Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
ISAAC
“Let’s talk,” Tyson insists, falling in step next to me as we walk to our cars Monday afternoon. Carter flanks me on the opposite side. What the hell is this?
“About what?” I growl. I’m not in the mood for him. I want to go home and wallow in my misery. Evan did the one thing I asked him not to do. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive him.
“Get in,” he commands when we reach his car. Carter climbs in the backseat and Tyson raises an eyebrow at me, motioning for me to get in the car. I don’t know what this is about, but I guess I’m going to find out.
Tyson drives in silence to a secluded bar and grill about five miles from the stadium.
It won’t be crowded at three on a Monday afternoon.
I follow him and Carter inside and to a table in the back.
The waitress follows us with some menus.
Tyson orders three beers for us. As soon as the girl is out of earshot, he looks at me.
“Start talking,” Tyson commands.
“About what? I have no idea what this is about.”
“For starters, you’ve been an asshole since we stopped by my mom’s office on Saturday. My guess is you had a fight with your boyfriend,” Carter states. I stand up, knocking my chair over and stalk toward the door. “Bingo,” I hear Carter say.
I turn on my heels and rush back to the table, leaning down, getting in Carter’s face. He doesn’t even flinch. Cocky bastard.
“I don’t know what you think you know or what the hell Hope told you, but my private life is none of your damn business and it will do you well to stay the fuck out of it and keep your mouth shut.”
“Sit the fuck down, Isaac!” Tyson snaps, picking up the chair and setting it behind me. His voice gives no room for argument. I don’t want to have this conversation with them, but I reluctantly drop into the chair and rest my head in my hands.
My friends are quiet for a minute as I hear the waitress approaching. “Here you go, gentlemen. Can I get you anything else?”
“Not right now. Thank you,” Tyson replies. A few seconds later, he continues talking to me. “Look. Clearly, something is going on with you. We’re your friends, Isaac. You can talk to us.”
“It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
“Well, playing like shit, being a complete jerk all weekend, and getting injured for being stupid on the field tells a different story.”
He’s right. I let this shit show with Evan get in my head and took it out on my teammates and on the other team.
It got me injured and taken out of the game in the third quarter.
In my head, I was convinced I could still play, and it pissed me off Coach sequestered me to the bench.
It was the right call. I won’t be on the field for a few weeks now and if he had let me play, I probably would have done something else stupid or gotten a more serious injury.
I take a long drink from my beer, trying to decide what exactly I want to say to my two closest friends. At some point, I have to stop lying about who I am, no matter the cost, but I have to be ready to pay the price.
“What do you know?” I take the chickenshit way out.
“We don’t know anything. We guess there is something between you and Evan,” Tyson says.
“Why do you think that?”
Carter laughs beside me, “It’s obvious. Every time I go see my mom, you tag along. You never did that when Sandy was her boss. When the two of you are in the same room, you can’t take your eyes off each other.”
“So, no one told you anything about us.”
“No. Who would tell us?” Tyson asks.
“Hope. Evan.”
“You told my mom, but not us. Wow, some friend.” Carter holds his chest as if I’ve shot an arrow straight through it. Dramatic ass.
“I didn’t tell anyone. It is supposed to be a secret.”
“You do a crap job of keeping it a secret,” Tyson deadpans.
“Am I really that obvious?”
“Yes!” They both say at the same time.
I shake my head. No use keeping it from them now.
“Well, you’ve figured out that I’m gay,” I say to Carter, since Tyson already knows that part.
“You might as well know, I’ve been dating Evan since the day after we met.
We went on a date, and I knew immediately.
We’ve been keeping it a secret because I don’t want the media to get ahold of the story. It’s no one’s business.”
“That doesn’t explain why you’ve been such an ass,” Carter replies.
“He told Hope after I asked him to keep it a secret and then told her to keep it quiet. I can’t be with someone who lies and doesn’t respect my privacy. I haven’t spoken to him since Saturday.”
“That’s what she meant.” Carter mumbles, digging his phone out of his pocket.
“What are you talking about?”
He takes a few seconds to pull up something on his phone.
“Mom texted me on Saturday after we left. It says ‘If Isaac talks to you about anything important, tell him it didn’t happen the way he thinks it did. I figured it out on my own and was asked not to say anything.’ I asked her what she was talking about, but the only response I got was ‘you’ll know. ’ This must be it.”
“Call her,” I practically growl at Carter. He taps the call button and hands the phone to me. I glance around to make sure we are still the only ones in the room then hit the speaker button.
