NICO
Okay, we can go back to ignoring each other now.
TOMMY
The broadcast said you went back to the hotel, so I know you’re not busy. So stop jerking off and answer the FUCKING PHONE.
Cooper hashed out quick responses to each of them.
COOPER (to Tommy)
Go fuck yourself.
COOPER (to Mom)
Service is bad in the mountains.
COOPER (to Stassi)
I’m sorry.
COOPER (to Nico)
New phone. Who is this?
The pounding on the hotel door was a welcome distraction. Cooper tossed the phone onto the bed, pulled a shirt over his head, and answered the door.
It was Matteo Reyes, dressed in athletic gear. He was onthe final stretch of a stint on injured reserve after suffering a shoulder dislocation in training camp.
“Not who I was expecting,” Cooper said, gesturing for his teammate to come in. “I thought you were Coach White coming to rip me a new asshole.”
Matteo closed the door behind him. “You were always his favorite, so I think you’re relatively safe from having your asshole ripped open. It doesn’t mean he’s happy with you, but he’s also trying to win a game that you threw us to the wolves for.”
Honestly, Cooper would have preferred if White screamed at him the way he screamed at everyone else. Cooper was born in a golden cage, was always the coach’s favorite, and his privilege in life was well documented. Being so goddamn special contributed to his loneliness. When you’re told, from a very young age, that you’re the most special person in the world, it puts you on a pedestal. It’s not a real pedestal, but a figurative one. Standing so high above everyone else means you can never look them in the eyes. Can never get to know them, not really.
“What the fuck are you doing, Coop?” Matteo questioned, a tenor of concern in his voice mixed with something else. Anger? Disappointment?
It was all the same.
“The guy’s an asshole,” Cooper pointed out, as if that was an excuse.
“Yeah, maybe he is. But you have a lot more to lose than some random guy on the streets lobbing a fist at someone.” Matteo shook his head. “The game didn’t even begin and now we have fucking Anderson out there throwing interceptions. We needed this win and you threw it away.”
“And you thought you’d come in here and set me straight? “
“As your friend, I was hoping you’d listen to me. As your teammate, I expect you to.”
Cooper nodded, bit his lip, and knew better than to throw up a wall. But he did it anyway. “We’re not friends, Reyes.”
“This is what I’m talking about,” Matteo scowled. “Whatever you’re angry about? Go have a few drinks and get it out of your system like everyone else.”
“I got it out of my system,” Cooper said through a thinly-veiled smile. He opened the door and gestured that it was time for his teammate to leave. “Thanks for your concern, though. Always appreciated.”
But Matteo remained fixed, standing beside the bed with no intention of moving.
Cooper waved his hand towards the open door again.
Matteo exhaled, closed his eyes, and his throat tensed.
