Chapter 19 Bryson #2
I rear back a hair and say, “Oh!” Like I’m just realizing what she’s truly getting at.
“Well, why didn’t you say so? After dinner was great.
We came back here. And then there was a little moment over there, by the door.
” I point toward the front door, and within seconds Jaden rushes me, pressing her palm over my mouth, muffling the details I pretend to share next.
“Gross,” Taryn finally says, leaving the table and heading toward her room. I can tell she’s teasing, though. And I love that she’s somewhat approving of this whole thing happening between me and Jaden.
“I’ll be ready for practice in a few,” Jaden says, lifting on her toes and removing her hand from my mouth to kiss me. I pull her in when she tries to slip away, kissing her harder, despite all the egg breath and unbrushed teeth.
“Hey, I’ll see you at film,” Corbin says. I lift a hand, but my lips remain on Jaden’s until well after the front door clicks shut.
“I should get ready too,” Jaden finally says. I play-slap her ass as she pivots to walk away, and she squeals and high-steps around the counter and into her bedroom.
I’m sure I could make it home before film to change if I tried, but I also don’t really care what anyone thinks about me showing up unshowered and looking like I had the kind of night I did.
And if anyone dares to breathe a negative word about Jaden, I’ll make sure they never see the football again.
Rather than dashing home just to change my pants, I finish cleaning up the kitchen and top off my coffee with the final dregs.
I flip the sink faucet on to rinse out the pot when something clatters against the wall on the other side.
I set the pot in the sink, letting it fill as I move closer to the hallway.
“Jaden? Are you okay?”
I peek in her bedroom, but she’s not in there, so I move to the bathroom door and give it a gentle nudge as I knock. When I see her ankle twitch, I push the door wider, revealing her entire leg stretched out on its side on the tile floor.
“Jaden!” I shove my way inside and find her rubbing her head as her body lies twisted and somehow tucked in the tight space between the toilet and the bathtub’s edge.
She’s no longer in her sweatpants, and the pair of shorts I think she was trying to change into are on the counter by the running sink.
“Did you pass out?” I twist the cold handle and turn the sink water off.
“Are you okay?” Taryn says, leaning into the small bathroom through the doorway.
“I was about to change for practice, and I think I slipped. I’m okay, though.” Jaden rubs her elbow, twisting her arm as she tries to scan it. I take her arm in my hand and inspect her while she scoots out from the nook.
“You might have a bruise later,” I say, relieved when I don’t see any blood.
“What’s one more bruise?” Jaden says, laughing the fall off. But something doesn’t sit right with me, and when I glance at Taryn and our eyes connect, I think her friend is a bit worried too.
“Jaden, maybe you should take it easy. It’s a Sunday practice, so—”
“I’m fine,” Jaden bites back at her friend’s concern. “I didn’t eat much yesterday. I’ll hydrate and shove down a Clif Bar on our way. I’ll be good. I swear.” She uses my arms and shoulders to steady herself before meeting my eyes.
“That’s a tough place to fall. You could have hit your head,” I say, reaching toward the spot she was rubbing when I busted in.
“I didn’t,” she cuts back, pushing my hand away before slipping by me and her friend on her way to her room. She sits on the edge of her bed and steps through the legs of her shorts, standing briefly to pull them up before sitting back down.
I hover on one side of her door while Taryn lingers on the other. Something happened, and I can tell Jaden is a bit freaked out by it. Her eyes seem fixated on the empty space between her and her open dresser drawer.
“Jade—”
“I said I’m fine.” Her gaze snaps to mine, and I close my mouth as I take in the harsh invisible punch that lands on my chest.
Taryn’s hand rests on my bicep for a beat, then slides away as she heads into her room, leaving the two of us alone.
I take a deep breath and enter Jaden’s room, moving toward her with caution, the way one would when trying to get close to a rare bird.
Or maybe a feral cat. I sit next to her on the bed as her gaze drops to her lap, her palms flat on the sheet on either side of her.
“I have to show up. She made me the two seed.” There’s a rawness to her tone, one that I understand. I sounded just like that once.
“I know.”
I keep my gaze on her profile, my attention drifting from her lashes as they kiss her cheeks to the slight twitch of her upper lip as she battles the fear and worry that I think might be clawing at her insides.
“You won’t get number one back today, though. And if you aren’t at your best, that won’t help.” I’m worried about her. I think she’s been pushing herself too hard. Maybe she’s right about not eating too. And if that’s the case, she should probably knock back a protein shake on top of her eggs.
She lifts her chin just enough to give me a sideways look, and I swear I can see her rational side warring with the competitor behind her eyes.
“What would you do?” she asks.
I pause for a beat. I know what I should say. But she’s expecting the truth.
“You know what I would do.” My right shoulder shrugs as she breathes out a soft laugh, shifting her body to face me straight on.
“I played when I shouldn’t have. And that choice didn’t work out so great for me,” I add, and her smile drops into a soured straight line.
“Hindsight is a luxury,” she mutters, her gaze drifting to the slight space between us. I want to move closer, but I’m still worried she would flinch and put up her guard.
“I’m number two,” she croaks.
I slide my hand along the mattress, moving toward her but stopping in the middle.
After a few seconds, she slides her fingers into mine, then lifts her gaze again.
I know by the look in her eyes that she’s going to practice.
I knew it the moment worry landed in my gut after seeing her on the bathroom floor.
She would need to be locked up and chained behind metal bars inside a solid metal room to be prevented from setting foot on a court today.
“Okay.” I give her a blessing to make the wrong choice, and I do it because I know it’s the only word she wants to hear.
She needs to hear no, but all that will do is make her dig in her heels and push herself harder.
So I choose standing behind her, because at least if I’m there, I can break her fall.