“Hi, Carter,” she answers on the first ring.
“Hey, Mom. I’ve got you on speaker phone and I’m with Tyson and Isaac.”
“Hi, boys.”
“Hope, tell me how you found out about Evan and me.”
“Oh, well, let’s see. We were in the office a couple of weeks ago and I made a comment about the two of you.
He didn’t do or say anything to indicate you are together, but I see the way you are around each other and I assumed.
When I mentioned it, Evan got worried and tried to deny it.
I kept pushing and he finally asked me not to say anything to anyone.
I agreed. When I saw you two on Saturday, it didn’t seem like you were trying to be discreet, so I told you you’re a cute couple. ”
“Shit. I messed up. Badly.”
“Have you talked to Evan?” Hope asked.
“Not since Saturday.”
“He’s a mess. Go talk to him. You clearly love each other and being apart is hurting you both.”
“Thanks, Hope.”
“Bye, Mom.” Carter ends the call. “What are you going to do?”
“Make things right with my boyfriend. I’m sorry about the way I acted this weekend. It won’t happen again.”
“You can’t keep this secret for long. It’s going to be better to come out before the media gets ahold of the story. You hold all the cards right now and can come out on your own terms. As obvious as the two of you are, it isn’t going to take a genius to figure it out.”
“You’re right. I need a little more time, but I won’t wait long. Now, can you get me back to my car, so I can go see my boyfriend?”
Thirty minutes later, I’m parking in front of Evan’s apartment.
It’s been a crappy few days. I miss Evan so much.
Not long after I left his office, before I even made it to the bus, I got one simple text asking me to please talk to him.
I ignored it. I’m regretting everything that’s happened the past two days, especially hurting Evan.
In the short time we’ve been together, Evan has learned to trust me and let go of some of the shit Mike put him through.
Instead of taking my own advice and trusting the man I love, I treated him like crap and blamed him for something he didn’t do.
Honestly, I don’t deserve his forgiveness, but I hope he gives it to me.
It takes longer than it should for Evan to answer the door and I start to think he isn’t going to let me in. I know he’s home. His car is parked in his space. I’m about to knock again when it swings open.
When his eyes lock on mine, they are full of hurt and fear. It shatters my heart. I did this to him. After he opened up to me about how much Mike hurt him, I fucking hurt him, too.
“Can we talk?” I ask when Evan doesn’t say anything. He remains silent, but steps aside and motions for me to step in.
Reluctantly, I reach for him as he closes the door behind us. Evan steps back, putting a chasm of space between us. It hurts, but I deserve it and more. I run a hand through my short hair. Where do I even begin?
“I’m sorry.” It isn’t much, but it’s a start.
Evan continues to stare at me. Say something.
He doesn’t respond to my silent plea, so I dive in.
“I’m sorry I hurt you and called you a liar and gossip.
I should have listened to you. It may not matter, but I spoke to Hope today and she told me what happened.
What you tried to tell me on Saturday. You can thank Carter and Tyson for calling me out on my shit and forcing me to pull my head out of my ass. ”
“You told them?” he questions.
“Yes. They already suspected. Apparently, I’m not as discreet as I think I am. They said my feelings for you are very obvious when I’m around you.”
“I didn’t mean to tell your secret.”
“You didn’t. Hope told me she figured it out on her own, and you tried to deny it. I appreciate you having my back.”
“I’ll never do anything to betray your trust.” Evan’s eyes fill with tears as he speaks.
“I know. I was a jerk. I did the one thing I promised not to do. I hurt you and I’m very sorry. I love you so damn much.” I take Evan’s hand and lead us to the couch, wincing a little when I turn toward him.
“Are you okay? I watched the game. Seeing you lying on the field scared the shit out of me.”
“I’m fine. It’s a couple of bruised ribs. Nothing that won’t heal in a few weeks.”
“Can you play?”
“No. I can’t practice this week and it’s doubtful the doctor will clear me for this week’s game. It will probably be closer to two or three weeks before I can get back to it.”
“But your family is coming for the game. They won’t get to see you play.”
“They’ve seen me play more times than I can count since little league. It’s more important that I heal properly. It’s my own fault. I was pissed and playing dirty. In a way, I got what I deserved.”
“I’m sorry you got hurt, but you were playing like a jerk.”
He’s right. I took my anger out on the field and if I hadn’t gotten hurt, I might have injured someone.
“Are we going to be okay?” I’m not sure I want to hear the answer. Evan might be done with me.
“We’re fine. I missed you. I’m glad you came over.”
“Me, too. I should have come sooner.”