Chapter 54
Travis
Iturn to Anna.
“What is it?” I ask.
She doesn’t answer. She just shows me her phone screen.
“What the…” I trail off when I see Nick’s post about me on his social media account.
I’m confused at first, but then I read the whole thing.
I stand behind @TravisMaxton1 ten thousand percent.
What happened in that video is misleading.
That was a private moment that never should’ve been filmed and posted online for strangers to watch.
The people who did that are garbage. I’m not gonna comment on Travis’ relationship with his dad.
That’s private, and none of us has the right to know what goes on in his personal life.
But I will say this: Travis is the best person I know.
He’s kind and selfless and would do anything for the people he cares about.
If he has a problem with someone, they’re the asshole. Not him.
I stare at the post, stunned.
“Holy shit,” I say.
Nick is using his social media to defend me.
He’s putting himself on the line to stand up for me.
I swallow hard, blown away by what my best friend has done for me.
I don’t let myself look at the comments. I don’t have the stomach to read a bunch of insults or speculation about my personal life right now.
But I do see how many likes Nick’s post has gotten. Several thousand.
Holy crap.
Maybe that means that people are being more understanding about my situation than I assumed they’d be.
“I should call Nick,” I say.
Anna gives my arm a soft squeeze. “You should.”
I hand her back her phone and grab mine from the side table. She leaves the room while I call him. He answers on the first ring.
“I saw your post,” I say.
He huffs out a breath. “I’m sorry. I’ll take it down if you want. I know you’re not into social media, but I was sick of people speculating about you and—”
“I don’t want you to take it down. I wanted to thank you for standing up for me.”
He’s quiet for a second. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Emotion lodges in my throat. I cough through it. “I just…it means a lot that you’d say something publicly. That you’d expose yourself to criticism from strangers on the internet just to stand up for me.”
“Of course I would, Travvie. You’re my best friend.
You stood up for me when it was my ass on the chopping block.
Remember when I ran into the stands in the middle of our game last season to kick Poppy’s ex’s ass when he assaulted her?
You threatened to leave the team when Coach Sawyer suspended me for that.
You didn’t have to put yourself on the line, but you did. ”
“Because you did the right thing. I wasn’t gonna stand by while you got screwed.”
“Exactly. I’m not gonna stand by and let a bunch of dipshits put you on blast for defending yourself against your dad.”
I’m quiet for a second, heartened at how my best friend has my back, no matter what.
“Have you heard from the Seagulls yet? What’s their take on all this?” Nick asks.
I exhale sharply. “Not yet. I’ve been putting it off. I’m scared they’re going to get rid of me because of the publicity mess that video has caused for the team.”
He’s quiet for a second. “If that happens, we’ll riot.”
I crack a smile. “Your sister said something similar.”
He chuckles. “Really?”
“I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re twins after all.”
“We can’t help that urge for revenge. It’s genetic.”
“Seriously though, man, thank you. This thing is a mess, but it feels good to have you in my corner.”
“Always, Travvie. And hey, Leo and Blake posted on their social media defending you too.”
That warm feeling inside of me spreads.
“You guys are the fucking best,” I say.
“We know,” Nick says in that cocky tone. “And hey, I know you don’t like to read the comments on social media about yourself, but I’ve been reading them. You have a lot of support from people.”
“I do?”
“Yeah. I mean, sure, there are a few people who are being dicks, but they’re outnumbered. By a lot. Most people are defending you for what you did.”
I’m quiet as I process the surprise of hearing that.
“I can’t believe it,” I say quietly.
“Look, I know you’ve always been really private about your personal life. And I get why. You don’t want strangers prying into your life.” He pauses. “But if you ever wanted to explain your feelings or where you’re coming from, people would get behind you. I know they would.”
Just the thought of publicly talking about what I went through with my dad makes my stomach twist into a million knots.
“I don’t know if I have the guts to do that,” I admit.
“That’s okay,” Nick says. “You don’t have to do anything. I’m just telling you that a lot more people support you than you think.”
