Page 29

Raeann

M y phone buzzes, and I check the Wildcat Women group chat. A smile comes to my face. It’s all the ladies wishing me luck on today’s television interview with Wake Up, Nashville , their morning program.

Tab chats excitedly next to me while a makeup person powders her face. She’s a natural. After the few appearances I’ve done, I still feel a bit out of place, like I’m not meant to be here.

When I first had the idea for designer pet clothes, I had no idea I’d be on TV.

I thought, if I was lucky, I’d get to run a store as a job.

My imagination never went so far as to the money in my bank account accruing and having to talk to an accountant.

I thought maybe I’d make enough to live off of.

Athena stands in front of me, her tail wagging. We did it, huh ? From the trenches—literally—to TV. Dirty to dolled-up. Grieving…well, to generally happy. I made Athena a promise a long time ago that I would give her a better life, and I think I have.

She licks my fingers, and I tangle my hands in her fur, staring into her soulful brown eyes. Man, I love this dog.

“Rae-bae.”

“Hmm?”

“She wants to powder you.”

I stand up straight quickly. “Oh. Sorry.”

I sit back in the chair, and the makeup artist smiles at me. “Just have to dim the shine for the lights.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” I try to keep my voice steady, but my nerves rear up.

It’s the lights and cameras that do it for me.

Even from the first show that had an audience, the lights were so bright that sometimes you couldn’t see them, and it was odd to have people laugh and cheer when you couldn’t look them in the eye. Unnerving.

The woman finishes powdering my face, wishes us luck, and then leaves.

“Do you always feel like a princess?” Tab asks.

I laugh. “Actually, I usually feel like a lab rat and all the scientists are standing around, wondering how they’re going to make me do something I wasn’t born to do.”

She rolls her eyes. “You always do great. What are you talking about?”

I shrug. “You asked. If I were a princess, I’d be wearing a tiara.”

Tab blinks. We stop for a second and stare at each other. “Tiaras!” we exclaim at the same time.

“Would that work?” she asks. “You’d have to figure out a way to keep it on their head.”

“A strap?”

Tab shrugs and grabs her phone. She brings up her note app and starts typing into it while I pet Athena. “You’d wear a tiara, huh? You’d look so pretty in one.”

“Five minutes, ladies!” one of those people with headphones on calls into the room.

Tab makes her final note, saves it, then turns to me. “I forgot to ask, how much did Micah get fined for his game day stunt?”

I grimace, peering around before whispering, “Thirty-two thousand dollars.”

Her eyes bug out of her head.

“I know! It’s usually sixteen, but since it was on game day, they doubled it.”

“Dude loves you very much.”

I shake my head and laugh because I can’t believe that’s what she gets out of this scenario.

My therapist thinks he’s too much. Tab is all on board.

I can practically hear her sending prayers up to the universe that the same thing happens to her.

She has no care in the world that Micah comes off a little crazy. She thinks it’s hot.

She needs a football player boyfriend, stat.

About sixty seconds later, the headphone guy stops at the mouth of our dressing room. “Are you ladies ready?”

My phone rings, and I lunge forward to put it on silent. It’s Micah. That’s strange. I told him I’d call him when I was done with the interview.

Tab and I stand, and she loops her elbow through mine. I check her side profile, looking for any hints of nervousness, but I don’t see any. Athena walks on the other side of me.

When Headphone Guy turns around, he says, “I’ve never met a more well-behaved dog.”

Tab grins. “Well, except that time she humped Micah Freeman on live television.”

I elbow her. “Don’t remind her. It was traumatizing.”

Before long, Tab and I are sitting on another bright-white couch, lights in our faces, while the two hosts with impossibly white teeth are welcoming us on.

The interview goes as expected. Since Tab and I are both here and we’re in Nashville, we assumed we would be talking about Pet Threads and we are.

We touch a little bit on the video, of course, but Micah isn’t even mentioned by the time it seems like we’re wrapping it up.

Tab is amazing. She shines in the spotlight, and I’m sure everyone can tell now that they’ve been asking the wrong partner to be on TV.

