29. 29 Nathan
29: Nathan
M ae barely looks at me during the game. I’m so used to her grinning from ear to ear whenever we score a touchdown or field goal, but she keeps her gaze on the crowd, and even when I try to catch her eye, she positions herself away.
We win the game, but it’s close, and as I file down the corridor, my father snaps his fingers to gain my attention. I roll my eyes.
“We won, so save the criticism. I don’t need it today.”
“You’re no longer allowed to see Mae.”
My Adam’s apple bobs up and down as I stare at the man I despise. I take a threatening step forward, towering over him. I’m a few inches taller. “What the fuck did you just say?”
He pulls a stack of printed photographs out of his pocket, and I stare at them with gritted teeth, my pulse skyrocketing. “What the fuck are these?” I snatch them away, but my father isn’t fazed, which means these aren’t the only copies he has.
The thought of anyone seeing these makes me livid. These moments were supposed to be private between me and Mae. My body shakes. “What are you going to do? Release these? You can’t threaten me.”
He nods. “I know. That’s why I threatened your whore instead.”
I snap, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and shoving him against the wall. “Call her a whore again, and I’ll break your fucking legs.”
My father only shakes his head, stepping away after I loosen my grip. “Is it really worth it, Nathan? Getting kicked off the team? Having your image disassembled?”
“I don’t give a shit about myself.”
Kevin hums. “But think about her. If you care about her, which, unfortunately, I can tell you do, do you think she’ll enjoy being followed around everywhere? Being stopped in the streets to get asked about her scandalous relationship with the famous Nathan Slater? Do you think she’ll enjoy seeing her name tarnished—known as a slut and a whore? It’ll be awfully hard for her to get a job with a reputation like that.”
I curse under my breath. Those are the last things I want for Mae.
“Why continue this when you knew she was leaving anyway? And to Florida of all places.” My father cackles.
My face contorts with confusion, and the buzzing of the fluorescent lights above us suddenly sounds ten thousand times louder, the brightness dizzying.
“What?”
A smile forms on my father’s face as the realisation hits him. “Oh, you don’t know? She’s moving to Florida to join a veterinary program. Soon, too, and she agreed never to contact you again. Seems she doesn’t like you as much as you think she does.”
My stomach twists in the most harrowing way, causing me to almost double over in pain. The last time I’d spoken to Mae about her veterinary program search—which had been around two weeks ago—she’d claimed she hadn’t been accepted by anyone yet. I was holding out hope that when she was, it would be by a program close. Somewhere near me so I could still see her.
But Florida is a six-and-a-half-hour flight away.
I hear the voices of the cheerleaders behind me, and I drop my head with a tense jaw, my eyes flickering to a doe-eyed Mae who’s gazing at me with parted lips. She hangs back as everyone else files into the locker room.
“You’re leaving,” I mutter to her, and my father backs up and chuckles as he strolls away, leaving the volcano he’s just set off to erupt.
“Nathan, I—”
“How long have you known?”
Mae is silent.
“Mae… how long?”
“A week.”
Her reply cuts me like a knife, and I rest my head back against the wall, hands scraping through my hair.
“I didn’t know how to tell you,” she starts. “I didn’t even know how to feel when I got accepted. I wasn’t set on going, Nathan. I hadn’t made up my mind.”
“I wish you’d told me.” My voice reveals my disappointment.
“We both knew I was leaving anyway.”
“I know, but I didn’t know when.” My jaw pops.
I’m imagining living my life without Mae. I can literally feel the colour draining from the world around me, leaving it grey and lifeless. Everything will feel wrong. Everything in my life will shift, and knowing I can’t stop it… there’s a dead weight in my chest.
I don’t want to go back to the way things were before. She’s shown me I can be happy.
“We signed contracts, Nathan. We never should have started this in the first place—not when we both knew I’d be leaving and there was a chance we’d get caught.”
I crouch down to her level, eyes lasering into hers. “But we did, Mae, okay? We fucking did, and we can’t take it back.”
She shakes her head, dropping her pom-poms to the ground. “I won’t allow you to lose the Storks.”
“But in turn, I lose you.” It’s a punch in the gut. Everything is blowing up in my face, and I don’t know how to handle it. My chest feels hollow, and I raise my eyebrows at Mae, waiting for her to say something.
I’m going to fucking kill my father.
I roll my lips together painfully.
She’s worked so hard to get where she wants to be. She’s been through so much. The last thing she needs is to have her name blemished. Once the tabloids know you, that’s it. There’s no escaping.
Her fingers pick at her lips, and I reach forwards and stop her. Even if I am angry right now, I don’t want her hurting herself.
I don’t hold onto her hand, though. Instead, I place it back by her side, fingers skimming her wrist.
“I can’t let this ruin your career. It’s not worth it. You’ve spent years trying to win this for your mom, Nathan. So, after the season ends, I’ll leave, and we won’t contact each other again.”
My heart practically turns to ash in my chest. “You want that?”
Mae’s fingers press into her temples, and she rubs, sighing. “No, of course not, but it’s no longer about what we want. It’s more complicated than that.”
“It’s very complicated,” I say. “Complicated because I’ve allowed myself to develop feelings for you. Feelings I can’t stop or take back.”
Mae’s eyes fill with tears, but she blinks them away. “Me too.” She shakes her head, allowing her palm to cup my cheek one last time before she drops it as if she’s been burned, stepping past me.
She turns and walks away, and I swear I can hear my heart cracking inside my chest. I watch with dark eyes as she turns down the corridor, taking my love with her. Because it’s not until now that I realise I love her. I need her.
And yet, it’s not enough.
“Are you sad?” Leo asks me as he squashes my face together, gaining a groan from me.
