Chapter 14
Sloane
Day Six
It was early. My phone was dead on the nightstand next to my bed, and the alarm clock was flashing twelve.
I knew it was early enough that the outside world was still quiet, but late enough that Rhys had slid out of bed a while ago to go to his morning workout with the team.
He put up quite the fight. Shutting off his alarm and arguing that it was fine if he missed, and he wouldn’t get in trouble. But I didn’t believe him. I needed just a semblance of normalcy, so I all but threw him out of the room, promising I’d be fine until he got back.
And I was.
Yesterday was a different story. I was scared and exhausted, and I genuinely needed him to keep me grounded and remind me that Stu couldn’t get to me here. Today, I would force myself to be okay.
I was already planning on going to the game. If not for myself, it was to at least prove to Stu that I was doing fine and still functional despite his scare tactics. The chances of him seeing footage of me in the crowd were slim to none, but it wasn’t zero. And that was enough to get me there.
Rhys would probably argue that I should stay locked up in the hotel room, but I did that yesterday. I wouldn’t hide today, too.
It took several minutes, but eventually, I got myself out of bed and rifled through Rhys’s things until I found a phone charger. And then I gathered my stuff and took a much-needed shower.
Thank god for the endless hot water at hotels.
I was showered and mostly put together by the time Rhys got back from his morning workout.
My hair was still damp, hanging down my back and sticking to my shirt as I scrolled through a bunch of missed calls and text messages.
Rhys strolled through the door, dropping his phone and wallet onto the TV stand before plopping down onto the bed behind me.
He was quiet for a moment before he spoke up. “How are you feeling today?”
“Good,” I answered honestly. Setting my phone down, I twisted to look at him. “Really. I’m okay. I was freaked out and exhausted. But I’m okay.”
Deep green eyes studied me for a moment, moving slowly around my face. A second later, his features softened. “You really are the strongest person I know, Sloane.”
My cheeks warmed at the compliment. “I don’t know abou—”
Rhys slid his hand across the comforter, resting it on top of mine. “For once in your life, take the damn compliment.”
“Fine,” I sighed, “Thank you, Rhys.”
He grinned, and there was no stopping the way my heart stuttered in response.
I sighed, lying back on the bed. As much as I wanted to go back to Boston, I knew that I wouldn’t feel safe alone.
I could work from home for the next week while Rhys traveled, but if I was going to be locked inside, I might as well do it from across the country.
“How would you feel about me tagging along for the next week?” I asked, rolling my head to glance at Rhys.
His smile only grew. “Sounds perfect to me.”