The anxiety in my stomach starts to dissipate.

Another interview unscathed. Katya, Jace, and Sunny—our new employee—are holding things down at the store.

I’ve got my dog right beside me. What could be better?

Then the tone changes. I barely hear the words spoken, only the gist. Like even as they come in, I try to block them out. Micah. Relationship. Trade rumors.

I freeze, panic entombing me. Everything around me fades, and all I feel is the rising surge of anxiety, like an elephant stepping on my chest one foot at a time. If Micah is traded, he won’t live in Nashville anymore. What will happen? Where will he go? What if he’s clear across the country?

My heart slams against my ribs. In my head, I see my father being whisked away by winds hell-bent on destruction, and this feels a lot like that. Like the path is only going somewhere unavoidable and tragic.

Tab talks next to me while Athena places her two front paws into my lap and licks my face. Her attention helps me calm a bit. A very little, but enough for me to hear Tab cussing out the hosts.

“We didn’t know she didn’t know.”

“Well, you were obviously aware you were going to ask that question. A heads up would’ve been nice. But you didn’t care. You wanted to see her squirm.”

“We wanted to see her raw reaction, yes.”

“Well, here, you’ve got it!” she almost yells. “What a great thing to do to someone with anxiety. Congratulations.” She comes over and puts her hand on my shoulder, squeezing it. “Attention and likes are fleeting, but you’re the ones who have to live with your actions.”

“Miss—” An important-looking person comes out with a suit. “We?—”

Tab puts up a hand. “No excuses. Don’t worry. We’re pretty popular on social media, too. We’ll see what happens when we voice our side of the story.”

Athena is doing her thing and making sure my body doesn’t spiral out of control, but it’s my mind that latches onto the thought of Micah leaving. Micah…just gone.

Tab kneels next to me. “Are you alright, honey? Fucking idiots. I’m sure it’s fine. It could just be a rumor.”

Tears leak from my eyes. I love that I have someone like Tab. She gets me. She understands why I’m so upset.

“We’re back on in thirty seconds.”

Tab whips her head around. “Good. Come back on so I can explain to your viewers what rotten people you all are. I’m not moving her like this.”

“Ma’am!” The voice moves closer.

Tab stands again, and it feels like my throat starts to close. Athena paws at me, placing her leg on my chest in a reminder to breathe. It feels like everything is closing in. My brain is screaming.

Another scuffle in the distance sounds before I hear, “Hey!”

I know that voice. My vision narrows further. All I can hear is the pounding in my ears and the rapid fluttering of my heart. Soundless tears track down my face, and Athena kisses them away.

I want to come out of it for her. She’s trying so hard, but my mind won’t shut off.

“Hey, it’s me. It’s me.”

Not Tab this time. Micah…

“Breathe, okay? Good girl, Athena.”

The arguing in the background is still going on. It’s setting my nerves over the edge.

“I’m right here,” he says softly. “Right here.”

It’s like he said the magic words. I start to steady my breath. Four inhales, four exhales. Repeat.

“Levi, her pills. They’d be in her purse.”

Levi? What the hell is Levi doing here?

My fingers dig into the chair again.

“It’s okay, baby. We were at a nearby café, and I asked them to put your interview on. No one is judging. We might rip this studio apart, though.”

He rubs the back of my neck, putting his forehead on mine.

“There were two,” Levi states. “I brought both.”

One would be Tab’s. Micah knows which is mine. Unsurprisingly. The pill bottle shakes, and then I feel him press a capsule into my palm. “I have water.”

I take the pill and drink right after to get it down.

“Good girl,” Micah says, returning his forehead to mine. “Breathe with me, and I’ll get you out of here as soon as I can.”

I match him breath for breath, Athena squeezed between us. I don’t know how long it takes, but eventually, she rests her head on my knees, and Micah sighs. “Thank God. Keep your eyes closed, okay? I’m going to get you out of here.”

He scoops me up, and I do as he says. I wrap my arms around his neck, burying my face while he carries me.

“You smell good.”

“Now I know you’re delusional. I’m sweaty and gross.”

