CHAPTER 18
Tessa had only seen Tristan after a loss during their time at Vanderbilt once or twice, but she remembered it being brutal and him always taking it hard, even if he himself had a good game.
Adding the shame that he was carrying on his shoulders about the news of his suspension and positive drug test being all over the news, she knew this loss was particularly hard for him.
“Jordan and Katie are flying in tomorrow afternoon,” Tristan said over a morning cup of coffee with Tessa.
“They both know you’re here and will be very happy to see you,” he said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.
Tessa had barely stepped foot into her Kansas City apartment the past few weeks and something about the way Tristan said ‘you’re here’ as opposed to wording it like she’s just visiting made her feel all warm and tingly.
“That really is great, Trist,” she said with a smile. “I know you need your brother right now.”
“Fuck, I do,” he said with a heavy sigh. “We’re playing San Fransisco this week. If we get crushed again, we’re in bad shape.”
“That’s not going to happen, honey,” Tessa says reassuringly. “You have an amazing team, the best team.”
“I know,” he says with a head nod.
“I’m going to go to the stadium early this morning,” Tessa says before finishing her coffee and placing the empty mug in the kitchen sink. “There’s a few parts in the article that are bothering me and I need to figure out how to organize my thoughts.”
“Okay,” Tristan says with a nod, also getting up from the table. “I think practice is at 10 today.”
“Okay, I’ll see you there,” Tessa says, walking over to him and getting on her tip toes to kiss him.
“Sounds good. I lo-” He quickly stops himself, Tessa staring at him with wide eyes, the silence between them heavy and palpable. “I love when you’re at the stadium,” he says, recovering smoothly from the near slip of saying those three words.
“Yeah,” Tessa says with a small smile, her eyes flashing something that looks like disappointment for a millisecond before it’s gone, “Me too.”
Tessa walked down the long hallway of the Titan’s facility, her heels clicking on the tile and echoing around the empty space.
It was early, barely 7:30, way before any team or staff members show up on a practice day, but she felt like she needed the peace and quiet today.
Her head was swimming with so many different things from the article, the deadline, what would happen with her and Tristan when the season was over and she went back to NY, and of course, the nagging in the back of her mind screaming that something was off about his PED test.
She sighed and shook her head, trying to will the racing thoughts to go away. She turned the corner down the hallway that her office was, the tiled floor turning into carpet, her steps suddenly becoming silent.
She walked past each door down the hallway, noticing that each one was closed with lights off, as she expected.
When she walked past Dr. Hines’ office, she noticed that the light was on through the crack at the bottom of the door, and she hummed contemplatively to herself, wondering if he’s usually here this early.
“I’m not tampering with the test again.”
His voice cuts through the silence of the hallway as she walks past it, and her feet freeze beneath her.
Taking a deep breath, she takes two slow, silent steps backwards towards his door, and waits anxiously for him to speak again.
Was she imagining what she just heard? Is she taking it out of context?
“I did what you asked me to,” his stern voice after a few moments of silence makes Tessa jump, but she stands as still as possible and keeps her ear trained against the door. “You didn’t say anything about doing it on more than one test.”
Tessa’s heart was hammering aggressively against her chest, and her hand instinctively came up to her mouth that was hanging open in shock.
She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer that Dr. Hine would say something more damning than this, something specific, so that she’d know he was referring to Tristan.
Right now, it was simply an eerie coincidence that the team Doctor was talking to someone about tapering with a test, but she knew she’d need more evidence than that.
“Listen, Kiana,” Dr. Hines voice comes back after a few moments, and Tessa’s knees almost buckle.
“We had a mutual agreement. I thought we were on the same page. One test for one night. Unless you’re willing to come back out to Kansas City and spend some more time with me, I have no interest in messing up another test.”
Tessa felt her stomach flip and a strong rush of nausea creep up into her throat. She took a deep breath and swallowed down the vomit threatening to spill over.
This was Kiana’s doing? Why didn’t she think of that? Tristan had told Tessa that he was never able to make a clean break from her because of threats that Kiana would make, and it turns out she really was crazy enough to retaliate.
But fucking prostitution?
