Chapter 89
“Large Venezuelan coffee.”
Mel glanced up, their smile automatic at Alfie’s voice. It froze when they saw he was here alone. They wet their lips then forced their gaze back to Alfie. “You don’t have anything else to add to your order?”
He gave a small shake of his head, his dark brown eyes full of understanding, and some sorrow of his own. “He has barely spoken to me since that day.”
No need to explain what day. Mel wasn’t sure they would ever forget. “Do you know how he’s doing?” Mel asked as they filled a cup with his coffee.
“Not well.”
Their hand jerked, but thankfully the coffee didn’t spill over the side. “What do you mean by that? He was playing, wasn’t he?”
“You did not see the game last night?”
All they’d seen was the final score, which hadn’t been good. “Did he blame himself for the loss?”
“I do not know. He was ejected from the game.”
“Why?”
“He fought with the umpire. That is just not done, even when they are wrong.”
“Why would he do it?”
“I do not know. He had already left the clubhouse when we came inside, and he would not answer his phone. He pretends to be happy, but I have seen him genuinely so, which makes it easier to see when it is only a mask. He is not okay.”
“You expect me to be able to fix that?”
Alfie shook his head. “That is not your responsibility. Or mine. He should know we still love him. Unless you do not any longer,” he said after a moment.
“Of course I do. I just figured he didn’t want anything to do with me. He said as much.” Mel thought about what Caleb told them last night, and that last text Rhys sent. “Damn it,” they muttered. "He's afraid we’re going to leave him too, so he did it first.”
Alfie’s eyes were sad, but he nodded. “We need to prove he is wrong about that.”
Mel wasn’t even sure if that was possible, but they hadn’t given up on the youth program yet. They certainly weren’t giving up on Rhys. They glanced at the clock. “I’m off shift in fifteen minutes. Can you wait that long?”
“I can wait as long as I need to in order to get him back.”
Frank stepped out of the back room. “You’re off shift now,” he told them. “Go get your boy back, before you scare off more customers.”
Mel rolled their eyes. “I haven’t scared anyone off.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that. Just go, Mel. I’ll finish up for you.”
“I just need to do one thing first.” They reached for another cup.