Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
PEARCE
The game was a shit show. I was off my game from the moment my Nikes hit the court and didn’t see the smiling faces of Eddie and Lottie. Worry had churned my gut, making it hard to concentrate, but basketball was my job, and I’d been determined to give it my all.
We all missed the mark a hundred and ten percent. Add in Cassius taking a hard foul in the first five minutes and Ollie fumbling the ball, something he never did, it wasn’t a surprise it was a clusterfuck.
I glanced at Ollie as he stood in front of the sports news crew and I winced, feeling sorry for the guy.
I was so fucking relieved I wasn’t the captain.
With a nod at a couple of the guys, we headed silently to the locker room.
Misery was thick in the air. It clung to us as we waited for Coach to enter and give us a reaming I knew we all deserved.
Cassius threw his Nikes on the floor, punctuating it with a loud “Fuck.”
A few grunts of agreement joined in, and I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face.
“I don’t give a shit if we’ve got an early start for our flight tomorrow,” Joel grumbled, taking a seat on the stool beside me. “I’m getting wasted tonight.”
“Fucking A,” Cassius responded.
“You in?”
It took me a beat for me to realize Joel spoke to me. Before I could respond with my excuse, which combined with a legit pang in my chest wondering what had happened with Eddie, Coach stepped into the room. All thoughts of checking my phone and making some calls fled.
Coach Jenkins appeared eerily calm, his face a mask of not quite indifference, but it seemed carefully neutral. And fuck if that didn’t get a fresh knot forming in my gut.
Standing in silence, Coach peered around the room. I did the same, noting that Ollie had joined us. He looked hollowed out. Drained.
“Round three,” he started, arms folded, and taking his time to look at his team, “it’s one hell of an achievement.
” I swallowed hard while Joel shuffled uncomfortably in his seat.
“One game away from the finals.” He nodded and took a few steps, standing more central to where our lockers were.
“It’s been fourteen years since the Eagles got so far in the playoffs.
” Coach pursed his lips, and fuck, if he said he was prou— “I’m proud of each and every one of you for getting us this far. ”
And there it was. Tears sprang to life in my eyes. I lowered my head and stared hard at the tiled floor before squeezing my eyes shut.
“Was tonight’s game your best?” Rather than any acknowledging chuckles, dead silence greeted his words. “I can’t say it was. Ollie, one thing. Go.”
I lifted my head and focused on my captain. My friend deserved my attention.
“We need to make the plays.”
Several of us bobbed our heads, and we went around the team, all of us contributing.
Highlighting our errors, taking responsibility, reflecting on a loss was never fun.
It was painful as fuck. Disappointment sat like a heavy weight, threatening to crush each of us.
It was only Coach’s plain-spoken reactions, countering every single thing we’d screwed up with something each of us had aced that kept me, hell, all of us from spiraling. He was an amazing coach.
When our debrief was over, Coach reminded us to be ready for seven in the morning for the bus to the airport, which immediately made my heart race once again.
Eddie.
Where the fuck was Eddie?
I scrambled for my phone as soon as Coach left, nearly dropping it in my haste.
Something had to be wrong, right? Eddie wouldn’t just not show. But the thought of something not being okay I didn’t like any more.
“Damn, Malcolm, slow your roll. What’s the rush?”
My teammates were blissfully unaware of the anxiety that accompanied every beat of my heart since I’d realized Eddie’s seat was empty. Telling them would be a pretty clear signal about one of the reasons I’d been off my game tonight. I felt like shit, knowing I was going to disappoint them.
“Eddie and Lottie didn’t turn up to tonight’s game,” I admitted, risking a side-eye to Cassius, who’d spoken to me.
A frown dragged his brows low. “Why not? Something wrong?”
I gripped my phone. “That’s what I’m trying to work out.”
Rather than bitch me out, Cassius waited, clearly expecting me to check and tell him what was going on. I woke my phone. A missed call, a voicemail, and three text notifications. Seeing them, I exhaled.
He’d contacted me.
“All good?”
I shrugged at Cassius. “Not sure.” I opened the texts first, reading through them all. The first was sent forty minutes before gametime—when my phone had been on silent.
“Shit.”
Cassius’s chest brushed against me as he peered around me. “Something wrong?”
“Lottie broke her arm. They’re at the hospital.”
“Damn,” he said. “Sucks. Poor kid. Bet she’s pissed she missed the game.”