Tessa felt her body cringe at the thought.
This was who Tristan spent so many years with? A selfish, shallow, vindictive woman who was willing to sleep with 65-year-old men just to get the last laugh?
“Oh, you are?” she hears his voice perk up suddenly, and she leans back into the door.
“Well, when is the soonest you can fly out? No, I can’t do Friday.
I can possibly do Saturday, I’ll just have to come up with something to tell my wife,” he sighs and Tessa feels rage course through her veins.
Not only is Kiana selling her body to get back at Tristan, but she’s also directly interfering with this old man’s marriage.
“Fuck,” Tessa whispers to herself, suddenly feeling shaky on her feet from the adrenaline and anger.
“Okay, yeah, Saturday,” she hears him confirm. “Just come to the facility like last time, we’ll meet in my office. It’s empty around here after practice. Just come around 8 or something, I’ll be here.”
Tessa immediately logs the information into her brain, her mind already racing in ways that she can get physical proof from these two and how they’re attempting to ruin Tristan’s life. She starts to walk away, but then hears his voice come back.
“Oh, and Kiana, remember that I’m not going to switch out his test before I see you. Your part of the bargain has to happen first.”
Tessa suppresses a gag and turns to walk away, officially hearing enough.
How can someone be so evil and be willing to stoop so low? Does this woman not have any self-respect? Does she not experience remorse or guilt? How manipulative must she be to have convinced Tristan, whose heart is made of pure gold and good intentions, that she was a good woman?
A wave of fierce protectiveness bolts it’s way through Tessa’s body, and she knows in that very moment that she will do whatever she possibly can to make sure the truth comes out.
A few hours later, after Tessa had spent a significant amount of time planning and going over in her head how she would tell Tristan about her discovery, she somehow found the strength to drive back to his house.
The midafternoon sun shining brightly, which was unusual was for a fall Kansas City day, but she was thankful for the reprieve from the constant cloudiness, which had only seemed to add to Tristan’s sour mood.
When she pulled up to the house, she saw an unfamiliar SUV in the driveway and remembered that Jordan and Katie had flown in to see Tristan today.
Her heart started thumping as if she were being chased by a lion, but really, it was just Jordan Kelly.
The same Jordan Kelly who had screamed at her on the phone 10 years ago for ruining his little brother’s career and ultimately, life.
Maybe Tristan convinced him to be nice to her today, maybe Katie being there would soften the blow and make it less awkward, or maybe she’d walk in and he’d scream at her to get out.
The only way she would find out was to enter the house with her head held high, remembering that the issue at hand was much greater than her own ego being scared of Jordan.
She took a deep breath and got out of the car, walking towards the front door she had been walking through for a few weeks now, both her and Tristan referring to it as “home” whenever they left practice or a game.
But before she could reach the front door, it swung open, and a very beautiful and very pregnant Katie stood before her.
Tessa’s breath caught in her throat and she felt tears prick her eyes.
Her and Katie hadn’t known each other long, definitely not as long as she’s been friends with Abigail, Amber, or Brinley, but their bond was instantaneous when they first met, and Tessa also reminisced on their friendship fondly.
“Tess!” Katie’s bright smile almost brought Tessa to her knees, and she immediately ran up the steps and enveloped Katie in a hug.
“Oh my God,” Tessa said into Katie’s blonde hair. “I can’t believe I’m seeing you with my own eyeballs right now!”
Katie cackled and pulled back, keeping her hands firmly on Tessa’s shoulders.
“Girl, you look good!” she exclaimed with a suggestive smile.
“Doesn’t she?” Tristan’s voice comes from behind Katie. He’s still in his practice clothes but he can tell he’s showered like he always does. He gently pushes past Katie and takes Tessa into his arms, causing her to squeal in delight and wrap her arms around his shoulders.
“Missed you, baby,” he whispers into her hair, allowing his voice to break and be vulnerable with her.
“I always miss you,” she says back sweetly, giving him a firm kiss on the lips. “But I’m going to need you to give me some time with Katie.”
“Noooo,” he whines like a moody toddler, looking over his shoulder at Katie and giving her an eye roll. “I want you all to myself.”