Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
Logan
“Mantei, focus,” Coach bellows my way.
My timing at practice has been off all day today. For some reason, I just can’t keep my mind in the game. Now, as I skate more leisurely around the net after an intense drill, I shake my head as I try to catch my breath.
“What’s going on, dude?” Sebastian breaks his skates next to me. “You didn’t look so good just now.”
I bang my stick against the glass, and if it wasn’t made to face any abuse, I’m sure it’d break in half.
“My head is all fucked up,” I admit to him.
He skates alongside me as we do a couple more laps around the net.
“Isn’t it too soon for there to be any trouble in paradise?” he teases. “What happened to all the love and support from a few weeks ago?”
I roll my eyes at him, knowing that he’s just giving me a hard time.
“I’m warning you right now, though.” He points a gloved finger at me. “I am not moving her out of that place next. I about broke my back when she moved in. Not to mention, the ride to your house in the death trap.”
“I’m pretty sure that big moving truck is safer than whatever it is that you drive.”
Sebastian shrugs and continues skating. “Still, though, ain’t doing that again.”
“So noted,” I deadpan.
I stop in front of the net without saying anything more. He stops next to me, and I can tell that he’s practically bouncing off the walls wanting to know what’s going on between me and Elizabeth.
“Her father was at the gala the other night.”
Sebastian frowns in confusion. “The owner of the Sliders was at the event thrown by the Aces?”
“Yeah,” I confirm. “It threw me off, too.”
He skates backward, gliding his stick back and forth against the ice. Once he put a bit of a distance between us, he skates forward, hooking the stick onto the net and propelling himself behind it. He plays around like he’s a little kid.
“Was he there just to see the two of you?” he asks once he’s gathered his scattered thoughts.
I follow his suit and skate around again.
We basically chase each other around, at a low speed.
In the corner of my eye, I notice a few of the guys messing around, too.
Practice is done for the day, but I don’t feel like going home just yet, especially since I don’t know what mood I’ll find Elizabeth in.
“So, what’s the drama, man?” Sebastian snaps at me. “You and his daughter are over then? Did he threaten to kill you and your family? What happened?”
He makes me laugh with his antics. “It wasn’t as dramatic as that.” My tone is laced with amusement. “But let’s just say he was an ass to us, especially to Elizabeth. Basically told her she can’t survive in life without him. Stuff like that,” I shrug.
“Well, she obviously can survive without him if she’s been here on her own for a while now, and she’s not dead yet.”
I bust out laughing. “How can I argue with that logic?”
He bobs his head up and down as he points his stick at me. “I am wise beyond my years,” he says.
Someone blows a whistle from the stands, and we all turn to look at the same time.
“Warm up is at seven tomorrow morning…”
We all groan in unison.
“Make it six fifteen,” he retorts. This time, no one reacts in any way. He does that to us sometimes, where he’ll make us be at the arena earlier if we complain about an early time. However, he doesn’t do that all the time, so it’s hard for us to know when we should keep quiet.
“You all better be wide awake and ready to go,” he grumbles. “If you are late, even a minute late, you’ll be benched for the game on Friday.”
More protests echo from the ice. “I don’t give a flying fuck,” he yells. With that, he is out, and we are back to doing our own thing. By now the sweat I worked up during practice today feels cold as it runs against my skin.
“I need a hot shower,” I tell Sebastian, then skate toward the exit off the ice.
“An ice bath first would help you more,” he tells me. “Also, way to just leave me hanging.”
I step off the ice and waddle toward the locker rooms. “How am I leaving you hanging?”
“I thought there was more to this story with your girl’s father. Is she leaving you now because he told her to?”
I snort. “No, she’s not leaving me.”
My stomach drops a little when I say the words. I really hope he didn’t get into her head that badly. Although, the way she’s been acting since that night makes me wonder.
“She’s a bit depressed about life right now,” I explain to my friend. “She has no patience, and she doesn’t want to understand that this whole thing with her art will take time. One art gallery showed some interest. She expects for that to generate her some income, stat. It doesn’t work that way.”
