Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
When Adam and I get over to the Hall of Fame, it’s chaos. There’s a crowd hanging out in the back of the main area, and a couple of security guards stand outside of the hype room.
“What the hell?” Adam asks.
My pulse accelerates and adrenaline swells as we head toward the commotion.
“What’s going on?” I ask one of the football guys hanging out watching the security guards talk into their walkie talkies.
“Two people got trapped in the hype room.”
At that moment, the doors open and a frazzled Ginny pushes out. Her breathing is so labored I can see the rise and fall of her chest, eyes wild, clutching the tablet to her stomach. Adam and I move to her, and when she sees us, her pace quickens.
“Oh, fuck,” I hear Adam mutter quietly under his breath.
He’s a step ahead of me and I’m so thankful he’s here because she looks like she needs him. She’s on the brink of a complete meltdown. But when we finally get to her, it isn’t him she throws her arms around. It’s me.
Her body is limp as she sucks in air with ragged breaths.
My throat is tight, and my chest cracks open, letting her slip inside.
I feel her fear with the force of a Mack truck slamming into me and then dragging me a mile down the road.
I can’t find the oxygen to speak, so I wrap my arms around her and pull her head under my chin.
I glance at Adam, feeling his presence like a dark cloud hovering over us. His glare goes from confused to pissed, but this isn’t the time or place to have this conversation.
Adam senses the same thing, and I shield her while he gets us some privacy, calling for everyone to get lost with only slightly more polite words.
“Ginny.” When his attention is back on us, his voice is softer than I expected for the rage rolling off him. “G, are you okay?”
She pulls herself away from me, not meeting my gaze, and hugs him instead. He looks relieved as she glues herself to his side.
“What happened?” he asks gently, cupping the back of her head.
She tries to speak, but her voice is shaky, and he shushes her. “Later, G. Just relax.” He’s calm and loving with her, and I feel a sense of relief that he’s here with all the right words, even if it means he’s going to kick my ass later.
Adam’s jaw flexes and he nods over my head. “Can you see Tom to the arena?”
Ginny’s face is buried in his side, giving me her profile. She’s not crying, but her eyes are closed, and her dark lashes fan out against her smooth skin.
“Heath,” Adam says again, voice as sharp as razors.
I take a step back. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”
Adam doesn’t show up to the arena while I’m showing Tom the locker rooms and team training facilities. The guys who are free this afternoon are hanging around, including Maverick and Rauthruss. They both question me on Adam’s whereabouts. I shrug it off and focus on getting through the quick tour.
When Coach shows up, I hand off Tom and decide to do a quick skate to clear my head. I assume Adam is going to show up and slam me into the boards at any moment, but he doesn’t.
I trudge home with dread and guilt weighing down each step. No matter how many times I tell myself it’s none of his business, I can’t find any solace in it.
Adam’s sitting on the couch with his phone to his ear when I walk into the apartment.
I hesitate, but ultimately decide a shower is what I need before he goes nuclear on me.
When I’m clean and dressed, he’s still sitting in the same spot—sans the phone to his ear.
He doesn’t even look at me as I join him in the living room.
I’m already sweating again with uncertainty on how to navigate this. Quick and honest, rip off the Band-Aid.
“It’s not what you think.”
A growl escapes from his chest and his eyes turn to angry slits. Fuck. Okay, that wasn’t the best opening, I admit.
“Okay, it’s what you think,” I backtrack.
“Of all the girls, man. You can have any other one, but not her. Not my baby sister.”
“I’m sorry if it pisses you off. Maybe I should have told you.
Not because I think I need your permission, but out of respect.
I’m sorry for that, but I’m not sorry for digging your sister.
She’s awesome and I like her a lot. I don’t need your permission,” I repeat.
“And Ginny doesn’t need it either, for any guy she decides to date. ”
“Ginny said as much.” He stands. He’s a good three inches taller than me and he uses every single one. “You can honestly tell me you think you’re good enough for her? Fuck man, I see how you are with women. I don’t want that for her, is that so hard to understand?”
He doesn’t wait for my answer before heading to his room and slamming the door.
“He and Taryn are sitting guard in the living room,” I tell Ginny on the phone later.
The two of them never hang out at our apartment.
That’s part of the Adam Scott boyfriend experience—bending over backward for his girl and always staying at their place.
Or that’s what I hear. Since this is my first year living with him I don’t really know, but Rauthruss made an offhanded comment once that Adam hardly ever has girlfriends sleep over.
