Tristan lets out a long sigh and lets his shoulders slump forward in defeat.
“This is so frustrating,” Tristan whispers, rubbing his hand down his face before bringing it up to scratch at his hair. “And I’m just supposed to sit back and accept this? Accept something I didn’t do?”
“I don’t really see you having much of a choice,” Dr Hines says, his dark eyes shooting daggers at Tristan.
“Whatever. I’m not letting this go. If I have to call in my lawyer about this, I fucking will.”
He heads back towards the door and yanks it open.
“I’ll see you at practice in the morning,” he says to Coach Rice over his shoulders, and then slams the door so hard he hears one of the picture frames on the wall fall and shatter.
When Tristan gets home about an hour later, he finds Tessa splayed out on his couch in the middle of a nap, and something in his soul settles down. Seeing her in his home like this, looking so perfect and comfortable, distracts him from the cruel reality at hand.
He walks over to her and gently takes off her heels that are still on her feet and moves her legs over a bit so he can sit next to her. He places a hand on her head and begins to lovingly run his fingers through her hair; the words I love you repeating in his head.
Tessa begins to stir and murmur in her sleep until her eyes flutter open and land on Tristan’s face. She can see immediately by the look in his eyes that something is wrong, and she sits up quickly.
“What is it?” she asks, suddenly concerned. “Was it bad?”
He nods his head and takes a deep breath.
“They said I tested positive for PED.”
“Huh?” she says in confusion, trying to rub the sleep away from her eyes.
“They randomly test us, usually monthly, for performance enhancing drugs like Testosterone or something else. They said mine from last month came back positive.”
Her eyes go wide and she stares at him in shock.
“It’s impossible,” he says, shaking his head and looking at the floor. “Tessa, there’s no fucking way. I’ve never touched any of that shit in my life. I don’t have any of the signs of using Test, I’ve never popped before, it just doesn’t make any sense!”
“Is it possible that it’s a false positive?”
“They said no, but I have to look into it for myself. I have to call my lawyer. They said I can’t play for four fucking games, Tess. I’ll miss the wildcard round. Weneedthat to advance to the playoffs.”
He flops back against the couch and sighs, letting his glossy eyes stare at the ceiling. Tessa immediately moves towards him and climbs into his lap, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and burying her face into his neck.
“I don’t know what to say,” she whispers against his neck. “You must feel so helpless.”
“I do,” he says, wrapping her up in his arms and pulling her even closer. “Like, what am I supposed to do if it's me against a test, you know? I can tell them it’s not true all I want, but there’s no way to prove it.”
Tessa pulls away from him and looks into his teary eyes, running her soft hand down the side of his face and giving his lips a gentle kiss.
“You’re the best man I’ve ever met,” she whispers against his lips. “I’m sorry I fought this for so long. And I’m sorry I ran away when we were younger. There’s not a single person who has a bad thing to say about you, and you don’t deserve this to be happening to you.”
“Tess,” He whispers her name as he presses his lips to hers.
“Call your lawyer in the morning,” she says. “I’ll do some research of my own and see if there’s anything I can figure out. Would you be okay with me speaking to your lawyer too?”
“Yeah,” Tristan says quickly. “I mean, I don’t want you to worry about my bullshit but-”
“It’s not bullshit,” she says. “You’re important to me, and anything going on with you is important by default. Let me help you.”
“Thank you baby,” he forces a small smile and gives her body a tight squeeze.
“You just go to practice tomorrow and try to focus on being prepared for when you guys make it to the Super Bowl, because everyone knows that’s where you all are going.”
Tristan takes a deep breath and grips her perfect thighs in his hands before giving her a mischievous smile.
