Page 44

“Fuck that,” Kieran said. “If it’s affecting this team, it’s something, and I’ll have coach bench you if you don’t figure this shit out in the next two minutes.”

Atticus sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat.

“I didn’t mean to go off on him,” he mumbled. “It’s been a long day.”

“Doesn’t give you the right to hit him.”

“I wasn’t going to hit him!” Atticus turned around, splaying his hands out to the sides. “At least, I don’t think I was going to.”

Kieran chuckled at that. “He might have deserved it, actually. I’ve talked to him about giving everybody shit all the time, not that it seems to have done any good. Now, why don’t you tell me what’s really going on.”

Atticus hesitated. He and Kieran hadn’t really talked about personal stuff, not for the last few years.

Not since high school, really. They weren’t as close as they’d been back then, not since Kieran had graduated first and left to pursue professional volleyball.

Their friendship had rekindled when they’d begun playing on the same team, but still, Atticus had never talked much with Kieran about Kai.

“I might have screwed things up with somebody I really didn’t want to screw things up with,” Atticus finally said.

“The streamer?”

He nodded.

“You say something dumb to him?”

Atticus frowned. “You’re an asshole.”

A chuckle escaped Kieran as he shrugged. “Maybe. I’m right, though, aren’t I?”

Atticus frowned harder. Kieran moved, throwing an arm around his shoulders as he led him toward the door. “I’m right. The thing is, you’ve said dumb shit to everybody for as long as I’ve known you. And the rest of us stuck around, didn’t we?”

“Sammie didn’t have a choice.”

That pulled a full laugh out of Kieran. “Sammie is just as much of a brat as you, and twice as stubborn. You’re going to be fine, it’s going to work out with the streamer. And if it doesn’t, then that’s his loss.”

They pushed through the door, and the roar of the crowd crashed into Atticus. A hint of excitement, of anticipation, began to build in him.

“I hope you’re right,” he said to Kieran, his voice nearly a shout as they began to jog onto the court. Kieran winked at him.

“I usually am.”

Kai was out of breath as he rushed up to the ticket taker.

“Kai Reid,” he said, nearly wheezing. Maybe Atticus was onto something with the running every morning. “Theo Whittaker should have had my name down for a ticket.”

The young woman at the stand looked at him with a brow raised. “Aren’t you the streamer?”

Kai nodded, blushing at the recognition that lit her eyes. He’d never quite gotten used to the way random people would, on occasion, recognize him. He tucked his hair back behind his ears, needing it out of his face, as she looked down at a paper in front of her.

“Yeah,” she finally said. “We have your name down. Wasn’t Whittaker that put you on the list though. ”

“What?” Kai stared at her blankly.

“Wasn’t Whittaker,” she repeated, smiling at him brightly. “Atticus Mills called down a couple hours before the game, said to hold a seat for you.”

Kai felt rooted in place, every racing thought in his mind suddenly going silent.

Atticus had saved him a ticket to the game. Even after everything, after their fight, after the terrible things Kai had said to him, Atticus had still wanted him there.

Kai wasn’t sure what to do with that information. He didn’t want to let himself trust that it meant anything. Didn’t want to let his heart latch on to something that could still go wrong.

“Oh,” he finally mumbled. “Sure. Yeah, that works.”

“Here’s your ticket,” she said, handing him the small slip of paper. “Ushers inside can help you find the right section.”

Kai took it from her, and felt as if he were floating outside of his body as he made his way through the stadium.

He’d been before, knew exactly where he was going from the countless times he’d attended Ori’s games.

Screens in the hallways showed that the game was in the third set already, sets tied, with the Cats down eighteen to twenty.

The sounds of the cheering crowd pulled Kai toward the court.

He blinked against the bright lights as he made his way down the stairs, heart pounding as he tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

He was almost afraid to look down at the court, to let his eyes land on the two teams battling it out below.

Another glance at his ticket showed him his seat number. Kai found the right row, scooting past several seats before he arrived at the one reserved for him. He was about to sit down, about to finally chance a look at the game happening in front of him, when the person in the next seat over spoke.

“Kai? ”

He looked up, only to be met with blue eyes that looked so, so familiar.

“Sammie.”

They stared at each other for a beat too long, and Kai wanted nothing more than to turn tail and retreat.

What if Atticus had talked to his sister about what had happened between them that morning?

Sammie was… intimidating, to say the least. Tall, strong, and just as imposing as her twin, with a sharper wit and a no-nonsense attitude.

Kai had only met her a handful of times, but he liked her.

Especially any time she made her brother squirm with a scathing retort.

Kai really didn’t want her attention turned on him if she knew he had upset Atticus.

“Attie didn’t tell me you were coming,” Sammie said. Kai hesitated before taking the seat next to her. A raucous cheer rose from the crowd around them, and Kai had to almost yell to be heard.

“I don’t think he knew I was,” he responded, leaning in close so Sammie could hear him. They were on the front row, just behind the Chicago bench.

“Well,” she said, smirking in a way that made Kai even more nervous. “He’ll be glad you’re here. Maybe it’ll get his head out of his ass and he’ll start making some good plays.”

Another cheer went up around them, and Kai glanced at the score. Twenty to twenty-one. The Cats had closed the gap by a point, but they were still down.

