Chapter Twenty-Three
IVY: I NEED to talk to you after the game tonight
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Meredith: Kieran, we hope you win tonight!
~
Something was wrong. Sammie could hardly think through the din of the roaring crowd as the Cats won a point in a volley that had gone far too long. Her eyes scanned the player’s bench, searching for a familiar ponytail.
Ivy was there, head bowed low as she scribbled something on her clipboard.
She hadn’t once looked up to the stands.
Sammie had tried calling before the game started, but apparently Ivy already had her phone off. Dread still welled in the pit of her stomach, dread that had been there since the moment she’d read the words Ivy had sent.
Something was wrong, and Sammie needed to find a way to fix it.
She hadn’t meant to ignore Ivy’s messages. The week had gotten away from her. Not to mention the emotional turmoil of the last several days. Sammie was doing her best to try and forget about all of the uncomfortable feelings whirling inside her, at least for the duration of the game.
Her eyes flicked to her brother, who was cheering from the bench. The Cats scored another point, and Ivy scowled at him as he almost jumped up to cheer with the rest of his team.
They were up two sets to one, but St. Louis wasn’t making it easy for them. The guys had needed to fight for every single point, evident in their sweat-soaked jerseys and the exhaustion weighing their shoulders down.
Kai was just as tense next to her, and not for the first time was Sammie thankful she had someone else to commiserate with over the emotional ups and downs that were professional volleyball.
Not that his presence was much of a balm this time.
Not after the last twenty-four hours she’d just had.
Still, it was nice to have him there, just as anxious for the win as she was.
They’d played St. Louis at the start of the season, kicking it all off with a win for the Cats. The Hawks had made the tournament three games back, a complete shut out against Tampa Bay. They’d had a strong season, and they were back tonight to snatch the win they’d missed out on earlier.
Sammie knew there was history between Kai and one of the St. Louis blockers. Her brother had mentioned it a few times. That explained the thin line of his mouth, the tension holding him straight-backed in his seat.
As another roar went up from the crowd, this time from the St. Louis side as they shut down a quick that bounced off Aaron’s arms before sailing out of bounds, Sammie gave herself permission to scan the faces of the players.
Of one player in particular.
Kieran looked good. Steady. Steadier than he had looked all season, in fact. His was currently calling out to Bowen, falling back into place as they readied for another receive, gesturing to their libero. Eric nodded in understanding before settling into his stance to wait for the serve.
Sammie wasn’t quite sure what to make of Kieran’s unyielding focus. He was playing well. So seemingly fine, despite the text she had sent after hastily leaving his apartment that morning.
She’d done the right thing. Despite the hopeful moments, including when he’d asked her to stay the night before, Sammie knew that she couldn’t go any further. She knew that letting herself fall deeper would only make it all hurt that much worse.
It already hurt plenty.
“Are you okay?”
Kai’s voice tugged Sammie back to the game. She’d missed something. The crowd was cheering once more, and the Cats players on the bench were losing their minds. A quick glance at the scoreboard showed that they’d earned another point, snatching the ball back from St. Louis.
Sammie sucked in a steadying breath that didn’t really do much of anything to settle her nerves. “Not really. But I will be.”
Kai scanned her face, searching for what she didn’t know. Maybe a sign that she was lying. Maybe a sign that things were worse than she was letting on.
But she wasn’t lying. Pain always faded, eventually. And Sammie had plenty of experience with loving someone who couldn’t quite love her the same.
A round of booing made waves through the stands. St. Louis had managed to get the ball back immediately. The score was close, fourteen to sixteen, with the Cats still clinging desperately to the lead.
Sammie needed to focus. The game, while immensely stressful for several reasons, still served as enough of a distraction from… everything. That was, until her phone vibrated with a new message.
Robert Everly: After taking a look into the company budget, resources have been shifted around and cuts will be made. I need you to let Luz know that she will be laid off, effective immediately.
The blood in Sammie’s veins ran cold.
No. No, this couldn’t be happening.
