No hello. No pause.
“Cooper, is everything okay?”
I let out a breath before I can stop myself. The line goes quiet on her end, like she’s listening for something in that exhale.
“I’m sorry,” I say, keeping my voice low.
There’s a beat of silence.
“I know,” she murmurs.
It shouldn’t hit the way it does, but it does.
“There’s stuff going on,” I tell her. I run a hand through my hair, staring at the carpet. “I don’t even know where to start. I just… I need you to know I’m not ignoring you. I’m trying to handle it.”
Another quiet second.
“I understand,” she says.
The words I want to say sit heavy in my chest. They’re right there. I could say them now. It would be easy, in a way. No eye contact. No chance to see what it does to her face.
But I don’t want it to be like that.
I want to see her when I tell her how I feel.
“It’s okay,” she says again, softer this time.
“Just okay?” I ask.
“Yeah. We’re good. We’re okay.”
I swallow.
“Can you do something for me?”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t leave.” I keep my tone even, like I’m not asking for something bigger than it sounds. “Promise me you won’t leave Rixton. I need you to know I’m not going anywhere, and I just… I need to know you won’t pack up and disappear either.”
She doesn’t answer right away.
I can picture her thinking about it. She’d have every reason to go. Every reason to decide this isn’t the place for her.
“I won’t leave,” she says finally.
I close my eyes for a second.
“Thank you,” I say quietly. “I’ll explain everything. When I can. I promise.”
“Okay.”
“I have to get going. We’ve got a game this afternoon.”
“All right,” she says. “I’ll be watching. Cheering you on from Broken Saddle.”
A small smile pulls at my mouth.
“I’ll block every shot for you.”