He was stalling. Kai knew he was stalling, but he still had to force himself to finally search the court.

His eyes found Theo first, watched as the middle blocker jumped up, hands rising above the net to shut down a spike from one of the Chicago players.

The ball slammed against Theo’s arms, bouncing back and forcing the other side into a dig.

Then, finally, his gaze landed on Atticus.

Kai watched as the Cats recovered from the block, as Atticus set the ball for a wing spiker with the name Kelly on the back of his jersey. The set went a little long, but Kelly was still able to smash the ball past the blockers, earning their team another point and bringing the score to a tie.

“Not good,” Sammie said, even as their side of the stadium screamed for the point. She looked at Kai. “Do you know what’s going on with him?”

So Atticus hadn’t told her yet. Kai swallowed thickly. “He had a bad day.”

Sammie frowned, concern knitting her brow. She reached up to tie her dark hair back into a loose ponytail. “He’s stressing me out. He’ll be miserable to be around if they lose this game. Nobody sulks as hard as Attie does.”

Her words were accompanied by an eye roll, but Kai could see real concern etched into her expression. Sammie was worried about her brother, and it made guilt gnaw at Kai.

St. Louis rallied to score again, and Kai felt his own anxiety over the game start to build. Atticus would be devastated if his team lost, and it would be partially Kai’s fault.

Kai sank low into his seat, eyes glued on the court.

The constant din of the cheering crowd faded as Atticus focused on the ball in his hands. By the time he made it to the end line, turning back to ready for his serve, it was as if the whole room had gone silent.

His heart was racing, both from the last rally and from the knowledge that he needed to land this serve. They were tied with St. Louis at twenty-three points, and if Chicago couldn’t take this set, they would need to win the next two. His team needed him.

Atticus let the sound of his own pounding heart focus him, let it tether him to the moment. He’d been sloppy with his last few sets, and it sent a wave of anxiety coursing through his veins, trailing under his skin in a way that itched.

Slow breaths, one after another. The ball felt heavy in his hands as he twirled it, the weight of what this serve meant to everyone in the room absorbed into it.

One heartbeat, then another.

Atticus glanced to the sideline, toward where he knew his sister would be.

Looked for her the same way he had before every serve.

Sammie was his tether, grounding him with her support, ever since the day they had watched their first volleyball match together at seven years old.

Even if she didn’t play anymore, even if she worked too much and never took time for herself, she always made sure she was at every one of Atticus’ home games.

Sweat dripped into his eyes, blurring his vision. Atticus knew the clock was ticking, time dwindling. He needed to move, needed to make his play. But he had to see her. It was the only tradition he had, the only ritual he needed.

And there she was, leaned forward in her seat, hand fisted tightly on her thighs.

Sammie had pulled her hair back, something she only did when she was nervous.

The eyes that looked so much like his own met his gaze, and she gave Atticus a small nod, her lips tilting in a particular smirk that she always saved just for him.

It settled Atticus, a calm unlike any other washing over him.

His gaze snagged on the person next to her. The man leaning in to say something in her ear.

Atticus felt his heart stop completely as his eyes landed on Kai.

Kai was there. Kai had come to his game. Atticus needed to move, he needed to move right now . It took every ounce of strength he had to turn his attention back to the game.

Kai was watching him.

Atticus did move, tossing the ball up, stepping into his serve. He could feel the rush of power that always came with the motion, let it propel him forward as he leapt into the air. His hand hit the ball with a powerful thwack , sending it careening across the net.

It was over in a blink as the other team failed to get into position, setting up a nice little campfire as they watched the ball crash to the floor between them.

Twenty-four. The Cats were ahead.

Bowen let out a whooping yell, smacking his hand into Atticus’, his grip unrelenting. Kieran shouted for all of them to get back into place, for Atticus to keep it going.

Making his way back to that same spot behind the end line, Atticus went through his ritual once more. He let the ball twirl between his palms before glancing at his sister, who was grinning wide, standing up out of her seat, shouting something he couldn’t make out.

Atticus met Kai’s stare, let those wide, amber eyes the only thing he could see as everything else in the room faded away.

Kai was there, and Atticus didn’t know what it meant.

But when a small smile turned up one corner of Kai’s lips, Atticus thought that it didn’t really matter what it meant. Because Kai was there, he was there at a time when Atticus needed him.

And that was all Atticus had wanted, since the moment he’d found his bed empty that morning.

The ball soared into the air, leaving Atticus’ hands just so.

He could tell before he even began to rush forward that the serve was going to be perfect.

There was a charge in the room, buzzing through him.

Fear in the eyes of the St. Louis players as he sent the ball hurtling toward them.

It smacked the floor once again, colliding against the wood with a crack that was audible even over the screaming crowd.

He’d done it. They had taken the third set, only needing one more for the win. The rest of his team rushed him, sweaty man bodies pinning him in place between them all.

Atticus only caught a glimpse of Sammie bouncing in place, gripping Kai’s arm next to her, dragging him into the motion.

He felt lighter. Steadier. As the players moved into place for the fourth set, Atticus felt the familiar excitement and anticipation course through him, the same feeling that he lived for, that had kept him coming back to the game again and again his entire life.

Atticus fell into place in the lineup, ready for the next set.