“So, I’ll just come over. What’s he going to do? Kick me out?”
“No, but he might kick me out.”
She groans. “This is stupid. I can date whoever I want.”
“He’s just looking out for you.”
“I don’t need him to look out for me.” She sighs into the phone. “I guess it’s best to give him a couple of days to cool off.”
My chest tightens, and I wonder if in a couple of days she’ll decide it isn’t worth making waves. Maybe that’d be for the best.
The next morning, though, she’s waiting outside of the dining hall for me and a goofy grin pulls at my lips.
I hug her and she laughs. “Miss me?”
“Yep.” I take her hand and follow her through the line for omelets.
“I need my hand back,” she says, and I realize I’m still holding her palm in mine.
We take our usual table. Mav drops into a chair beside her a few minutes later. “Hey there, Romeo and Juliet.”
Ginny laughs. “Their families were enemies—this isn’t really that sort of thing.”
“Well, it is a Shakespearean tragedy, anyway. What are you going to do?”
I shrug. Thought about it all night long and I still don’t have an answer.
“I’m heading home tonight. I’m sure by the time I get back on Sunday, he’ll be over it.”
I’m not so sure.
After my morning classes, I head back to the apartment. Ginny’s on her way home for the long weekend, and the prospect of spending that many days without her is a real bummer.
Rauthruss is on the phone with Carrie. Mav and Adam are still on campus. I’ve got my newest package from Chloe and Nathan, so I grab it and walk to my room.
I call him as I cut open the tape.
“Hey,” he answers on the second ring.
“Hey. Got your latest box.”
“And?”
As soon as I pull back the flaps, a deep chuckle escapes from my throat. “This one is all you, bro.”
“What? How can you tell?”
“It looks like you went down the aisles at Target and just threw random things in.” I pull out deodorant, body soap, condoms (major eye roll), toothpaste, pencils, a giant tub of my favorite protein, and an Xbox gift card.
“Plus it’s all just shoved in here. Chloe’s boxes are packed a lot nicer than yours. ”
“I knew I should have had her wrap it all up.”
I chuckle again. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Sitting in my desk chair, I lean back as he catches me up on the latest wedding details. Getting married takes an awful lot of planning, apparently.
“So, spill,” he says eventually when he’s done with the rundown on dinner entrees and cake tasting. “What’d you think of Kevin?”
“He was fine.” I shrug even though Nathan can’t see it. “Mom’s happy so that’s good, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so. It’s weird seeing her with someone else though. No matter how nice he is.”
I hum my agreement.
“Are you still calling her and checking in to see how she’s doing?”
“Nah. I mean, we chat every other week or so, but she doesn’t need me to do that anymore. She’s got Kevin, plus Uncle Doug is still checking on her.”
“Yeah, I guess. Chloe and I are going to fly up to have Thanksgiving with her. Bummed you can’t make it.”
“I’m sure you guys will make the most of it.” We’ve got a game on Saturday, so it’ll just be another Thursday around here, although the extra days off school are nice.
“I could never make her smile like you could. Remember that time we went to the water park in Wisconsin?”
I smile, knowing exactly where he’s going with the story.
“She got up on the top of that big slide and she wouldn’t budge. The line was backed up and people were yelling for her to hurry up. There were six-year-old kids going down that thing.”
“She hates heights,” I say.
“Yeah. I’m not even sure why she attempted it in the first place.”
“Because I was too scared to go on my own and you were whining about me tagging along with you and that guy you used to hang out with…”
“Lee,” he fills in.
I nod. “She came up there for me. I knew she was scared too but I didn’t care.”
“Dude, you were like nine.”
“I still knew it was a bad idea.”
“You sang to her, at the top of your lungs, the whole way back down the line.”
“I had to scream so she could hear me over all the people yelling at us.”
He laughs.
I’m smiling now, but I was so embarrassed at the time and Nathan made fun of me for weeks.
“You were always good at calming her down, being her rock. You still are. She might be doing better, but there’s no one that can make her as happy as you. Call her.”
When I get off the phone with Nathan, I send her a text checking in and promise myself I’ll call her tomorrow. With my gift card in hand, I walk out into the living room. Everyone’s back from campus, and Adam has parked himself back in his guard dog position between the door and my room.
I toss the gift card on the coffee table. “I was going to order pizza and get the new Call of Duty. You guys in?”
“Oh, no way.” Rauthruss picks up the card. “Rad, man. I’m in.”
We both look to Adam and he shrugs his big shoulders. I guess that’s a start.