Luz had been with Sammie for so long now. Luz was good at her job. Great even. Sammie couldn’t imagine handling the workload alone, not with their current scale of distribution. She had always been able to count on Luz.
Fucking Carson.
Sammie’s pulse pounded in her ears as she stared unseeing at the words on her screen.
Like hell was she going to lay off Luz just so Robert’s incompetent nephew could stick around.
Sammie clicked off her phone, shoving it into her pocket, eyes narrowing at the court.
Her teeth sang as she clenched her jaw, mind already filled near to bursting with all of the things she would be saying to Robert Everly.
“Nice kill!”
Kieran’s shout echoed over the roars of the crowd. A free ball had set Aaron up for a beautiful play, and a pipe from the back row by David had put the Cats back in the lead once again.
The rest of the team was shouting just as loud, back slaps and fist bumps traded quickly before they all fell back into line.
Kieran was up for the serve. For the point that could win them a spot in the tournament. They’d played a strong game so far, and now it was time for Kieran to bring it all home.
He tossed the ball up, delivering a jump serve that packed a punch.
St. Louis’ libero managed to get under it for the return, but only just, and the receive was shaky at best, getting the ball to one of their blockers.
A tall, blond white guy, his jersey sporting the name Whittaker, who sent the ball flying over the net.
Eric was there, ready and waiting, sending the ball into a high arc.
Aaron had been nervous before the game. Kieran had done what he could to try and relieve some of his worries.
They were a team, a unit, they had played together hundreds of times.
Aaron knew their people, knew how to read them, how to make sure he got them the ball.
He may not be their starting setter most of the time, not with Atticus around, but Aaron was still their setter.
Kieran saw the play flash before his eyes, everything else slowing around him as he took in the full scene on the court.
David wasn’t ready for a spike, not with Whittaker and all six foot six inches of him glued to Lu like his life depended on it.
He’d been shutting David down all evening, a sort of boiling competition brewing between the two of them.
A game within a game. And Whittaker was one of the best damn blockers Kieran had ever played against.
David couldn’t be ready for the set, limiting Aaron’s options. His light brown eyes found Kieran across the court, and Kieran could see the moment he decided where the ball would go.
Kieran also saw two more blockers surging forward, a wall that would be ready for him.
The air hung suspended around him, a moment frozen in time. This could be it. This could be the moment where he gave his team exactly what they needed from him. What he’d been trying to give them all season.
“Bowen!”
Kieran screamed the name a moment before the ball touched Aaron’s fingers.
Their setter reacted immediately, flicking his eyes to where Bowen was waiting, his stance ready.
Somehow, against all odds, their opponents had failed to cover him, focusing on David and Kieran instead.
The moment the ball reached its zenith after leaving Aaron’s hands, while the blockers were still distracted by David and Kieran, Bowen launched himself forward.
Second tempo, each of his footsteps a beat that rang through the hearts of every person on their side of the court.
He was in the air, a powerful jump that had his body flexing as his arm arced toward the ball.
Bowen slammed the ball across the net, a perfect line that cut through the blockers. It sailed across the court, smacking down just inside the opposite corner.
A perfect cut shot.
Kieran couldn’t hear his own roar as he threw himself forward, yanking Bowen into a crushing hug.
Laughter filled his ears as the rest of the team piled on, Eric launching himself through the air to land on Bowen’s back, Aaron right there with him.
The players from the bench flooded the court, hollering along with the rest of the team.
They’d done it. The Cats had won their spot in the tournament.
“I’ve never felt a more perfect set!” Bowen was practically screeching, pulling Aaron close until their foreheads were pressed together.
“Captain called it.” Aaron had tears in his eyes, and Kieran could feel his own start to prick with emotion. “I just played it how he saw it.”
Eric was on Kieran now, clinging to him like a second skin, whooping as he pumped an arm in the air. They were laughing, all of them, laughing and crying and congratulating one another, a mass of joy and excitement.
Despite everything that Kieran knew was coming, everything he knew he would have to face in the next few days, he didn’t feel the fear. He didn’t feel the dread.
Here, with his team surrounding him, Kieran felt like he’d found his home.