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"I wasn't."
Well, that's new. "You're not?"
"No. Well…" The corner of his mouth quirks slightly. "Not in the way you might think. First things first: how are you holding up?"
What a loaded fucking question. I snort. "How do you think?"
He nods solemnly, lips pursed. "Figured. For something like this… I doubt you'll be fine for a while. I'd have concerns if you were all sunshine and rainbows."
I doubt I'll ever be sunshine and rainbows. "Yeah… So why are you here?" There's gotta be another shoe waiting to drop. I'm already in the pit. Makes sense it'd sink a little deeper still.
"Well, I just had an interesting conversation with your lawyer," he says. "And following it, I wanted to check on you."
"Elliot called you?"
"Yep. Get me up to speed on this little predicament of yours. Needed my cooperation to make sure you didn't have any problems moving forward." Coach looks at me. "I know the truth of what happened. He laid out everything. Said he was 'going out on a limb' by telling me. The stalking, the weird DNA shit, that crazy woman's insane schemes." He shakes his head. "All of it sounds too damn Hollywood to me. But I needed to apologize for not taking you more seriously when something was clearly going wrong in your world, Reese. If I had, if you'd had more support in your corner, I'm supposing maybe that girl of yours wouldn't be in the condition she's in right now."
"Coach, it's not?—"
He holds up his hand again. "It ain’t your place to tell me whether I need to apologize or not. I do. You're a damn headache, Dalton—but the Bulls are family at the end of the day. I should have looked after you like family does."
I didn’t have this on my bingo card. Not one damn word of it. But, as nice as his words are, he’s just pitching handfuls of dirt into a hole a mile deep. It’s gonna take so much more to fill this shit back up.
"All that is to say, when you do finally have a chit-chat with your lawyer, know that I'm fully onboard with backing up the story he's decided to go with. You and Olivia were blackmailed by a crazy Bulls fan, who went berserk when her plan to break the two of you up didn't work out. Ended in a firefight that resulted in two deaths—that woman and your baby. Far as the team and the public will be concerned, you're square. Though I know that won't change what you're feelin' right now."
My mind is white noise. It all sounds so simple when he says it like that. It also sounds so meaningless.
I scoff. "You don't know what I'm feeling right now."
"Oh, don't get like that." Coach levels a stern look at me. "You're not the only man whose woman has lost something precious before. You're not the only one that's had to look at his choices and his path in life and wonder, 'Did I do this?' And yanno, sometimes it's a yes—you did this. But so did that woman that hurt your girl and your kid. And you know what you have to do? You have to see the mistake and know not to make it again." Coach folds his arms over his chest. "Like the shit you pulled with Dante and Marcus. They coulda got hurt, too. You could have died and then who'd have been around to make sure Olivia was safe and sound? All that shit happened—own it and learn from it. Damn, Dalton, you got a thick fuckin' head."
"Thought you weren't here to lecture me,” I croak.
"I said not in the way you think. I want you to pull that thick head outta your own ass and realize you’ve got a golden chance to pick up your pieces and take a second shot at making your life something worthwhile. But what are you doing? Moping out here instead, having a damn pity party."
I throw my hands up. "What else am I supposed to do? I lost my kid, my friends, almost lost my girl. Oh, yeah, I'm also about to be out of a career. What fucking ‘second chances,’ Coach?" I make a big show of looking around the empty waiting room, up at the ceiling, under my chair. Then I look back at him. “I don’t see any damn second chances anywhere.”
He rolls his eyes at me. "You're dramatic as all hell, Dalton. You think Dante and Marcus woulda risked their lives if they weren't your friends? Think they’d be checkin' in on you in the middle of practice if they weren't? If you'd have a fuckin' conversation, you'd know damn well who your friends are." He sighs. "You also make a lot of assumptions. I told you—I was here to apologize and make right. I may or may not have put in a word to ownership. Might’ve told ‘em to either do what I said or I’d walk, matter of fact. Take my Hall of Fame ass right out the door. Point is, you're not off the team. You'll have as much time as you need to get back on your feet. You’re a Bull for life, Dalton. Ain’t shit you can do about it, neither.”
When I don't respond, he laughs. Clapping his hand on my shoulder, he nods in the direction of the rooms. "Now, you should go see your girl. Don't think about your job right now. You ‘n’ her need each other. You'll pull through this. And being out here, beating yourself up over shit, ain't gonna help. Your woman doesn't need a martyr. Your woman needs her man."
64
OLIVIA
"Do you have everything, dear?"
Mama has an overnight bag slung over her shoulder. My worn and dirty clothes are inside. I'm grateful that she thought ahead and brought me something fresh to leave the hospital in. It's the only upside to life right now.
Reese hasn't returned since he and his mother were here.
The feeling in my chest is hollow. Like someone carved a part of my heart out, or ripped out the whole damn thing. This is the confirmation that I needed that this was Reese's last straw. Seeing my breakdown over Violet, having the reality of my emotions displayed in full force…
They say that relationships tend to end after the loss of a child. I guess I'm living proof of that. Another statistic.
Just my luck.
"Olivia, sweetheart? Are you ready?"