I tell him I’ll think about it. When we hang up, I look at Leo’s and Blake’s social media posts in support of me.
I pull up our group chat and message them.
Hey, guys. I just saw your social media posts. Thanks for having my back.
They text back right away.
Blake: Yeah, dude. We’re behind you one hundred percent.
Leo: We’ve got your back, man.
Nick: I posted that I stood by Travvie ten thousand percent, which is way better than your one hundred percent support. I’m a way better friend than you
Blake: *eye roll emoji*
Leo: Way to make this whole thing about you, St. George
Nick: Travvie knows I’m just kidding around.
I smile down at my phone. It feels good to joke around after dealing with something so heavy.
Me: Thanks, guys. For the laugh and the support
Nick: Told you Travvie appreciates my humor
Nick: *kissy face emojis*
Nick: Those are for Travvie
Blake: Get a room, you two
Leo: *eye roll emoji*
I think about what Nick said about me posting about the situation with my dad.
Nerves fire off inside of me like cannonballs at the thought of speaking publicly about something so personal.
But maybe it would feel good to finally tell the truth. To stop hiding that part of my life like it’s some shameful secret. To stop acting like I did something wrong.
Because I didn’t. My dad did. And it’s not fair that I have to bear the brunt of all these negative feelings when I’m not the one at fault.
I huff out a breath and pull up my Instagram account. I hardly ever post on there, but I see that ever since Hollis U won the national championship and I got drafted by the Seagulls, I’ve gained a bunch of new followers. I’m at ten thousand currently.
That sets off even more nerves. I don’t exit out of the app though. I make myself sit there with this feeling.
Just write your thoughts. You don’t even have to post it. Just get it out.
I start to type. When I finish, I read through it.
I’m sure by now you’ve seen that video of that argument I had with my dad.
A lot of speculation has been thrown around, so I just want to set it all straight.
My dad walked out on my mom and me when I was seventeen.
I haven’t seen or spoken to him for the past four years, until he showed up in San Francisco without warning.
I haven’t wanted to see him or communicate with him because he’s not a good person. I won’t go into details, but I will say that he abandoned my mom when she got seriously ill. Thankfully, she recovered and is doing well now.
Not once did my dad try to reach out and apologize to her or help her. So I had no interest in ever speaking to him again. But then I got drafted into the NHL, and he tried to reach out to me. I ignored him. And that’s when he showed up in San Francisco.
I didn’t want to see him. I told him to go away. But he wouldn’t take no for an answer. That’s when he put his hands on me, so I defended myself.
I’m sad and disappointed that people felt the need to film my private argument with my father. And I’m really angry that it ended up online for millions of strangers to watch and make judgments about.
I hope you can understand why I reacted the way I did. I never want to have conflict with anyone, but I’m also not going to just stand there when someone violates my boundaries.
I hope this gives some clarity to this situation. And I hope you can give me understanding while I work through this privately.
A second later, Anna appears in the doorway.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
I nod. She sits next to me, and I tell her about my conversation with her brother, and how it prompted me to write about how I’m feeling.
“I’m thinking about posting this to Instagram.”
I show her the post I drafted. She reads through it, then looks up at me, emotion in her gaze.
“Am I crazy? Is this a bad idea?”
She shakes her head. “No. I think it would be really meaningful if you posted this. I think it would give a lot of clarity. And I think it would resonate with a lot of people who are going through something similar in their own lives.”
I huff out a breath. “Okay. I’m gonna do it.”
She holds my hand.
I look at her. “You’ll still love me if this all goes belly-up, right?” I swallow hard, feeling vulnerable in a way I never have before. “If the Seagulls drop me…if no one cares about this and I come off like a pathetic loser…you’ll still be here, right?”
Emotion flashes in her eyes as she looks at me. Gently, she grabs my face and kisses me.
When we break apart, she holds my gaze. “I’m here for you forever, Travis. Always. No matter what.”
My heart throbs in my chest. I kiss her again. And then I post it.
I put my phone on the table and pull her onto my lap.
I did it. I opened up. I told the truth. And no matter what happens, I have Anna. She’s all I need.