Chapter 30 Rodriguez
RODRIGUEZ
I wake up alone and the wrongness of it hits me before I’m fully conscious.
She’s at her apartment. She said she was tired from book club. That she needed sleep.
But she’s never done that before. Never chosen her place over mine. Not since Toronto. Not once.
I text her even though I know she’s asleep.
Miss you. Come back tomorrow?
I stare at the screen waiting for the three dots that don’t come.
She’s asleep. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.
Except it’s not fine because something felt off last night. The way she texted. Short and distant. The way she didn’t really answer when I asked if she was okay, just said she was tired instead of telling me what was actually wrong.
I should have pushed. Should have asked more questions. Should have driven to her place and made her talk to me. Should have told her about Sienna the moment it happened instead of convincing myself it was no big deal.
My phone buzzes and for a second hope flares in my chest. But it’s not her.
Can’t stop thinking about seeing you yesterday. We should do it again soon.
Sienna.
Fuck.
I blocked her number after our coffee meeting. Blocked her on Instagram. Deleted everything.
She must have gotten a new number.
Sienna, stop. I told you, I’m with someone. We’re done.
But we’re not done. We’ll never be done. You felt it too yesterday at coffee. That connection we have.
There’s no connection. There never was. Please stop contacting me.
You’re making a mistake. She’s not right for you. I’M right for you.
I don’t respond. Just block the number and put my phone face-down on the nightstand, pressing it against the wood like that’ll make this stop.
But I can’t sleep. I lie there thinking about Juliette at her apartment alone, about her texts from last night, about Sienna showing up out of nowhere and ruining everything I’ve been building with the only woman who’s ever really mattered.
At 5 AM I give up on sleep and go for a run.
The Seattle streets are empty and dark, rain coming down hard enough to sting my face.
I run until my lungs burn and my legs ache and I can’t think about anything except the slap of my shoes on wet pavement, the rhythm of my breathing, the cold seeping through my clothes.
When I get home, I shower under hot water until my skin turns red. My phone beeps while I’m toweling off and I lunge for it thinking it’s Juliette.
Three more texts from a new number. All Sienna.
You can ignore me all you want but I’m not going away.
Does she know about me? Does she know you lied to her?
I could tell her. I could find her and tell her everything.
My blood goes cold. Ice in my veins despite the hot shower.
Stay away from her. I’m serious, Sienna. Stay the fuck away.
Or what? You’ll call the cops? Tell them your ex wants to talk to you? That’s not illegal, Romeo.
Harassment is illegal. Leave me alone. Leave HER alone.
Just give me one more chance. One more coffee. Just talk to me.
No.
Then I guess I’ll have to talk to your girlfriend instead. I’m sure she’d love to hear about how you’ve been meeting up with me behind her back.
I stare at that message with my heart pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat, taste copper in my mouth.
She wouldn’t. She can’t.
But I know she would. I know she’s unhinged enough to track down Juliette and tell her god knows what twisted version of events she’s concocted in her head.
I haven’t been meeting up with you. We had ONE coffee because you ambushed me in the parking lot.
That’s not how I remember it. And I have the Instagram messages to prove we’ve been talking. Wonder what your girlfriend would think about those?
She’s lying. We haven’t been talking. I blocked her.
Unless—
Fuck. The DM she sent. The one I saw and deleted. Did Juliette see it before I got rid of it?
I pull up Instagram with shaking hands and check my DMs. The conversation with Sienna is gone. Deleted. I made sure of that.
But maybe I didn’t delete it fast enough. Maybe my phone was unlocked on my nightstand. Maybe she saw it before I could erase it.
I block Sienna on this number too, then go through and block every social media platform I can think of. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, everything. My thumbs fly across the screen.
My phone immediately buzzes with a new number.
Blocking me isn’t going to work. I’ll always find a way to reach you.
And if I can’t reach you, I’ll reach her.
I’m shaking now. Anger and fear mixing together until I can’t tell which is which anymore, just this hot sick feeling in my gut.
If you contact her, if you go anywhere near her, I will get a restraining order. I’m not fucking around, Sienna.
You won’t. Because then you’d have to explain to her why you need one. You’d have to tell her about coffee. About how you hid it from her. About how you LIED.
I didn’t lie. I just didn’t mention it because it was NOTHING.
That’s not going to sound good when I tell her. “He didn’t mention having coffee with his ex because it was nothing.” Yeah, that’ll go over great.
She’s right. It sounds bad. It sounds exactly like whatever excuse Garrett gave Juliette when he broke up with her. And now I’m going to be just like him. Another guy who kept secrets. Another guy who broke her trust.
Don’t contact her. Please. I’m asking you nicely. Just leave us alone.
Come meet me. One more time. Just to talk. If you do, I’ll leave her alone.
No.
Then I guess I’ll see her soon. I know where she works. The training facility, right? I’m sure I can find her there.
My stomach drops like I’m in free fall. I never told her Juliette’s name. Never mentioned where she worked. Which means Sienna’s been watching me. Following me. Stalking me.
Sienna, I’m serious. Stay away from the arena. Stay away from Juliette.
Then meet me. Today. Noon. Same Starbucks.
No.
Your choice. Either you meet me or I find your girlfriend and tell her everything.
I stare at my phone. Rage and panic warring in my chest, making it hard to think straight, hard to breathe properly.
