Page 51

CHAPTER 51

Cami

Bestie Friend

I’m on my way. How is he?

Me

Just get here. He’s being weird

Bestie Friend

What do you mean?

Me

I don’t know. He seems okay but I know he isn’t. The guys just got here so maybe that will help

Me

Or maybe it’ll make it 100 times worse

Me

Lan, I don’t know what I’m going to do if he leaves

Bestie Friend

I’m five minutes out.

Soren and Theo burst through the front door of the penthouse, both with worried and somber looks on their faces. They each give me a hug, and when I see Mia it takes everything in me to not burst into tears. She pulls me into a hug and squeezes me tight.

“It’s going to be okay,” she whispers in my ear.

Last week, Charlie and I got home from Colette’s wedding and we were so happy. It’s crazy how much can change overnight. We had a great flight home and with the way our relationship has changed over the last few weeks or so it was starting to feel permanent in the best way.

This morning we woke up and Giovanna had the day off, so Charlie made us breakfast and we joked around in the kitchen, making plans for the future, and dreaming about things that are far off, but it was fun. Until I got a notification from a local news network that he was being traded.

We had no idea there was even talk about a trade, everything we had been doing the last few months seemingly paid off. I had honestly forgotten we were approaching the trade deadline with how quiet things had been. Sophie hadn’t said anything, and because we were no longer in a fake relationship I think we sort of forgot about all of it.

I expected Charlie to react differently than he did. He has always been anxious about change, and he wasn’t completely devoid of anxiety, but it was far better than I was expecting. He normally would shut himself off from everyone, hide out in his room, and let his mind wander to the worst possible scenarios.

This morning, however, he seemed clearly nervous and tense but was very rational about it all. He told me we needed to call Sophie and check to make sure what we were hearing was accurate. There are rumors all the time about this sort of thing, and just because we’re hearing it from a random news outlet doesn’t mean it’s the truth.

I called Sophie and put her on speaker phone. She seemed absolutely furious and told us she was already on it, and she’d call back when she had more information. We’ve been waiting since then, and it’s almost dinner time now. It’s been absolute torture.

“He’s in the living room,” I tell the guys. Mia and I follow behind them and I watch as they each envelop Charlie in a hug. Mia moves in and does the same, and everyone settles on couches and chairs around the living room. I sit down next to Charlie and snuggle into his side.

“You all didn’t have to come over,” he says to the group.

“Man, don’t even talk like that. We came as soon as we heard. You think they’re really talking about a trade?” Theo asks.

“No way in hell. With the publicity you two have gathered lately they’d be stupid to let you go,” Soren answers. Mia agrees with a head nod.

“I’m not sure. There’s always a chance, that’s just how things go.”

“I don’t know, it still seems far-fetched in my opinion,” Soren replies.

“Cam, how are you doing?” Mia asks me. Four pairs of eyes swing my way, and that plus the question seem to unlock the emotional dam I had in place because I burst into tears.

Charlie turns his body to face me and pulls me further into him, and Mia comes to sit on my other side, rubbing my knee.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay, Cami. We’ll figure it out,” he says as he soothingly rubs circles on my back.

“Ugh, I am so sorry,” I groan, wiping my face and trying to take deep breaths. “This is so not about me. I’m fine, really, just tired from the trip. Just give me one second, I’ll be right back.”

I stand abruptly and leave the room, heading for the bathroom in the room Charlie and I now share. I close the door behind me and stare at myself in the mirror, forcing deep breaths into my lungs. Why am I the one reacting like this? He should be the one having a moment, not me. I’m supposed to be holding it all together for him. I’m supposed to be the strong one right now.

A few seconds later, the bathroom door opens and Alana walks through. All of the tension leaves my body at the sight of my best friend. She pulls me into her and hugs me tight, and it feels as if all of our problems will be a little easier to solve now that she’s here.

There are certain people in your life that you know will help you keep your head on straight in the middle of a crisis, and Alana is that for me. Any time I’m freaking out, she always calms me down, so having her here now is a relief.

“It really is going to be okay,” she says when she pulls back.

“I know. I know that we can do long distance and I can visit and go to his games. Maybe work will let me do some days virtually or something.”

“Woah, woah, woah, let’s slow down. We don’t even know if this is real yet.”

“Why would it be out there if it weren’t?” I ask. I know, logically, that people put out fake news stories all the time, but I can’t imagine why someone would do that to Charlie. There isn’t anything for them to gain by doing that.

“There are a number of reasons. It could be someone who wanted to sell a story for some money and fabricated the truth in order to get that. It could be an angry fan from an opposing team. It could be anything, really, and we can’t freak out until we know the truth.”

“Who are you and what have you done with my bestie? I recall having to talk you down a time or two, but you’re sounding very level-headed now. What happened?” I ask, poking fun.

“Therapy. And Alex.”

“Well, those are two really good things.”

“I am freaking out a little bit. I’m trying to keep it together for you two, but he’s my brother. We’ve always been together.”

“I know. But like you said a second ago, we can’t freak out until we know the truth.”

The door behind her cracks open a bit and Charlie pops his head through.

“I’ll give you two a minute,” Alana says before turning and walking back out into the rest of the house.

He crosses the bathroom and wraps his arms around me, breathing deeply. He runs his hands down the length of me, to the backs of my thighs, and pulls me up to sit on the counter. He steps between my legs and hugs me close, then pulls back to look at me.

“We’re going to figure it out. If I get traded, we will work it out.”

“I know,” I say, nodding. “I can come and visit and when you have a bye week you could maybe come here.”

“Or you could come with me,” he says. I look up at him with wide eyes. We just recently made this an actual relationship, and now he’s talking about us moving to another state together. The idea doesn’t scare me like I thought it would.

“You would want that?” I ask.

“Of course I would. I would never ask you to uproot your life, but if you felt like it was the right move for you I would love to have you come with me.”

“How are you being so cool about all of this? Isn’t this one of your biggest fears? Didn’t we do all of the things we’ve been doing the last few months to prevent this very thing from happening?”

“I’m terrified, Cam,” he says with a watery smile.

I haven’t ever seen Charlie cry, and while I don’t think he’s about to burst into tears, he looks awfully close. He takes a deep breath, then leans forward and rests his forehead on my chest. I reach up and play with his hair soothingly.

“What are you scared of?”

“All of it. I finally got to a place with my teammates where I’m not jumping every time someone walks around a corner or racing to make sure I’m never the last one in the locker room. I’m finally opening up, and it feels like that’s all being ripped away.”

“You’ve been doing so well,” I affirm. “But these guys you’ve built these relationships with aren’t going to just go away. If you move they’re still going to be your friends.”

“I know. I just don’t want to have to do all of that building again with new guys that I don’t even know. It took me years with some of them to get to this place.”

“I know it’s scary to trust new people, but you’ve learned a lot about yourself over the last few months. I think you’re in a much better place now. If you have to start over, you’ll be okay.”

“And we’ll be okay.”

“We will.”

He hugs me again and takes a deep breath, but the calm bubble around us bursts when we hear shouting from the living room.