Sebastian chuckles in amusement. “Listen to you all knowledgeable about the art world.”
I push at his shoulder, causing him to fall a bit into the wall. “It’s just common sense, dude. Besides…” I grin at him. “I googled about this.”
“Ha, cheater!” He yells after me just as I open the door to the locker room.
We both take our time removing our gear before heading to the showers.
“It’ll be okay, dude,” he assures me, sounding a lot more concerned now. “Things happen sometime. Life is hard, and she’ll learn.”
My biggest fear is that she won’t want to wait around while she’s learning. It would be so much easier for her to go back to her father and everything he can provide for her. I don’t say this out loud, but it does eat at me.
I decide that a change in conversation is due. “When are you leaving for New York?” I ask Sebastian.
He looks happy to talk about his plans for when he flies back home. “On Saturday morning,” he tells me. “Thank fuck that we only play on Friday this time. I’ll be there until Monday morning, then head back here.”
“That’ll be a nice little break,” I nod. “It’ll be good to see all the guys again.”
I have this small sense of betrayal in a way that he’s going to our former teammate’s bachelor’s party in New York, and I’m not. I was invited and I chose not to go, but now I feel like I’m about to miss out on something big.
“Yeah, I talked to Aunt Kathy to make sure she can see me on Sunday. I’ll have dinner with her and spend the night at her house, then she’ll take me to the airport on Monday morning.”
“Nice,” I grumble as I step into the shower stall.
He yacks away about his plans while he’s in New York, all the things he wants to do, and some ice cream shop he wants to make sure he hits up before heading back to Austin.
At some point, I stop listening and focus on my own problems. This thing with Elizabeth is messing with me in a bad way.
She hasn’t been the same since she had that breakdown in my spare bedroom.
I seriously debated if I should call nine-one-one because she was scaring me.
Especially when she started writing all the gibberish on the pad she had up on the easel in the corner.
I held her until my arms went numb. Once she calmed down a bit, we both got up from the hard floor. I suggested a shower, implying that it would be together, but she just kissed me on the cheek and said she needed some time alone.
It’s been days since then, and nothing’s changed. She walks around like a zombie. I have no idea if she eats while I’m not there. I can say that I haven’t seen any food missing from my fridge, so I’d guess that she doesn’t.
I told her she should make use of the pool during the day. She nodded and said she would, but I doubt she even stepped a foot outside.
Everything that’s happening with her is very unsettling. I don’t want to pressure her either because I don’t want her to cry like that again. It’s all such a cluster fuck.
“You wanna go for a bite to eat?” Sebastian asks me when we’re out of the shower.
The offer is tempting, but I remind myself that Elizabeth has been home alone all day, and she needs some company.
“Nah, I’ll pass. I got food at home.”
His eyes about pop out of his head. “You got food at home? What are you, a father of five? Who talks like that?”
He teases me mercilessly while we’re getting dressed and all the way out in the parking lot. The only time he stops is when we get stopped by a small group of fans who ask for pictures.
“See ya, dude,” he calls out to me when we’re finally free to go.
I open the back door to my truck to throw my bag in there, then get in the overheated cabin, regretting that I didn’t start it sooner with my key fob.
All the drive home, I am consumed by thoughts of Elizabeth. I need to come up with a way to cheer her up, remind her that we are together, and that we can make this work. I probably should’ve talked more with Sebastian about it since he was bragging about his infinite wisdom.
I pull into my driveway and take a moment to stare at my house. While it’s not in a ritzy neighborhood like all my teammates live, it is a mansion in my world. I am proud of myself for being good with the money I make.
A fleeting thought of my mother crashes into my head out of nowhere.
I haven’t thought of her in so long. I wish I could show her what I was able to accomplish on my own.
I think she would be proud if she could even process the world around her.
But she’s never changed since I was a kid.
She bounces around a lot now that she doesn’t have the responsibility of a kid to worry about.
I sigh and open the door to get out of the truck. Dragging my feet, I grab my bag, then walk toward the front of the house. As soon as I am inside, I let out a sigh of relief when I feel the cool air against my skin. It feels different than the AC in the truck.