I bobbed my head. “I expect so.” I read Eddie’s last message again, telling me he was waiting for the X-ray, and he’d be in touch when he knew more. But it was his “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen” that had me frowning.
With no idea what the hell he was talking about, I hit his name in my phonebook, not bothering to step away for some semblance of privacy.
He picked up on the first ring. “Hey.”
The sound of his voice took the wind out of me. I’d been more freaked out than I’d realized. “Hey, she okay?”
The sound of him swallowing reached me before his “Yeah. The doctor just left, saying it was a clean break.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “That’s good. A relief.”
“It is. We just have to wait for someone to organize the cast. Not sure how long that’s going to take.” Exhaustion caressed each word, making my heart pang.
“Where are you? I’ll come as soon as I’ve showered.”
When he didn’t respond, I glanced at my phone, making sure we were still connected.
“Eddie, you there?”
“Yeah,” he croaked. “You don’t need to come here. I have no idea how long we’ll be. We could be just thirty minutes or five hours. You must be beat.” His voice dipped low. “I’m so sorry about the game.”
“Yeah, me too. Sucks. But it is what it is, right?” I said, aiming for upbeat but not sure I pulled it off.
“But I don’t mind coming and waiting with you guys.
” I tensed, waiting for his answer, suddenly nervous at his quiet responses.
Sure, he must have been shitting it, worried about Lottie, but there was something off in his voice that sounded like more than general exhaustion and parental fear.
“I know you don’t.” A huff of air traveled down the phone. “But it’s late. We’re both exhausted. Plus, you need some food in you before you crash.”
This man was always looking out for me, but who took care of him?
Clenching my jaw, I steeled my resolve. It didn’t make sense that he’d be trying to push me away, and if he was for whatever jacked-up reason he had in his head, he could fuck right off with that. “Let me worry about what I can handle. What hospital are you at?”
“Grace Memorial.”
“That wasn’t too hard, was it?” I pushed levity I didn’t quite feel into my tone.
“Pearce—”
I cut him off, saying, “Just know when to shut up. See you soon.” I ended the call and turned back to my locker, catching Cassius’s gaze.
“Well, that’s one way to end a call.” Wide-eyed, he snorted. “Sweet-talking like that is not going to help me win the cash, you know, Pearce. You need pointers? I’m always here for you.”
A real chuckle tore out of me, surprising us both if the startled laugh from Cassius was anything to go by. After tonight’s epic loss and my very real concern over Eddie and Lottie, I hadn’t thought I had a laugh in me.
“I can just imagine what your advice would be,” I fired back, trying to shake off the post-game funk pressing down on the locker room. I stripped down and grabbed my towel.
“If it includes dicks and mouths, you’re on the money.”
I rolled my eyes and laughed while Joel threw a sweaty sock at Cassius. Our very straight young friend was more than used to Cassius’s oversharing and often warped advice.
“Says the man who has more knock backs than a drunk.” Joel angled to look at me. “You going to the hospital?”
I expected the whole locker room had heard my discussion, and if they hadn’t, they’d soon hear what my deal was. Shit rarely remained a secret on our team.
“Yeah.”
Joel frowned. “You think that’s a good idea?”
“What do you mean?”
He waved his hand in my general direction. “You’re hardly going to blend in and go incognito. Sure… that won’t piss off the hospital staff when they’re dealing with crowd control.”
I groaned as I wrapped my towel around myself, ready to get showered. “Fuck.” I shook my head, sounding a little petulant when I said, “Well, Eddie’s there and isn’t swamped by the press.” At least I didn’t think so.
At my side, Cassius snorted. “No offence to your hot DILF, Malcolm, but he’s been out of the League for a fair few years now.”
“And he didn’t just get knocked out of the championship,” Joel added. He followed with a sad shrug that I felt all the way to my disappointed bones.
“So you’re saying it’d be selfish of me to race on in there?”
Joel shrugged again. “I don’t know, man. I suppose it’s about why you’re going in the first place. Do you need to be there? You going for yourself or for Lottie and Eddie?”
My answer was quick. “I need to make sure Lottie’s really okay.
” The truth of that statement made my chest squeeze.
The fog and the mess of the last two hours was finally lifting, leaving behind concern for a kid I loved and her dad who I needed more than fucking oxygen.
“Eddie must have freaked and been worried sick. He needs me.” Whether he realized or even admitted it or not was left unsaid.
Joel shot me a shit-eating grin. “Holy shit, you’re so fucking loved up it’s disgustingly sickening.” He glanced around the room. “Miles, it’s time to call it, right?”