“No, Leo,” I respond, gently prying his hands from my cheeks. “I’m not sad.”
I’m fucking heartbroken.
The media likes to paint the Storks as heartbreakers.
And I guess it’s true.
I’m a heartbreaker, alright. But it’s not anyone else’s heart I’ve broken. It’s my own.
“Ease up, Leo,” Evan orders his son, taking him into his arms and planting a quick kiss on the side of his head.
“Uncle Nathan isn’t sad.” Evan’s stormy grey eyes flicker to mine. “He’s…”
“Miserable? Mournful? Troubled?” Bennet chimes in from the couch, tilting his head to me while he lays there as if he owns it.
“Get your feet off my couch.” Evan kicks Bennett, so he tumbles off.
My friends are aware of Mae. They understand me and can easily see when I’m off—every day over the past week. Yet, we haven’t discussed it openly, aside from a few check-ins to see if I’m okay. They recognise it’s a line not to cross right now.
According to Poppy, Renee has eased up on her daughter. She hasn’t made any efforts to reach out and bridge the cavern-sized gap between them, but she’s less offensive to her.
Perhaps I got through to her.
Good.
Because I won’t be able to sleep again knowing that Renee still treats her daughter like crap.
Even if we don’t see each other again.
I’ve purposely avoided sticking around before or after training because Mae needs time to think about everything right now. I’m the last person she needs to see, and truthfully, I’m still hurt she didn’t tell me about Florida. I understand her mind wasn’t made up. She was still weighing up her options.
I wouldn’t have tried to convince her to stay or go. That’s not my place. It’s her life, and she needs to live it. But it’s a conversation I would have loved to be a part of.
My father’s been calling me, trying to talk to me as if nothing happened despite my demands he tell me where he acquired the photos. He’s always working in South Dakota, so I know he couldn't have taken them.
I haven’t slept. I’ve spent most of my nights putting the pieces together. Trying to work out who would be pathetic enough to work for my father. The paparazzi came to mind, but there’s no way they would have been able to get into the restricted area of the stadium to get near the locker rooms.
There’s someone I’ve been meaning to speak to, though, and knowing he’s in the city after returning from a game in Texas, I snatch my phone from the coffee table. He answers after the first ring, and I can hear the smirk in his tone as he says, “Slater, I’ve been expecting your call. Ready for a chat?”
Riley’s voice is as off-putting as always.
My jaw ticks, and Evan and Bennett arch their eyebrows.
“Is that who I think it is?” Bennet wonders, pursing his lips. “Wait until I get my hands on whoever took those photos.” He cracks his knuckles, and Leo watches him with adoration, attempting to do the same but bending his little fingers too far back and hurting himself.
Evan shoots a glare at Bennett as I grumble into the phone, grabbing my car keys and nodding goodbye to my friends. “Fine. I’ll meet you there.”
“I hope you’re going to beat someone up!” Bennett yells after me.
I dip my chin in a nod. “Maybe.”
I meet Riley in a local gym, heading to the weights section where he’s pumping iron. Sweat is trickling down his forehead, and he grins at me. “Nice of you to reach out.”
I hum. There’s a reason Riley’s been hanging around Missarali, and in my head, I’m sure it’s because he’s been secretly spying on Mae and me. Now that he’s back, I can speak to him in person because this isn’t a conversation I wanted to have over the phone.
“Let me guess, you’re tired of the slander, and you’ve come to apologise?”
A scoff forms in my throat, but I keep it down. “No, actually.”
Riley seems genuinely surprised, and he pushes his damp, light brunette hair away from his face. “Alright, enlighten me, then.”
“Kevin Slater… the name ring a bell?”
He laughs—loud and obnoxious. “Well, obviously, he’s your daddy.”
“Please never use that word again.” I grimace. “Have you spoken to him before? Hung out with him?” My nostrils flare. “I think you know what I’m getting at.”
He pulls his eyebrows together and shakes his head. “Nathan, this is a first for me, but I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about. No offence, but your father seems like a dick. Why would I want to hang out with him?”
It’s frustrating that Riley isn’t just admitting he collected the photos for my father. But he has too much pride to deny it. If he really went to all the effort, he sure as hell would want me to know he had one-upped me.
There’s no reason why he wouldn’t confess to it… unless he actually didn't do it.
“So you’ve been in Missarali doing what exactly?”
“Working with my new sponsor. Their headquarters are here. We lost our last game, so we’re out of the playoffs, and my cousin just moved into the city, so I’ve been helping him settle in.” He shrugs as if it’s public knowledge. As if I keep up to date on what he’s doing with his life.
Besides the fact that his team lost. I know all about that. And I smiled when I found out.
“The Salty Dog… why?”
Riley rolls his eyes. “It’s a quiet bar. It’s mostly filled with older people whose eyesight is so bad they can’t see who I am. Just because I love the limelight doesn't mean I want to shine all the time, Slater. A man can only take so much.”
“You have no idea what I’m talking about? You’re sure?”
Riley chuckles, slapping my back. “You get tackled too hard during your last game, Slater? I thought you were here to talk about the comments I’ve been making to the press.”
“I’m not. I don’t care about that.”
He pauses. “Yeah, you know what? I’m tired of our little feud. The fact that you came here to see me speaks volumes. I’m willing to forgive you.” He flashes his whitened teeth at me, and I huff in disbelief.
But in all seriousness, I don’t want Riley Donovan against me. I don’t need the trouble. He may be a dick, but I have bigger issues than him.
I hold out my hand.
Riley shakes it. “Friends?”
I cock an eyebrow at him. “I wouldn’t go that far, Donovan.”