Page 39

Chapter 38

Brooks

“What are you doing here?” I hiss at the person I absolutely didn’t expect to see. My jaw is clenched and my teeth grind together.

“What do you mean? I’ve been texting you.” She steps closer to me and my reaction is to lean back, needing more space between us. I step back when the lean isn’t enough.

“Surprise!” Rebecca cheers, her hands posing above her head.

I shake my head and snap, “This is a fucking horrible surprise.”

I look down the hallway to see Lia leaving. I want to run after her, but I will not cause a scene. Rebecca is not fucking worth it. I don’t want anyone leaking this interaction, causing tonight to be all about this bullshit drama. No fucking way. Not for Lia and not for me.

“I haven’t texted you back. How did you even get back here?” I look for the security guards who typically man this area and only find one. I bet staffing is thin at this position tonight and Rebecca found a way to use it for her advantage. Typical.

“What? You’re not happy to see me?” She puts a finger to my chest and looks up at me, almost like she’s about to lean in and kiss me.

I walk away from the nearby friends and family, not wanting anyone to overhear any of this. “Rebecca. No. Not particularly. The last time I talked to you was when you packed your shit to go back to the man you were having an affair with. Do you remember that?” I whisper sharply.

She rolls her eyes, agitation rolling off her skin. “Why can’t you forgive and forget? It was a mistake. I said I was sorry. ”

Despite everything we went through, she still sounds like she couldn’t give a fuck. Part of me thought we might connect later in life, not as friends but as people passing, and I’d be able to look at her and know she’s changed. Today is not that day. I don’t know if that will ever happen.

“You said it. You never meant it. Not then and not now.”

“We just need to sit down. Hash it out. I think—”

“No. I really don’t care what you think. I’m uninterested in the next part of that sentence.” I scrub my face with my hands, willing myself to be in a different interaction. “You showed up here and snuck back to the players’ area like it was nothing. Like it was owed to you. Doesn’t that seem off?”

An issue with Rebecca is she knows exactly what to do to get what she wants. She did it when we were together and she’s doing it now. I want so badly to scream that there’s someone else. Someone who left so fast. Someone I wanted to chase after. Someone who didn’t deserve this. I’m sure Lia has too many questions about a woman I haven’t willingly seen in years.

Rebecca sighs out a huff, her eyes on mine, and there are no old feelings creeping to the front of line. The only thing she makes me feel is anger and disappointment.

I try to make her hear me. “Listen, you showing up here like this? I don’t want you to do it again. This isn’t how this works. You don’t get to decide this. Just because you’re ready and assume I want to see you, even if I’ve never texted you back.”

“I just want five minutes.” She sounds borderline sad but it’s not enough.

I put my hand up, literally wanting her to stop. “You don’t get five minutes. I have nothing else for you. Please don’t text. Don’t call. There’s nothing left for you to chase. ”

“Brooks.” She steps closer and I immediately move backward, as if her hands could burn me.

“No. You’ve had your chances. I was never enough. The only difference now is I know you were never enough for me .” I laugh because it’s so clear. How didn’t I see this before? “I wish you nothing but good things.”

I turn and walk to the exit. When Rebecca doesn’t call after me, the relief starts to creep through my bones, permeating to the blood coursing through my veins. I pull out my phone and call Lia, but she doesn’t answer. I try one more time with the same result.

Fuck. There’s no way I can let this go tonight.

Within minutes, I’m in my car and driving straight to Lia’s apartment.

I hate thinking about how Lia’s feelings were hurt tonight. It’s like getting the wind knocked out of me while trying to catch my breath. I didn’t think there was any harm in keeping Rebecca’s texts to myself—I literally never engaged—but maybe that was wrong?

I go over the whole situation and the key points shine in my brain, like, “Hey, asshole. Don’t forget about this!” And I do feel like an asshole. There’s no part of me that ever thought Rebecca would show up like this, or that she’d sneak through the lack of security guards to get to me.

