Page 46

PEYTON

I roll out my yoga mat at the back of the studio, grateful for the dim lighting and the soft instrumental music playing overhead. Abby plops down beside me, adjusting her ponytail and flashing me a smile that’s way too cheerful for someone about to endure hot yoga on a Sunday morning.

“You okay?” she asks, stretching her arms overhead.

“I’m fine,” I lie, trying not to groan as I reach for my toes.

She arches her brow. “Liar.”

I sigh. “I packed up Hunter’s stuff yesterday. Dropped it off at his place.”

Even saying his name out loud hurts.

Abby stills. “You what?”

“Cammy got Trey’s spare key to Hunter’s apartment in The Commons,” I say quickly. “I just...needed to do it.”

She opens her mouth to speak, but the instructor claps her hands at the front of the class and starts guiding us through our first poses.

“This conversation isn’t over. You still haven’t told me what happened in New Jersey,” she angrily whispers.

We fall into the rhythm—sun salutations, deep breaths, downward dog. But my balance is off, and my head’s not in it.

My phone buzzes on the corner of my mat during child’s pose. I sneak a glance—the WAGs group chat.

Cammy : Girl, you better be at the game Tuesday. It’s New Year's Eve, and the Owner’s box is calling. We finally worked Everett into letting us use it since he hasn't been using it for weeks.

Penelope : Still part of the WAG fam even if you’re not dating number seventy-two anymore.

Isla : The owner's box is packed with snacks and booze. Plenty of time for you to spill the beans about why Hunter is the worst. We’re here to listen. And New Year's Eve in the Hawkeyes stadium is always interesting.

Kendall : I’ll be in the stinky locker room waiting for one of our players to get concussed. I always miss the fun. Please live stream.

My throat tightens. Abby catches the look on my face.

“What now?” she whispers.

“They all know,” I whisper back. “Cammy told them.”

Her eyebrows furrow. “Everyone knows but me?”

“No one knows what happened, just that it’s better that we ended our fake dating arrangement. This is better for everyone, I promise.”

“I don’t believe you,” she mutters, but then we get shushed by the woman stretching in front of us. Abby sticks out her tongue at her as soon as she turns back around. And I choke back a giggle.

By the time class ends, my muscles are loose, but my chest is tight. Abby hands me a bottle of water and leads me to the bench outside.

“Talk to me,” she says. “What really happened?”

I stare at the condensation on my bottle. “I called Rebecca. I turned down the syndication deal.”

“What? Peyton, are you out of your mind?”

Possibly.

But no… I know why I did it. I’m heartbroken, but I don’t regret giving up the syndication deal for him. Oddly enough, I’d do it again, because somehow, winning it didn’t feel as good without him by my side.

It just wouldn’t have felt the same.

“I asked if I could do it from New Jersey. She said maybe in a year or two, but not now. I knew Hunter wouldn’t leave his mom. I didn’t want him to feel like he had to choose between us.”

“So you turned down the syndication deal… Why the hell are you still here then? You’re free to be in Jersey… Nothing’s stopping you.”

I take a deep breath, preparing to tell Abby—the woman who I wouldn’t put past jumping on an aircraft right now to beat the living shit out of Bethany in my honor—about the moment the last shoe drops.

“Bethany found me downstairs at the hospital. Told me the trade deal was basically done, but that she was going to pull it and not give it to Hunter unless I walked away. She said Carly needs him. And she’s right.

Getting traded to New Jersey so he can help his mother is the right call for him, and if I stayed, I would have cost him that. ”

Abby exhales hard. “And what about what you need? What about Hunter? Did you tell him what Bethany threatened to do if you didn’t comply?”

“No I didn’t, because I love him,” I whisper, the sting of hearing him say it in the hallway of the hospital and not being able to say it back felt like I had bottled it in so tight to let the words slip out.

He wouldn’t have let me leave if I had said it back…

I just know it. “I can’t ask him to give up everything for me.

He would have kicked her out of the hospital, I know he would have, but the truth is he needs Bethany to help him force Carly into treatment. ”

Abby shakes her head. “You didn’t tell him the truth and let him decide.

You gave up everything for him—don’t rob him of the chance to do the same for you.

And by the way, Carly isn’t a child, she’s a grown woman who can make her own damn decisions without dumb and dumber, okay? Give her some credit.”

I close my eyes, heart pounding. “Maybe I’m just scared that he wouldn’t have picked me. Or that if he did pick me, he would have resented me for the rest of our lives if something happened to Carly.”

“I know,” she says, squeezing my hand. “But love’s supposed to be worth the risk. Your brother and I don’t have the most ideal situation, but we love each other, and we make it work…even long distance. Even with a son that needs a lot of our attention. Life isn’t perfect.”

I nod—she’s right.

“What are you going to do now? Can you get the syndication deal back?”

“No, she called the next podcaster in line after we got off the phone. I’m just going to do what I've been doing for years. Keep my podcast going and move on. Another opportunity will present itself when the time comes.”

“You still have us,” she says and reaches out to hug me.

“I know. Thank you.”

I tuck my water bottle into my bag as we walk out to our cars, the familiar ache of what I gave up flaring sharper.