Page 115 of The Wrong Game

That’swhat I was thinking.

I wasn’t aware that across town, that same girl I couldn’t wait to see was not the same girl I left in bed Wednesday morning.

Doc and I were in a rhythm, the bar already packed for the Bears away game as we did our best to keep up with orders. Since he dropped his news on me, we hadn’t discussed next steps. I knew I had a choice to make, but I didn’t know how long I had to make it. So, although we were working like normal, there was a different air around us — a different vibe.

He was leaving, and I hadn’t accepted it yet.

“Can you grab those girls down at the end of the bar?” Doc hollered at me as he scooted past, balancing the necks of several beers in his hands.

“I’m on it,” I said, eyes skirting up to one of the TV screens. It was five minutes into the first quarter, and Gemma still hadn’t shown.

I tried to shake it off, knowing she’d be there eventually. Maybe she got caught in traffic, or maybe she got held up at work. But there was a sinking feeling in my gut that told me something was off.

The chaos continued, Doc and I rushing back and forth, pausing only to take a drink of water or cheer with the crowd when the Bears made a play. When the first quarter ended and Gemma still wasn’t there, I pulled out my phone to text her.

And it was that exact moment that she walked in.

She looked like hell. The fact that I could even think that meant something, too, because I’d seen her late at night and early in the morning without a stitch of makeup on her face and she was always beautiful. But tonight, even with a full face of makeup, her eyes were swollen and tired, her mouth set in a flat line, her arms crossed over her middle like she was holding herself together with that grasp.

Something was wrong.

Doc saw her when I did, and he shot me a worried glance at the sight of her. I just nodded, letting him know I needed a minute, and I delivered two beers to the guys I’d been taking care of all night on my way around the bar.

As soon as I reached her, I pulled her into me. “There you are,” I breathed into her hair, kissing her forehead when I pulled back. “I was worried. Are you… is everything okay?”

She hadn’t softened in my embrace, and now that we were apart again, she seemed to only curl into herself more. Her eyes wouldn’t meet mine. She was only a few inches away, and yet it felt like there were miles and miles between us.

“We need to talk.”

I swallowed.

“Can we go outside?”

Everything in me wanted to say no.No, we can’t go outside and we can’t talk because whatever it is that you want to talk about can’t be good — not with your eyes looking at the floor instead of me.

“Okay,” I said instead.

I laid my hand across the small of her back, eyes meeting Doc’s just briefly before I ushered her outside. It was windy, the bite of the cold stinging my cheeks as soon as we were outside. My sweater did little to fight against it, and I knew even bundled in her coat and boots, Gemma had to be freezing, too.

“It’s cold out here,” I offered, voice just a whisper. It was quieter outside, the noise from the bar muffled.

Gemma just kept walking, taking me around the corner to the same little lot we’d played catch in on her birthday.

“I’m okay. Do you want to go grab a coat?”

I shook my head, pulling her to a stop as soon as we were in the lot. The buildings on all three sides blocked the wind, and though it was still cold, I couldn’t think of anything other than what it was that was plaguing Gemma.

“What’s going on?” I asked her, framing her shoulders in my hands. “Are you okay?”

Her arms were still crossed, and she tightened them over herself, eyes glossing as she looked out toward the street. She still couldn’t look at me.

“I can’t do this anymore, Zach,” she breathed, and I felt my heart crack with the words, splintering like a tree struck by lightning.

I swallowed. “I don’t understand.”

“I have a date for next week’s game,” she said, sniffing, her lashes in rapid movement to try to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. “I’m going back to my original plan.”

I blinked once, digesting what she’d said. My hands still held her as I blinked again, trying to figure it out, but I came up empty.