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My dad calls me on Sunday, but I don’t pick up. I’m not ready to talk to him yet.

I know I can’t hold grudges against him. Who knows how limited our time together might be given his recent heart attack, but I need a little space and time before I’m ready to chat.

He texts me instead, and I read them all but I don’t reply.

Thinking about you.

Are you okay?

Talk to me, Gabriella.

I haven’t heard from Joanie. She didn’t come home last night, but her stuff is all still here—including her car—so she’ll be back at some point, surely, unless she ended up traveling with the team as she was planning to.

I doubt it.

Last night I pretended I was drunk along with the rest of them, and I seriously deserve an Oscar for my performance. Or maybe they were all so drunk they didn’t realize I wasn’t and my acting isn’t really that good.

Justin went home with Brian, and I can’t really fault him for that. If Cooper was here and we were still together, I would’ve gone home with him, too.

I didn’t expect Justin to choose me over Brian, and I didn’t ask him to. Still, I wish he would have.

I wish I wasn’t alone.

I wish my chest didn’t ache as badly as it does.

I wish I knew what was going on with Cooper, and that’s when I decide to punish myself further by checking the team’s Instagram page.

There’s a post from an hour ago with several photos taken from the team bus as they ride in style down to Phoenix.

I flip through them until I find one of Cooper. He’s talking to Danny in it, a candid shot where they seem to be deep in conversation—so deep that they don’t even realize their photo has been taken.

I wonder what they’re talking about. I wonder if he told Danny he’s single now, and I wonder if the two of them will hit the bars in Scottsdale and take women back to their rental and have sex all night only to wake up in the morning and do it all over again.

It doesn’t sound like my Cooper at all, but my Cooper also wouldn’t have walked away from us the way he did yesterday.

I go through the motions to get through the day, and I can’t help but wonder whether I’m supposed to go into work tomorrow. Am I still taking over the marketing department for the next month as planned?

Do I even still have an internship?

Do I even still want one?

I’m not really sure, but the thought of traveling with the Heat to their games, the thought of being so close to Cooper yet so far…it has me wanting to run far, far away.

I can’t make any decisions right now—not until I know for sure what I’m dealing with, and on that note, I hop onto my doctor’s website and make a request for an appointment as soon as possible. I get a confirmation email letting me know I’ll get a call tomorrow from a scheduler, and now I wait some more.

I make myself some lunch, knowing I need to get out of the house but not sure where to go, and it’s as I’m cleaning up my dishes that a text comes through from Justin.

Justin: How are you doing today, baby girl?

Me: Hanging in there.

He calls a minute later.

“Hey,” I answer.

“Hey. You seemed quiet last night. Sorry we were all so wasted already when you showed up. I’m a bad friend.”

“No you’re not. I don’t expect you to sit around waiting for me to call with my problems.”

He chuckles. “Talk to me, baby girl.” His voice is warm and tender, and it’s a lot to pin on one person, but it feels like he’s all I have left.

I can’t help it.

I burst into sobs. Again.

“Oh, shit. I’m on my way over.”

“No, Justin, don’t. It’s okay.” I force in a deep breath. I don’t want to interrupt his plans today no matter how much I don’t want to be alone.

“No, it’s not.” He cuts the call, and I try to feel bad, but the only feeling I can muster up is one of total gratitude that I’m not going to be alone.

The doorbell rings ten minutes later, and I rush into Justin’s arms.

“What happened?” he asks once I let go long enough to let him in. “All you said last night is that your dad found out and it went how you expected. What does any of that mean?”

I grab his hand and walk over to the couch. “It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got all day,” he says, propping his feet up on the coffee table in front of us.

“My dad and Joanie were supposed to get married last night. It was all hush-hush, a secret surprise wedding before they left for Phoenix today. Cooper came into the chapel, and I was in there, and he kissed me…and my dad walked in on us. We admitted our feelings for each other, and Joanie let it slip that she knew. He called off the wedding and ran out.”

“Because Joanie knew?” he asks, confused.

“I guess lying is, like, the world’s worst thing to him after what my mom did to him. So he takes off, Cooper tracks him down, he says something to Cooper but I still don’t know what, and then Cooper breaks it off with me.” I rush through the rest of the story because I can’t say it without breaking into sobs again if I take my time reliving every detail.

His jaw drops. “He broke it off with you? What the fuck did your dad say to him?”

“Great question.” I swipe at my damp cheeks.

“Did he say why?”

I shake my head. “He spouted all this bullshit about doing what’s best for me, and not wanting to come between my dad and me…” I roll my eyes. “All the things he should have been worried about the entire time we were together but we kept pretending wouldn’t matter. I guess it did.”

“And now he’s gone for a month for spring training,” he says flatly.

I nod. “And Dylan went as the intern and he’s on Mackenzie’s team now when it comes to me. Between being his girlfriend’s estranged best friend and essentially winning the job over him, I have a feeling he’s not going to be team Gabby when it comes to what he focuses on in his social media posts.”

“Fuck him,” Justin says, a true friend when it comes to solidarity.

“He’s straight,” I deadpan.

He laughs.

“Can we talk about something else?” I ask.

“I told myself I’d tell my parents when you told Troy. So I guess I need to make good on that promise.”

I raise my brows. “You’re sure?” I ask.

He nods. “It’s time. Things with Brian are…” he trails off and shakes his head. “They’re incredible, Gabs. I don’t want to hide him. But I need to mentally prepare.”

I nod. “Of course you do. You tell me when you’re ready, and I’ll be there to hold your hand through it.”

“You’re a good friend,” he says, leaning his head on my shoulder.

“Back at you.”

We spend the rest of the day watching rom coms on Netflix and snuggling Ruby Sue, which doesn’t distract me as much as I was hoping it would. And bright and early on Monday morning, my doctor’s office calls.

“I know it’s short notice, but we had a last-minute cancellation for seven-thirty if you can make it in.”

I glance at the clock. I have twenty minutes. “I’ll be there.”

It’s time to get some answers.