I don’t know why, but his words have my throat tightening in a way I’m not expecting, and I have to push down all the emotions threatening to bubble out.
“I’m not okay, Coach, but I will be.”
He studies me for a moment, looking for any inkling of dishonesty in my words, but there is none. When he sees that, he nods once again.
“All right. I’ll take that answer for now.”
I sit there a moment, unsure what to do next. When he doesn’t ask me to leave or say anything else, I ask, “Uh, is that all you needed?”
“Yeah, that was it.”
“Should I…go back to my seat?”
“If you want. Or you can sit up here with me and avoid Lawson for the rest of the flight, maybe actually get some sleep. Your choice.”
I slip my eye mask around my head, ready to pull it over my eyes, then Coach Smith decides to add one last thing.
“You know, Keller, I’ve never really been in the position you’re in before, so I can’t pretend to know exactly what you’re going through. But what I can say is if, for some reason, I ever found myself right where you are, I would fight. I wouldn’t give up. Even when it’s hard—which I’m sure it is most of the time—I would be right there in the thick of the battle, and I’d come out swinging every time. I wouldn’t let anything get between my girl and me, even if it was myself.” He clears his throat, then folds down his table. He grabs his notebook, the one he’s always walking around with, and opens it. “Anyway, that’s all. I won’t get in your business any more than that. Just thought you might want to hear a little from someone who has had to make hard decisions for the woman I love before.”
He tilts his head down, pen already in hand, and begins to scribble on the page. I don’t say anything, not because I don’t have anythingtosay, but because I already plan to do just what he said.
I plan to fight.
By the time we land in Seattle, deplane, and grab our stuff, it’s one in the morning, which means by the time I get home, it’ll be around one thirty…and that’s if I’m only counting West Coast time and not all the hours I’ve been up on East Coast time. Even though I was able to get some rest on the plane after moving away from Lawson, I’m still bone tired, and I cannot fucking wait to crash the moment I get home.
I wave goodbye to the team, letting Lawson know if he even thinks about bothering me on our off day tomorrow, I’ll castrate him with a rusty spork, then I hop into my R8 and smile at the sound the V10 makes when I fire it up.
Since it’s so late—or early in the morning, whichever way you look at it—the streets are empty, and I make it home ten minutes earlier than I thought I would. The night security guard looks up at me as I enter the building but doesn’t say anything, and I’m okay with that. I just want to get upstairs, give Percy a few back scratches, then crawl into my bed and sleep well past when I should tomorrow.
The second I push open my door, I know something is off, and not just because of the extra set of worn-out boots lying by the door. It’s Percy. He’s meowing loudly, like he’s been forced to eat hard food for six days straight, and I race toward where the sound is coming from without even dropping my bags.
I skid to a stop when I find him.
Well,them. With tired eyes, Chloe looks up at me from her spot on the floor. Much like Coach Smith looked earlier, it’s clear she’s exhausted. Under her eyes are puffy, and her hair is a mess like she’s been brushing her hands through it all day. Next to her sits a can of Diet Coke and what looks to be a half-eaten chocolate pudding cup, which has always been a favorite of hers.
She smiles softly. “Hi.”
Fuck, even her voice sounds tired.
“Hi, Clover,” I reply, dropping my bags and crouching down next to her. Percy darts over to me, rubbing against my legs, still meowing. “What are you doing here?”
She winces. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overstay my welcome, I swear.”
She tries to stand, but I push her back down gently.
“No, no,” I say, brushing back some of her messy red locks. I let my touch linger, enjoying how they feel between my fingers a little too much. “That’s not what I meant. I’m glad you’re here.”
“You are?”
I smile. “Yeah, I am.”
If I’m being honest with myself, there was a part of me that had hoped she’d be here. I didn’t expect it, because what real reason would she have, but I did wish for it. I wished for her.
Meow.
I reach down and pet Percy. “Hey, little man.”
Chloe gives a breathless laugh. “You call him that, too?”