I take a deep breath in. Nope. He’s all rain in the jungle and woods. “You smell like you always do.”

Micah pushes a door open, and the sun shines down on me. “I’m going to put you in the back of my car, and then I’m going to get Tab and make sure we have everything. Athena will be with you the whole time, and I won’t be longer than a couple of minutes.”

His car door creaks open, and he somehow maneuvers me gently into the back seat. Athena climbs in, and once more, her feet make it onto my chest.

I stop myself from thinking about how embarrassed I am because it will only send me into a spiral again. I stop myself from thinking about most things, and instead, pet Athena, focusing on how much I love her. How her fur feels in my hands. The way her tongue curls along the edges.

After some time, the driver’s side door opens and Micah gets in. “Tab’s going to take the guys back to get their cars, and I’m going to get you home.”

“Okay,” I croak out, then clear my throat. “I haven’t had one like that in a long time.”

He drives wordlessly, shoulders stiff, and I have to remind myself that he’s not mad at me.

Before long, he’s parked outside the shop. He helps me out of the car, and we walk up the flight of stairs to mine and Tab’s apartment. He leads me right to my bed and gets me situated in it.

“I tried to call you,” he says, sitting on the edge of the mattress.

“I couldn’t answer because we were about to go on.” I hold in a breath, stealing myself for his answer. “Are you getting traded, Micah? What’s happening?”

It seems so improbable. Not because he is one of the best running backs in the country, but because he’s such an integral part of the community here. He’s one of the standout players on and off the field.

“I don’t know anything yet. I have a meeting with the team later. We think the organization is putting the rumor out there on their own because of what I did last week. Today’s trade deadline day, so it could be retaliatory.”

My heart sinks. “But you’re going to find out?”

“As soon as Tab gets back, I’m going to that meeting, and we’ll figure this whole thing out.”

“Micah, what if you have to move? I can’t move. I have the shop here.”

He cups my face. “I don’t want to entertain any talk about this until we understand what’s happening.

It might be nothing.” I open my mouth to argue, but he says, “Honestly. Let’s not worry about something we don’t know is true yet, okay?

Bottom line, I won’t leave you. Period. We will figure it out. ”

“But—”

“ I won’t leave you ,” he reinforces. He drops his knees to the floor and grabs my hand. “You understand that, right?”

But that’s the thing. He can’t promise. Sometimes, things happen. Accidents. Trades. Deaths. If this is how my body reacted to hearing that he might have to leave me, what would it be like if he had to?

A sickening pit forms in my stomach. It makes me feel uneasy. Worried. Upheaved. Like a snake is crawling all over my skin and I’m just waiting for it to bite whenever it decides.

Within half an hour, Tab opens and closes the door. She comes straight for my room and leans on the doorframe. “How’s our patient?”

“Better. You got her for a bit? I have to take care of some stuff.”

They share a meaningful look, and she nods.

As soon as the door is closed, Tab grins. “You never said how hot Micah’s friends are!”

I chuckle for the first time since before the interview. “They’re football players. I think that’s a prerequisite. Some of them are taken.”

“Some of them,” Tab says. “But not all.”

“Who all was there?”

“I don’t know all of them, but there was one… Levi?”

I grimace. “I heard he’s a player.”

I move over on the bed so Tab can lie down with me. “Sounds fun,” she says, getting comfortable.

“If you aren’t worried about breaking your heart.”

“I know who won’t have to worry about that.” She turns to the side, propping her head up. “You’ve got a good one, Rae-bae. I think he successfully made every person in that studio shit their pants. Vultures.”

“Thank you for having my back.” I breathe in and look away so I don’t see her face when she answers. “How bad was it?”

“I’d have to watch it back, but pretty sure what got aired wasn’t bad at all.

It was everything after they went to break.

” She reaches out and wraps her hand around my forearm.

“I’ll watch out for what’s said, and if we have to say something, we will.

I don’t want you to worry about it at all, though. Micah’s orders.”

Already, the pill’s effects are kicking in as drowsiness hits. I’ll probably sleep the rest of the day away. “Wake me up if he has news, okay?”

“Will do, sweetie.”