18
Maeve
MY HEAD FELT LIKE someone had wedged a drum behind my eyes and was testing how loudly it could be played.
The flight had been less than an hour.
It had still been interminable.
I’d spent most of it beside Raina, trying very hard not to be the person who complained about a hangover after willingly drinking enough to earn one.
I’d failed spectacularly.
Every time the plane dipped, my stomach lurched.
Every time someone laughed too loudly, my temples throbbed.
And every time my mind drifted back to the conversation with Rihaan at the pub, the headache somehow managed to find another gear.
Unlike him, I had a tendency to remember quite literally everything about the night. Tequila or not.
And worse, I'd spent the rest of the flight wondering what he’d meant when he’d said why he’d forgotten, the broken look he had when he talked about how something had happened with his father, or the stuff that had gone down with his family and why he’d looked at me like that when I’d answered him about leaving him.
It had taken everything in me not to ask Raina to expand on it.
I already felt like I had crossed an invisible line when I’d gotten back to my hotel room last night and scoured the intranet.
The words “Lancashire vs Surrey 2023”, along with “Rihaan and Vikram Patel” and “Singhania Diamonds Scandal 2023” had taken a large chunk of that history.
And yet, the only thing I’d been able to find was what Rihaan had told me: him lashing out on the field.
There had been a glimpse of Vikram grabbing Rihaan just as he was pulled off the field, and made his way to the tent where the rest of the squad sat.
Raina had glanced at me twice during the flight.
The third time, I'd caught her. “Yes?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were about to.”
She simply smiled, her eyes flicking between me and the row next to us, landing on her older brother.
She met my eyes again. “I was going to ask if you wanted water.”
“Oh.”
“You’re terrible at pretending you’re fine.”
“I am fine.” My stomach rolled.
She raised an eyebrow.
I closed my eyes. “Mostly.”
Thankfully, the flight landed before my body could decide to punish me further.
The hotel was busy when we arrived, filled with the usual chaos of players, staff, luggage and people trying to work out where they were supposed to be.
This time, when my stomach lurched again, I gave Raina one worried look before I made my way to a more suitable place.
I made it as far as the lobby bathroom, before the entirety of my breakfast made it’s way out of my body.
I knew saying yes to my father was a bad idea.
Only, I didn’t want him knowing that I had a massive hangover. Or how, after one spicy margarita had accidentally turned into doing tequila shots with Raina’s media team because I no longer wanted to feel like a guest with the people who were supposed to be a team.
Also, because I missed my best friend.
Me and Samyra had barely had a chance to talk properly in the last couple weeks, mostly conversing through the world of social media, with memes and relatable content as our mode of communication.
It felt strange, considering we’d spoken everyday—even with the time zone differences—seen each other as frequently too before both of our new roles took over our lives.
Even when I’d worked for the women’s team, we’d found a way to break out of the work rut each night.
Game nights had been for self care, but our breaks were for travelling around the city we’d landed in.
I had never been this isolated from my social life in a long long time.
Maybe that was the reason my nightmares had become recurrent too.
After Game nights, I returned to a quite hotel room with not a single person to speak to.
I’d tried reading, distracting myself with have solo dance parties in my room, watching movies, but ultimately they all made me realise of the loneliness I felt in my heart, that I spent most nights thinking about what I’d found on my mother’s social media.
Or the betrayal I felt when my father had taken Rihaan’s side, after making such progress.
All that did was turn my obsessive thoughts into the one nightmare I’d had since I was a kid.
When I was sure, I wasn’t about to hurl my insides again, I wiped my mouth with the toilet paper, flushed and left the stall.
I gripped the edge of the sink afterwards, breathing through my nose, forehead pressed against the cool marble. “Brilliant.”
My reflection looked as awful as I felt.
Pale. Blonde Hair everywhere. Eyes watering and red.
A woman who had made several poor life choices and was now being punished for all of them simultaneously.
The bathroom door opened.
“Maeve?”
Raina’s voice.
I shut my eyes. “Hey.”
My throat screamed as I spoke, finally searching for my bag that I thought I’d brought with me.
“Did you throw up?” She asked, and I only nodded, finally spotting her holding up the bag for me.
Pulling out my wash bag—the one I always carried on my shoulder bag on flights, thankfully—I pulled out my toothbrush and toothpaste.
Raina waited patiently as I rinsed my mouth. The sound of her fingers tapping against her phone screen was soft over my actions.
