first? I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop last night, but you two were loud, so I couldn’t help overhearing your argument. You gave a lot of excuses and reasons. You triedtelling your side of the story, but you never actually apologized. I’m just thinking that might be a good place to start.”
Ollie lets out a whoop as he fist bumps the air. “Baby Santos with the truth bomb! That’s how it’s done!”
“I don’t really think it’s a truth bomb,” Leo says. “It’s just common sense.”
“Common sense is something Blue’s in short supply of these days,” Dutton says, taking the seat beside me and handing me a protein bar. Who knows where it came from, but I’m suddenly starving, so I take a bite, and then another. I’m not sure why, but this protein bar is the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten, so I practically gobble it whole.
“All right,” Ollie says, clapping his hands together. “So, what’s the plan? You need to apologize first, obviously, but then how are you going to win Liza back? We need to think of something. I don’t think anybody’s hired a skywriter, have they? That could work.”
While he scrolls through his phone and looks for bright ideas, I finish off my blue juice.
And immediately regret it.
I lunge for the bathroom and make it just in time for the second round of spilling my guts.
I don’t think there’s a chance in hell that Liza will take me back, but even if there is, strategy sessions will have to wait until I’m done doing the technicolor yawn.
Damn those fairies.
30
Blue
Nearly two days later, I make my way into the locker room. Practice has let out for the night, so it’s virtually empty in here, but now that I’ve rejoined the land of the living, this feels like the right place to be. Hockey will only be my solace for another year or so, but since everything else in my life is upside down right now, I’m taking refuge where I can.
I’m not sure if I ate something bad at The Gatehouse the other night, or if thirty-six hours of tummy issues was just the universe’s way of telling me I’m an asshole, but I finally feel decent, so I thought I’d spend a little time on the treadmill. Since I’ve missed two practices this week, I’ll no doubt be benched tomorrow night and possibly Saturday. That fucking sucks, and I only have myself to blame. But I don’t have time for a pity party because I still need to get myself back into a regular routine so I’m ready for next week’s games, and then Regionals.
“He’s alive!”
I turn to see Coach Van standing in the doorway of his office. “The guys said you were in rough shape. You feeling any better? The twins had a nasty stomach bug last week, so I know there’s a bunch of shit going around.”