I kick my own ass until I’m pulling in front of Lia’s apartment. From here I see her door is cracked open and my heart clenches in my chest. That isn’t right. She would never leave it open.

Jogging to it, I knock before calling out, “Lia? You in there?” No one answers so I push it open cautiously and look around.

Water. Everywhere. Her apartment is flooded.

I see Lia standing near her bed with her arms crossed.

“Hey. It’s Brooks.” I announce myself one more time because I don’t want to scare her .

Once I’m in her room, I look up at what Lia’s fixated on. The ceiling broke open and water is still coming down. Debris covers her bed. Fuck.

I lightly touch the side of her arm, standing in front of her. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes gut me. Rimmed with red, they’re a stark contrast to her pale skin. When she doesn’t say anything, I grip her tightly and move her away from the bed. There’s still a chance that more, or even the rest, of the ceiling could collapse, and we shouldn’t be standing here if it does.

Tears run down her face, mixed with water from the flooding, and this hurts me.

“Lia, did you call anyone? Are you hurt?”

As I ask, firefighters come in and immediately start assessing the situation. They only take a few looks around before turning to us. “Whose apartment is this?” one of the men asks.

“Mine,” Lia croaks out. It’s another haymaker to the body that almost brings me to my knees.

“We need to get you out of here. I can give you a minute to grab a bag of some things you need. We’re running out of time.”

Lia doesn’t move. She stares at the firefighter, who then looks to me.

I turn and face her. “Lia, you need to pack a bag,” I repeat.

She doesn’t say anything but moves to the bathroom, collecting a few things. When she emerges with a bag, her next stop is a laundry basket on the couch—it looks like clean laundry needing to be folded. I watch her grab whatever she can from the basket.

Lia sets the bag she packed, her work bag, and purse on the kitchen counter.

Someone walks in, and it appears to be the landlord.

“Fuck. This is bad,” he whines with no tact at all. “We turned the water off to the building.” He looks at Lia as one of the firefighters gets out of the way, in time for her twinkly lights to fall with part of the ceiling near the hole. “Lia, you obviously can’t stay here. I can call you once we get this situated, but that might be a few days. Do you have somewhere you can stay?” the landlord asks.

She doesn’t say anything.

“Yes,” I jump in. “She can stay with me.”

Lia’s head whips to me so fast, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. The water stops coming through the ceiling, but another piece falls.

“Okay, time to go,” a firefighter insists as he directs everyone outside. I grab one of Lia’s bags while she takes the others. Once we’re outside, the firefighters and the landlord dive into a deep conversation about what to do. They leave Lia and I standing outside her door.

“Let’s go to my place,” I suggest, tipping my head to where my car is parked.

“No.” It’s the first time she’s spoken to me.

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

“I don’t need your help. You can go,” she answers flatly, her face blank and still turned toward the door. Her arms are crossed and her shoulders are by her ears.

I sigh heavily. “Lia, let me explain. Tonight was not what it looked like. And if you think I’m fucking leaving you out here, you’re wrong.”

“Does Rebecca know you’re inviting me back to your place?” This time when Lia turns to me, she shivers, the early December cold taking advantage of her wet skin.

“Rebecca is nothing. I promise, I’ll explain everything.” I try to make her hear me, but I know she’s probably in emotional overload. “You’re freezing, soaking wet, and I’m not leaving you here.”

Lia uses her trembling hand to tuck her hair behind her ears. I want to wrap my arms around her, but I know that isn’t what she needs. Or wants .

I shift my approach. “You’re shaking. You don’t need to drive like this. Let’s go back to my place and at least make a plan. I’ll take you anywhere you want tomorrow.” I’m pleading because I need to get her somewhere safe.

She looks at me, and her eyes have gone completely dull—none of that emerald sparkle I’m used to can be seen. She doesn’t say anything but starts walking to my car.

Fuck. I’ll take it.