I could meet her. Could hear whatever she has to say. Could try to reason with her one more time.
Or I could call the cops. Could report the harassment. Could get ahead of this before it gets worse.
But if I call the cops, Juliette will find out. She’ll ask questions. She’ll want to know why my ex is harassing me.
And then I’ll have to tell her about coffee. About how I hid it. About how I fucked up.
I’m not meeting you. And if you contact Juliette, if you go to the facility, I’m calling the police and pressing charges. This is your last warning.
I block the number and turn off my phone completely. Power it all the way down like that’ll make this stop.
My hands are shaking. I have to put the phone down on the bathroom counter because I can’t hold it steady.
I need to tell Juliette. Need to warn her that Sienna might show up. Need to explain everything before Sienna gets to her first.
But it’s 6:30 AM and she’s probably still asleep and I don’t want to wake her up with this nightmare I’ve created. Don’t want her first thought of the day to be about me and my fucked up ex and my poor decisions.
I’ll tell her today. At practice. Or after. I’ll explain everything and she’ll understand.
She has to understand.
Practice is a disaster.
I can’t focus. Keep missing passes. Fuck up a drill so badly that Barrett makes the whole line run suicides while he yells about how we’re playing like a goddamn peewee team.
“What’s wrong with you?” Dex asks during a water break. He’s breathing hard, sweat dripping down his face.
“Nothing.”
“That’s bullshit. You’re playing like trash.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You haven’t made a single clean pass all morning.” He’s studying me now, concern replacing annoyance. “Is it Juliette? Did you guys fight?”
“No. We didn’t fight.”
“Then what?”
“It’s nothing. Just personal.”
Almardon skates over, stick tapping against the ice. “If it’s affecting your game, it’s not personal.”
I look at them. My best friends. My teammates. And I want to tell them. Want to explain about Sienna and the messages and how I’m terrified I’m going to lose Juliette over something I didn’t even do.
But Barrett’s whistle cuts through the air, sharp and demanding.
Practice continues and I try to pull it together, but all of my focus is on Sienna’s threat. Her words playing on repeat in my head.
I’ll find your girlfriend and tell her everything.
After practice, I turn my phone back on in the locker room. The screen lights up with notification after notification.
Twenty-three new messages. All from different numbers. All Sienna.
You can’t ignore me forever.
I’m coming to the facility. Today.
I’m going to find her and tell her what kind of man you really are.
You had your chance to stop this. You chose wrong.
See you soon, Romeo.
I’m going to be sick. Actually going to throw up right here in the locker room.
I pull up Juliette’s contact and call her. It rings four times and goes to voicemail. Her voice cheerful and recorded.
“Hey, it’s me. Can you call me back? It’s important. Like really important. Just call me when you get this.”
I hang up and immediately text her.
JuJu, please call me. I need to talk to you about something.
JuJu
I’m about to start a class. Can it wait?
Not really. It’s about—fuck, I can’t explain over text. Can you come find me after? I’m in the locker room.
JuJu
Romeo, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?
Just please come find me. As soon as you can.
I sit in my locker stall with my head in my hands, trying to figure out how to explain this. How to tell her that my ex is threatening to come here. That I had coffee with Sienna and didn’t mention it. That I fucked up. That I’m sorry. That I’m so fucking sorry.
Almardon sits down next to me. The bench creaks under his weight. “Okay, seriously. What’s going on?”
“My ex is threatening to come here and talk to Juliette.”
“About what?”
“About me. About us. About—” I run my hands through my hair, pulling at the roots. “I had coffee with her on Monday and I didn’t tell Juliette and now Sienna’s making it sound like I was hiding something.”
“Were you hiding something?”
“No! It was nothing. But now she’s acting like we’re getting back together and threatening to tell Juliette that I’ve been cheating.”
“But you haven’t been cheating.”
“I know that! But how’s it going to look when Sienna shows up and tells her I had coffee with my ex and didn’t mention it?
” I can hear the desperation in my own voice, high and tight.
“Juliette’s ex did the same thing. Hid things from her.
Lied to her. And now I’m doing the exact same thing and she’s going to think I’m just like him. ”
Almardon’s quiet for a long moment. “You need to tell Juliette. Now. Before Sienna gets to her.”
“I know. I’m trying. She’s teaching.”
“Then go find her. Pull her out of the lesson if you have to. Because if Sienna gets to her first, you’re fucked.”
He’s right. I know he’s right.
I grab my phone and text Juliette again.
Where are you? I really need to talk to you.
JuJu
I just finished a lesson.
Okay. I’ll come find you. Don’t go anywhere.
JuJu
Romeo, you’re freaking me out.
I know. I’m sorry. Just stay where you are. I’ll explain everything.
I change out of my gear as fast as I can. My hands fumble with the laces, the velcro. My phone keeps buzzing with new messages from new numbers but I don’t even look at them anymore.
I just need to get to her first.
I just need to explain before Sienna does.
My phone buzzes one more time. Against my better judgment, I check it.
I’m here. At the facility. Time’s up, Romeo.
No.
No no no.
I’m moving before I even realize it, out of the locker room, down the hall toward the rinks where Juliette teaches. My shoes squeak on the rubber flooring. People call out to me but I don’t stop.
I have to get to her first.
I have to.