Chapter 12
Covey
Once Blake and Wes had a key to my house, I excused myself and ran to the store to get a new phone. Blake said he would lock up and there would be a crew there in the morning to begin cleaning up the mess. He suggested I keep the power off until then.
I thought about calling Wheeler or Leo to see if I could stay with them, but I didn’t feel like packing a bag. It’s not hot enough to need the air conditioning and though the nights are a little chilly, I can throw on an extra blanket.
It took me almost two hours to get a new phone. They had issues with getting the new device to download my information and everything else from my old device. I wanted to scream in annoyance. I just wanted to get home and begin emptying out the rooms that are damaged.
Wes told me not to worry about it. They know I don’t have time to be moving around furniture and emptying rooms, but I feel like a jerk leaving all of that work for his guys. I’ll definitely be giving all of them tickets to games for a while.
By the time my new phone is working and I get home, I'm exhausted. I just want to climb in bed and close my eyes. I'm in the middle of brushing my teeth when two texts come through, one right after the other.
Cici: I'm running late, but I'm on my way. I got stuck in the office longer than I expected.
Cici: Are you still coming?
My eyes widen and my jaw falls open. Toothpaste drips out of my mouth and down my bare chest.
“Are you kidding me? How did I forget?”
I rush to finish brushing my teeth and clean up myself. Then I'm pulling up my text thread with Cici as my heart beats wildly in my chest.
This can’t be happening. I made it clear to her that I wanted more for our relationship. I promised I’d show up and we’d finally have a chance to talk… then I stood her up.
I feel like such a jerk. She must hate me right now. She probably thinks I never planned to show up at all.
Covey: I'm so sorry! I can explain. Are you home?
I pace back and forth in my room, trying to figure out what I'm going to say… assuming she’ll even talk to me.
I don’t want to do this via text message though. I want to talk to her face to face so I can make sure she understands this was all a mistake. It was one catastrophe that took all of my focus and made me forget everything else going on in life.
I’ll beg her to forgive me and make sure she realizes I would never stand her up on purpose.
I glance at my phone and see it’s been almost thirty minutes since I texted her. I'm about to call her when a response finally comes through.
Cici: I'm in bed, Covey. I'm exhausted. You can explain everything later.
Covey: Please don’t hate me. There was an emergency.
Cici: I'm not doing this right now.
“Crap! She’s going to push me away and I thought maybe we could finally have a relationship,” I mumble under my breath as I run a rough hand through my hair. At this point, I’ll be bald before I get my house and my relationship with Cici fixed.
Covey: Can we meet tomorrow?
Covey: Please, Cici.
Cici has silenced her notifications.
I let out a loud groan and collapse onto my bed. I can’t believe this. I thought tonight was going to be it. We’d figure out where we stood with each other and finally take the steps to start a real relationship.
I wake up to no new notifications. My stomach sinks and I feel sick to my stomach. I hate knowing she’s mad at me. That I let her down again.
I should’ve texted her, but as soon as I saw the water my brain turned off. I was so focused on getting everything cleaned up and dealt with. I completely forgot I was on my way to meet Cici for dinner. I was too obsessed with trying to make the water stop and figure out where it was coming from.
By the time Blake and Wes showed up, my mind was solely focused on how long this was going to take to fix and how much it was going to cost.
Then when I dropped my phone in the water and broke it, my brain basically shut off. There were too many things going wrong.
I should’ve ignored the water and gotten ready for my date. I should’ve made the call to Wyatt and told him I’d leave a key out front for his dad to get in. Honestly, just sending a simple text message would’ve prevented Cici from ignoring me.
She’s an understanding person. She wouldn’t hold it against me when I had an emergency at home. She might’ve been upset to cancel our dinner, but she wouldn’t be angry about it.
But as usual, I only cared about myself.
She deserves better than me. Better than a man who cancels plans because he doesn’t want to make his own life more difficult. Better than me putting my relationship with Cord and Owen above my relationship with her because it will make my life easier.
I glance at the clock and notice I have two hours before I have to be at the stadium. We have an afternoon game today and Owen will flip out if I'm late.
I try calling Cici, but it rings three times before going to voicemail. When I try calling her again, it rings once before going to voicemail. She’s definitely avoiding me.
Taking my time getting ready, I slip out of my house almost thirty minutes early. There’s a truck parked in my driveway and a man climbs out and waves at me.
“Hey, man, I'm Titus. Blake and Wes have me and my crew ripping out everything today and cleaning up the water. We’ll be here for a while.”
“Thanks, Titus. I'm Covey. I won't be home at all today. I have a game in a few hours. I tried to move some things out of the spare bedrooms, but honestly, I didn’t get a whole lot accomplished.” I grip the back of my neck, feeling like a complete idiot.
“Don’t worry about it.” Titus waves off my concerns. “This is what we do. Is there anywhere special you want us to move things to?”
“I… I don’t even know. Maybe the living room? There wasn’t a ton of water in there the last time I checked.” I groan, thinking about how much of my furniture I’ll need to replace.
I don’t even have time to go shopping for any of this. We’re not even halfway into the season. I’m going to be traveling so much for the next few months.
“How about we’ll move it to the spot we think is best? When you come home, if you want it somewhere else, leave me a note or text me and we can move it for you.” Titus hands me a business card with his name and contact information on it.
“I'm not going to make you guys move it multiple times. That’s crazy.”
“With all due respect, Covey, you’re going to work where you throw a ball and hit it with a bat for a living. I pick up heavy things and move them to somewhere else before we can even start fixing things. We’re both just doing our jobs today.”
“Why do I feel like your job is harder than mine?” I chuckle.
“Because it is?” Titus grins.
“I’m getting you and the rest of your crew tickets to some games. I appreciate you guys coming on the weekend to help me out. I truly don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Thanks, I think they’d all appreciate that.
I know I would… But don’t let me keep you.
Blake gave me the key and explained what needs to be accomplished.
I’ll let you know if we run into any unexpected issues.
” Titus pats me on the back as he disappears around to the other side of his truck and starts taking things out.
Another truck pulls down my driveway as I start my engine and a few men climb out of it. I wave to them and call a quick thanks as I leave. I just hope everything can be handled quickly.
When I get to the end of my driveway, I should turn left. Instead, I turn right and find myself driving past Cici’s house.
I slow as I see a man climb out of the car in her driveway and glance around. Cici comes jogging outside and she steps into a hug. There’s a big smile on her face and she looks so happy to see him.
There’s no way this is just a friend. Is she dating someone? And if she is, why did she want to meet me last night? Why was she flirting with me recently?
I turn my attention back to the road and step on the gas. The last thing I need is Cici recognizing my car and asking me why I'm driving by her house.