Page 22

TWENTY-ONE

ELI

I take my time showering and dressing, the entire place feeling empty, something that hardly ever happens. Sitting on the bench in front of my locker, I listen to the rest of the game as it echoes throughout the space.

There’s a television in the corner of the main part of the locker room, and I could watch it there, but it seems wrong. I don’t deserve to even watch the game at this point, and if I did, it would feel as though I’m doing something wrong.

I fucked up.

I took everything too far.

And Wrenly and Ryan saw. Jesus, they saw with their own eyes, live and in person, that I have it inside of me to take it there. They saw my anger, my rage. I hate that. I didn’t think about them seeing that part of me—ever.

Let alone today.

The television blares, but the noise from the stadium is even louder. I count in my head every single goal by the Vortex. By my calculations, we win . What feels like hours later, the team comes in, and then it’s confirmed for me by the excitement that fills the room—it vibrates.

We win.

We are one step closer to the Cup.

No thanks to me.

Daniel is the first one who greets me. He wraps his arms around me, picking me up off the floor, then sets me down. My legs feel the tingling sensation from feet to thighs at being slammed back down on the floor. His eyes find mine, his smile as big as the fucking sky, and he shouts.

“We’re on our way.”

I’m not as happy as I should be, mainly because I had absolutely nothing to do with the win. In fact, I could have cost them the whole game. Guilt and self-doubt consume me.

Before I can respond to Daniel, I hear Coach shout my name, and not in a happy-go-lucky kind of way. Daniel’s eyes widen. My jaw clenches. This is going to be so damn bad, and we both know it.

Nobody says a word to me as I move past him, past them, making my way toward the coach’s office. Closing the door behind me, I walk over to the chair across from his desk and sink down.

Waiting.

I know that whatever he’s going to say, he’s going to be straight up pissed off about it. Sliding my palms down my thighs, I try to wipe the sweat away. Dipping my chin to my lap, I wait for him to tell me just how badly I fucked up.

“I knew this wasn’t going to be your best game,” he states.

My head flies up. My eyes meet his. Watching him in silence, I wait for him to say something else because I know that I fucked up bad.

“I’m sure you realize that you will be benched for the next game. It’s the rules, and even if they weren’t, I would bench you.”

Fuck.

“At this point, I’m not sure if you’re stable enough to play the rest of the games. You’re under contract, and I see no reason to look into the specifics of your contract because I know you’re going through some shit right now. But you need to get your head on straight. I won’t harp on you about it, but I’m not going to let you fuck this up for your teammates, either.”

“Yes, Coach,” I murmur.

“You got a new family in the making, and I know you want to provide for them. Work on your shit between now and the next eligible game, and we’ll see. Be the player and teammate that I know you can be. No excuses.”

“None,” I agree with a nod.

“I did see that guy was playing dirty, and we made sure to serve him his just desserts. But you are not a one-man Justice League.”

I almost laugh because that’s funny as shit. A one-man Justice League. I press my lips together as my shoulders shake in an attempt to keep from bursting out in laughter since he’s scolding me and shit.

“We have five days until you play again. Get your head figured out. Get your family figured out. Don’t miss practice. Now get the fuck out of my office.”

Standing, I turn and head toward the door, stopping with my hand on the handle. I look over my shoulder, and my gaze catches his.

“Thanks, Coach,” I say.

I don’t give him the chance to respond to me. Opening the door, I move out into the locker room and close it behind me. I’m not going to go out and party tonight. There is no celebration to be had. Instead, I slide my phone out of my pocket and text Wrenly to meet me out back where she found me the first night.

WRENLY

I’m standing outside of the arena’s exit after Eli texted and asked me to wait for him there. I can’t help but feel uneasy. It’s not the same uneasy from the first time I was standing here with Ryan in my arms.

It’s different.

As my eyes scan the women hanging around, I see so much clearer than I did the last time I stood here. Sure, I noticed them. I knew they were here to take a stab at hanging out with one of the players, a groupie, but now that Eli and I are together—everything is crystal clear.

And I don’t like it.

“Who are you hoping to get hooked up with tonight?” the girl standing next to me asks.

I turn toward her, showing her my toddler in my arms. She wrinkles her nose, then smirks as if she’s won some big prize. “You aren’t going to get any of them with that crotch goblin in tow.”

I could be offended, but I decide that I don’t care what she says. “Okay,” I respond.

She blinks, likely unsure why I’m not overly offended by her words. At the end of the day, I just don’t give much of a shit. Ryan is sleepy. His yawn fills my ear before he rests his head against my shoulder. Patting his back, I watch the door, waiting for Eli.

“I’m Maddison,” the girl next to me announces chirpily.

Shifting my gaze from the door to her, I blink as I watch her for a moment in silence. “I’m Wrenly,” I say, although it feels odd telling her my name because she just insulted me and my son at the same time.

She smiles, then she gasps and swings her head around. “The door opened. Oh my God, it’s Eli Abbott,” she breathes. The way she says it, I feel like I should give her a moment alone because she clearly is excited.

If Eli notices her, he doesn’t show it. His gaze scans the crowd until it finds mine, and then I watch as his lips tip up into a smirk. He jerks his chin in my direction before he makes his way toward me.

Maddison’s breath hitches, and then she lets it out in what I can only assume is a huff when Eli approaches me and not her. I don’t know, because I can’t look anywhere but in his eyes.

Sucking in my own breath, I tilt my head back slightly as he lifts his hand, cupping my cheek. He leans down, his lips brushing mine. “Let’s go home, sunshine,” he murmurs against my lips.

“Okay,” I breathe.