When I finally finished, and cleaned my face once, I turned to her. “You okay?”
I asked, noticing the worried look in her eye.
“Just anxious. Had a long night yesterday, so I probably need some rest.” She replied softly, before waving her hands like she didn’t want to talk about it.
“Do you need anything to eat from the grocery shop? A couple guys went to get some basics, considering they’ve just closed their breakfast section for early check ins. ”
I shook my head. “The idea of food sounds horrible right now.” I paused, before adding. “I’ll take some Ibuprofen though. I only brought a small pack that I lent to Faroq and forgot to buy some. I was going to get them once I was checked in.”
“I’ll ask Rihaan—he’s gone with the guys. But you’ll need to eat something before you take it—it’s bad to take it on an empty stomach.” Her concerned expression left barely any room for arguments, so I just nodded.
“Done.” She gave me a smile, and waited until I looked marginally less likely to collapse before following me back into the lobby.
When we reached the group, Oliver waved at us with the keys to their hotel room. “You okay?”
I gave him a tiny nod before giving him an appreciative smile.
“I’m going to get Maeve upstairs,” Raina said.
I shook my head. “You don't have to.”
“I don’t mind.” She insisted.
“Don’t worry, please. I have to wait here for Rihaan, anyway. You go get settled in, especially if you’re feeling anxious.”
She nodded reluctantly.
“Text me.”
“I will.”
“And if you feel worse—”
“I'll tell you.”
She finally left with Oliver. I was sure that, once I was functioning better, I’d appreciate her warm nature, but for the moment, I needed to take a seat before the world spun around me and I passed out.
The moment I sat down the lobby to stopped moving, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Then I pulled out my phone, a text from Rihaan waiting for me.
My heart sped up seeing his name against the phone number.
07404xxxxxx - Rihaan Patel:
Took this number from the squad group chat.
Raina asked to bring you something to eat, what do you want?
07404xxxxxx - Rihaan Patel:
You snooze, you lose.
Got u some stuff from memory, sorry.
The flutter in my belly was not helping my already rumbling stomach as my thumb hovered before I typed.
Me:
It’s fine. Not in the mood to eat, anyway.
But Raina had that look I couldn’t say no to.
Trivia Boy:
LOL. Yeah, I know which one.
Be there in ten. Are you still in the lobby?
Me:
Yep.
Trivia Boy:
Cool.
I told myself that his nickname was for the sake of my father. If for some reason—even though I couldn’t think of any in that moment—he happened to text me when I was around my father—or worse, Samyra—at least, I’d be able to talk myself out of the situation.
Once I was sure I wasn’t going to lose my balance, I stood and approached the reception.
“Hi. I just need to check in. I’m with the England Cricket Team.”
The receptionist smiled. “Of course. Name?”
“Maeve Knox.”
Her fingers moved across the keyboard before they stopped. A worried expression flashed across her face.
This time when her fingers moved across the keyboard they ran at a miles faster speed.
My stomach sank. “Something wrong?”
She gave me a worried look. “It looks like your reservation was cancelled.”
I stared at her. “Cancelled?”
“Yes.”
“By who?”
She checked the screen again. “It seems to be a system error. We recently updated our systems to have integrated technology and it appears there were two booking under M. Knox...so it must’ve considered it as a duplicate error and deleted it.”
I refrained myself from yelling. I already had a massive headache, but there was a strong urge to go on about how wrong AI was. “Yeah. There are two M. Knox in the staff team.”
“I realise that now. If it helps, the refund should’ve been processed back to your account.”
I frowned, unable to hold myself back. “How is that helpful?”
“Well…you didn’t pay for anything.”
My headache pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Hard enough that I had to press my fingers against my temple. “Okay. Can you reinstate it, or book me another room? You can charge to the team account.”
“I'm afraid we're completely booked.”
“Completely?”
“A lot of people come in for the tour.”
“Right. Do you have any rooms opening soon? Like later this evening, or tonight, or even for tomorrow?” I asked. “It’s mandatory for the staff to be in the same hotel as the squad.”
She gave me a nervous look. “Let me check.”
“Thank you.”
Her attention turned back to her screen as I shifted my gaze to look around the lobby.
Every sofa was occupied. People were waiting to be checked in. Families sat around with luggage. Fans wandered through the entrance in team shirts.
The receptionist lowered her voice.
“I can offer you three options.”
By the regret in her voice, I knew I would hate all of them.