I drop my bag inside the laundry room before I start to look for Elizabeth.
As I walk by the kitchen, I decide to check on the food situation in the refrigerator.
Just as I thought, nothing’s been touched.
I have no idea how she can survive on air only, and it’s not even fresh air at that since she’s never outside.
Next on my list is to look out in the backyard, just in case she’s out by the pool. Now that I think of it, I really hope I won’t find her there. With her not eating, she’d pass out from the heat for sure.
Not going to lie, I do feel a certain level of frustration, but I try to remind myself that it’s been only a handful of days, and she needs time. There is no doubt that she led a sheltered life. The reality is smacking her in the face now, and I imagine that it’s not pleasant.
Annoyed with the flip-flopping sound of my sandals, I throw them off my feet, then pad lightly toward the back room, which is now Elizabeth’s art studio. There is no sound coming from inside, but the door is slightly ajar, so I push it open.
Elizabeth is lying on her back in the middle of the room, with a paintbrush in one hand. A glance toward her easel reveals a blank canvas.
At first, I worry that she’s dead. I have no idea why, but that’s the first thought that pops into my head. But then, she lets out the most adorable sound of snoring. I drop to my knees next to her and touch her arm lightly, careful not to scare her. Her eyes snap open right away.
“Oh my God,” she gasps in surprise. “How are you home already?”
I frown at her in confusion. “I left the house at seven this morning,” I remind her. “And now it’s close to three in the afternoon.”
“What?”
She sits up so abruptly, she almost headbutts me. The paintbrush falls from her fingers, and her eyes go to the canvas on the easel.
“I swear I only lied down for a minute,” she says. “I didn’t have any inspiration. I thought it’d come to me if I closed my eyes and thought of things that make me happy…”
I sit down on the floor and lean my back against one wall, never taking my eyes off her. That seems to make her nervous because she squirms in her spot. Without saying a word, she moves around until she can lean against the wall that’s opposite to where I’m sitting.
“This is not working out like this, Elizabeth.”
I wasn’t planning on saying that, but now that it’s out, I will lay it into her gently. At least I hope so. Then I realize how what I said sounded, especially when I notice that her eyes fill with tears.
“That’s not how I meant it at all,” I assure her. “I’m an idiot.”
“You want me to leave?” she whispers. “When?”
I drop my head in my hands, resting my elbows on my knees. “I meant that you not eating or going outside for fresh air is not working out anymore,” I clarify. “You can’t be sitting here all day like a plastic houseplant, Lizzie. It worries me. I want you to eat for the love of God!”
Her face is a mask of confusion. “I do eat, Lo…”
“What is it that you eat?” I beg her to tell me. “I look in that fridge every day. I don’t see anything missing other than what I eat. I’m worried sick that you’ll just pass out from hunger, and I won’t be home to call an ambulance for you.”
She gets up on her knees, her tears dried up on the porcelain skin of her cheeks.
“I swear to you that I eat every day. In fact, I was worried that you’d run out of things.”
“What?”
She stands up and puts an arm out for me to grab. “I’ll show you.”
We walk to the kitchen where she heads for the fridge. When there, she opens the bottom drawer, which is the freezer, and points at it.
“I ate all the frozen breakfast burritos that were in there,” she says, looking away in embarrassment. “There was also pre-cooked chicken, and soup, which I also ate.”
I stare at the freezer, then at her, unsure of how to respond to this. I am a dumbass and didn’t think of looking in the freezer.
“I eat so much for breakfast and lunch that I’m trying to cut back on dinner,” Elizabeth tells me in a meek tone. “I was thinking of cooking to replace all that, but I’m not the greatest in the kitchen…”
“So you eat every day then?” I sound as amazed as I probably look.
“I do, I swear! I’m so sorry I worried you!”
I continue staring at her, feeling stupid now. But then, I happen to glance to my left and, through the large windows, I see the pool in all its glory.
“Then why the hell don’t you go outside to sit in the pool?”
That’s all I got now. Since I am still on a warpath, I will yell at her for not getting out there for a tan and a dip in my pool.