“I don’t know.” I sigh, wiping my hands together. “We had a brief moment at the medical center, but—” I say, chewing on the inside of my cheek. “We’re still stuck in the same spot. I want more and she doesn’t want to take the risk.”
“Have you told her about the ring?”
I shake my head, shutting down the conversation. When I flew Archie back home a few days ago and left him with his sitter, I grabbed the ring and brought it with me. Maybe deep down I’m still holding out for hope.
“I still think you should,” he says, eyeing me wearily.
“I don’t see the point now.” I turn on the TV and find a sitcom for us to watch together, trying not to think about Maggie and how utterly heartbroken she looked earlier.
CHAPTER 32
Maggie
May - French Open
Breathe in.Breathe out. My eyes are closed and my head is resting against the locker. I’m ready to win this. Ihaveto win this. Even though my relationship with my dad has improved exponentially in the last three weeks as he’s filled in more of the gaps from the past and told me about his therapy sessions and the woman he’s met this past year, I still feel like I have something to prove. I need to win this now that he’ll be in the stands, not just for him, but for myself.
Noise from across the room brings me out of my headspace. Elena is rapidly tapping her foot against the locker room floor and refreshing her phone screen every five seconds.
“Are you okay?” I ask, my voice reverberating in the empty room.
Her steely gray eyes pin me to the bench and I raise my eyebrows at her. She seems distracted. “Since when do we chit-chat before a match?” she asks, nothing friendly about her demeanor.
I can’t figure her out sometimes. She goes from hot to cold so quickly, it gives me whiplash. “You seem stressed, that’s all,” I muse.
“Are you trying to mess with my head?” she asks, standing up to pace.
“What? No. I want to make sure you’re okay,” I say, standing up and stretching.
“Why?” she asks bluntly.
I laugh. “Because we’re friends,” I say, smiling at her. “Whether you like it or not.”
“We’re not friends,” she growls. “You’re my competition.”
“Okay, we’refriendly,” I counter. “And sure, right now we’re competing, but that won’t always be the case.”
“I’m not interested in making friends,” she says. “They all end up ghosting me anyway,” she adds, throwing her phone in her locker and grabbing her equipment. She freezes for a moment, surprised that she let that small vulnerability slip out.
I grab my bag and take a step towards her. “Is this about Jacob?”
Her shoulders drop and she gives me a worried look. “What if he doesn’t come back from this?”
I ponder that question for a long moment. “Jacob is going through a rough time right now and I wouldn’t take anything he says or doesn’t say personally. If he doesn’t come back from this, then he’ll need his supportive friends by his side.” I give her a meaningful look and wonder whether the two of them are just friends or if there’s more between them.
From the way his injury is affecting her, my guess is there are some lingering feelings there that neither of them have explored.
“I’m not exactly…nurturing,” she mumbles as we both walk out of the locker room and make our way to the court.
“You don’t have to be. Sometimes you just need to show up and be by their side,” I say.
“Is that what you’re doing for Rowan? Showing up for him?” she asks, her cold gaze assessing me and cutting deeper than she knows.
I swallow and plaster on a smile. “I have to do something braver than that, I just need to kick your ass first.” With a wink and a smack on her ass with my racquet, I make my way to my side of the court.
Maybe I shouldn’t have encouragedElena in the locker room, because she’s been on fire, wearing me out and winning the first set. I take a bite of banana and gulp down some water as I look around the arena. I spot my dad right away. He’s wearing white, just like me, and he’s holding up a sign with my face on it. When he sees me watching, he lifts it up and waves it around.
A blush warms my cheeks and I roll my eyes, even though deep down I’m filled with relief. He’s embarrassing me in front of the whole world, but for the first time in my life, he’s trying, and I can’t fault him for that. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.
