Chapter 16
Alfie stood in the corner of the lounge, his gaze locked on Rhys as he remained slumped in that chair. Caleb had been talking to him when Alfie had come in here from the film room. Even when Caleb moved away, Rhys hadn’t moved. Alfie hadn’t either.
Rhys was dealing with something, even if all he would do was try to joke it off. Or completely shut down if Alfie pushed just a little too hard. He wasn’t sure what to do. Even when they were together, it felt like Rhys was slipping away.
His phone rang, pulling his attention away from Rhys.
Though he caught Rhys’s head coming up at the ringtone.
Of course, he was the only one who had it set to the latest Soledad Cortes release.
She was his sister’s favorite artists back home in Venezuela, so he knew who it was before he pulled the phone from his pocket.
“Rosalita, what do you need? I need to change soon for the game.” She had already texted her usual ‘good luck’ message. With a gif of a major leaguer hitting a home run. Always a different one, and yet always one of their fellow countrymen. She probably had a list or something.
He wouldn’t put that past her.
“Have you talked to Mami recently?” his sister asked, none of her usual lightness in her voice. “Or Marisa or Carmina? Lucero never answers his phone, but the others at least call me back.”
Alfie swallowed the urge to tell her to calm down.
That never went over well. Why wouldn’t anyone in the family be answering Rosalita?
It’s not like she was known for long drawn-out conversations.
No, that was his mami, and he’d made sure international calls were covered on their plans, so that wouldn’t be an issue.
“When was the last time you spoke to them?” They were currently in the same time zone as back home. Mami was likely preparing dinner. That could be why she didn’t answer right away.
His younger sister sighed. “Last night, when I took a study break. I called this morning, and she was distracted and she had to go suddenly. I tried later and nothing. She wouldn’t tell me how everyone was when I called this morning.”
Alfie rubbed a hand over his face. “Did you start that conversation by asking if anyone was dead?”
His teammates hadn’t been paying much attention to him. A few of his fellow Spanish speakers flicked their eyes toward him. Apparently ‘muerto’ was easily understood.
“I did that one time,” Rosa said, “and I had reason to be concerned. Papi had been ill.”
“He had a cold.”
“It happens, Alfredo. Especially when they’re too stubborn to see a doctor when they start feeling sick.”
His lips curved up and he ran the back of his hand over his mouth. Not that she could see him through the phone. “What are you studying in your classes now?” he asked.
She was silent for a long moment. “Underlying causes of what appeared to be sudden deaths.”
Alfie left out a huff and pressed his hand over his face. “Is this the same professor who gave the lecture last semester about not taking what you learn and diagnosing people in your life?”
“Yes. I woke up sure someone had died. I just wanted to be sure. Mami wouldn’t answer me.”
“Rosa, if someone had died, Mami would have been the first person on the phone to let everyone know.”
“I know,” she groaned. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it this morning. Trust me, Jen told me I was overreacting. I had to be sure, and Mami wouldn’t tell me.”
“All right.” Alfie knew if even Rosa’s girlfriend couldn’t calm her down, nothing but seeing the whole family would be able to manage it. “I have to get ready for the game, but I’ll send the family a message. We’ll do a video call after the game. Okay?”
“Yes. All right. You don’t think anything’s actually wrong, do you?”
“I am sure it isn’t.”
Something in his stomach clenched as he typed out a text to send to both his parents. What if he was wrong? He was an incredibly long flight away from his family, other than Rosa. What would he even be able to do?
Papi:
In hospital. Can’t talk
Tell Rosalita to stop worrying. Everyone is fine.
If they were in the hospital, everyone certainly was not fine.
Alfredo:
What’s going on?
Papi:
Marisa fainted. She is fine. Doctors just want to check babies.
Alfredo:
Oh…babies??
He stared at his phone, but there was no response before Rhys tapped on his shoulder. “We need to change. Is everything okay?”
He sent a quick smile to Rhys. No need to drag him down with Alfie’s worries. Not when he could see Rhys barely holding things together. Alfie could not take that on as well. Not when he apparently had to worry about his family.
He couldn’t let any of it make him lose his focus so the team lost the game. That certainly would not help. He would have to pack this all away until later. For now, he had to go out there and make sure the Sailors didn’t win the first game of the series.
That was something he could actually control.