Sighing a heavy breath, I open the text from her and release a steady exhale when I see her message has nothing to do withus.
All it says is:
Akira Rain
There’s a game tonight at MSG. I have a spare ticket, front row, if you’re down.
I don’t even know what game she’s talking about, though I presume it’s a sport that can be played indoors.
While my hands tremble as they hold my phone, I remind myself about the promise I made: I would try new things.
So, without dwelling too heavily on my response, I tap the screen and send my message back quickly.
I’m down.
Chapter two
Avery
Typically,onthenightbefore a game, I’m cool, calm and collected.
I sit alone, re-watching game tapes and memorizing habits of certain players that will no doubt come in handy. The same plays that Coach White has drilled into me since my very first season, ten years ago.
I’ve been a Raptor for my entire NBA career. Completely loyal to my core, and probably to a fault, too.
There have been times when I wanted to hang up my jersey, call it quits, move to a remote town and live completely off the grid.
No cell service, no television, no news segments that could ruin my day, and nobody to talk to.
Completely isolated and totally alone.
Sometimes I wish Ihadtaken that path after college, maybe my life would’ve been easier. Maybe I wouldn’t have gone fromthe most loved and respected player to the most hated and feared all at once.
I wouldn’t be terrified every time my sister’s name appeared on my phone screen.
I wouldn’t hate leaving my house.
Maybe,just maybe, I would be happy.
But last night, I didn’t watch old footage. I didn’t go through the drills and plays Coach White taught us for our game against the Florida Falcons—the team we lost against in game six last season.
No, I spent it remembering the aftermath of that game, and everything that spiraled ever since.
And I have nobody to blame but myself.
This shit isn’t easy, being a professional athlete.
With all the pressure from the game and the media, I know my life would be easier if I just hung it all up and left it all behind.
It’s not like they’re going to remember me the way I once was, anyway.
***
I hear the voice of my captain from beside me, my noise-canceling headphones doing a terrible job at blocking him out. "It’s too late to sneak back home, everyone already knows you’re here."
"I wasn’t—"
"You forget I know you, Avery. Have known you since we were in college. All you have to do is give me one single look, and I know what’s on your mind. Right now, it’s calling up your pilot and demanding that he fly you literally anywhere else." Ryder raises his eyebrow in response, crossing his arms over his broad, bare chest, a sweat towel thrown over his shoulder.
