Chapter Seventeen Lily #3
“And I don’t think you should try to save him.
Even if it makes you look bad. Let him feel the weight of his own consequences, because no matter how badly we want to, we cannot change someone who doesn’t want to be changed.
It’s pointless to try,” I said, voice tapering off to a thready whisper.
“We have to want to change.” My cheeks flushed with heat. “He. He has to want to change.”
Barrett nodded slowly, eyes searching mine. “I agree.”
“Did he do something really bad? Or just sorta bad, like giving you attitude in practice?”
He let out a short huff of amusement. “Well, a couple nights ago, he was at a party with players from an opposing team that we played recently. He got into a fight at that party—I’m told he instigated—and because of that, it’s up to those opposing players to press charges or not.
” Barrett sucked in a quick breath, focusing on the men in front of him.
“But I told him this morning I was benching him unless he could show me that he was ready to take this seriously.”
“A little coach tough love, huh?”
He hummed. “Sort of.”
“What else would it be?”
In the bright lights of the cavernous space, there was no hiding the warm streaks of gold in his eyes, especially not when he looked down at me the way he was now. “No one can make us change unless we want to, right?”
I managed a jerky nod.
“I needed to change too. Because he wasn’t wrong, you know.
I’ve tried to save people because, deep down, I worried how their mistakes might reflect on me.
That’s a level of arrogance that I don’t particularly care to hold on to anymore.
” Barrett searched my eyes, and I found it hard to breathe.
“Change is never easy. But the hardest part is having to look in the mirror and know that no one can do it for us.”
Through the quaking of my ribs, completely unmoored by this forthcoming side of him, somehow I managed to speak. “How will you know if it works?”
Barrett let out a small noise. Not quite a laugh. Not quite a huff. He did that a lot. Made those quiet little sounds, a tell that he was listening but wasn’t ready to speak. Then his face softened, a glint of rare humor in his eyes. Inside my chest, something melted right along with it.
“Either he’ll pull his head out of his ass, or I’ll get fired for benching the franchise quarterback without the permission of the team owner.”
“Is he nice?”
“She is smart and intimidating, and I’m not sure I’d ever trust you in a room with her because you’d gang up on me mercilessly.”
A surprised laugh burst out of me, and Barrett’s eyes lingered on my mouth. “I should make a point to meet her, then.”
“God help me,” he said fondly.
“Oh my gosh, are you Lily?”
At the sound of my name, I tore my gaze from Barrett’s but still caught a glimpse of his face flattening.
“Bridget,” he said, voice low in warning.
“Ah, the woman who runs his life,” I said.
She was petite, with thick red hair and a bright expression. “I got a text from him a few minutes ago that I wasn’t allowed down here, and he never says that stuff to me, which is why I came down immediately. Plus, if I listened to everything he said, life would be incredibly boring.”
“I’m going to fire you,” Barrett growled.
“No, you’re not.” She stuck her hand out. “Bridget. Absolute pleasure to meet you.”
“You too,” I said hesitantly. Why did it feel like I was shoved onto a stage, naked, anytime I met someone from Barrett’s life? Friendly curiosity felt like I was being poked and prodded, up on display so they could study the recipient of his weird shovel-friendship gestures.
“I hope I didn’t interrupt,” she said.
Barrett crossed his arms. “You did. And I’m pretty sure you have a meeting right now.”
“I canceled it.” Bridget looped her arm through mine. “Please tell me everything awful he’s ever done to you, and feel free to go into detail.”
My eyes flew up to Barrett’s, and after a prolonged beat, he looked away, the slightest flush in his cheeks that was so stupidly attractive, I felt it in my wobbly knees. “I’m not sure you have enough time, Bridget.”
She laughed. “Trust me, I’ll make time.”
“I’m leaving,” Barrett called.
Bridget shooed him off. “Great. Bye. Have an excellent day.” As he stormed off, the anticipation that had been bubbling through my chest since I arrived suddenly and violently popped, and instead of wondering why, I let Bridget steer me away.
My stomach was in knots, as I assumed this tiny, terrifying woman would actually press me for details. It would be messy—so very, very messy—if thoughts and feelings were divulged to someone other than Larry the canine vault.
“He’s such a pain in the ass, right?” she said easily.
“It’s a gift, truly.” I cleared my throat. “So . . . this whole show with Maggie—is this normal?”
The change in subject didn’t fool her for a fucking second, because she gave me a sidelong look. “No. This is a first for us, actually. Barrett had his reservations, but I think he’ll love it by the time they edit everything together.”
Maggie, all mic’d up and with a stack of note cards in her hand, looked like a seasoned pro as she settled comfortably in the big yellow chair and waited for the first player to join her.
Someone even larger than Justice approached, and he grinned widely at the sight of Maggie waiting for him. “What’s up, girl?”
“Hello, Keshawn. Welcome to Midfield with Maggie. You’re my first guest because you’re my favorite.”
His face lit up. “No shi—” Wren cleared her throat loudly, and Keshawn winced. “No kidding,” he finished.
Maggie smiled. “It’s fine. I’ve heard worse.”
Keshawn winked. “What are we talking about today? You’re not gonna ask me anything crazy, are you?”
She studied her first note card, then fixed an eager expression toward Keshawn. “What’s the most annoying thing my dad does?”
The man’s face went slack with shock, while Wren choked on a sip of her coffee. I slapped a hand over my mouth to stem a burst of laughter. Bridget let hers ring out, nodding slowly as everyone tried to contain their laughter.
“Still think Barrett will love it?” I asked Bridget.
“I don’t care,” she said with a huge smile on her face. “This is going to be the best thing I’ve ever seen.”