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"She's the absolute sweetest. If West ever hurts her, I'll shoot a puck right up his ass."
Eli snorted with laughter. "You're brutal."
She slurped up a noodle. "I know, but I can't help but worry sometimes. He was such a player. And she's madly in love with him. I don't know what she'd do if he broke her heart. It scares me."
Eli shook his head. "No, Holly. You don't have to worry. West would die for Penn. He'd take a bullet for her."
She sighed. "You're probably right, but it’s always in the back of my mind."
"Of course it is. You don't trust men. But more importantly, you don't trust me. Let's face it—I was a player just like West. I make him look like a fucking choir boy. I've been with more women than I'd ever care to count, but none of that matters now because I only want you. Yet you don't believe it."
She stared at him. "Do you blame me? What would you think if you were me?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "But you should believe me because it's the truth."
Holly looked away, then shoved a piece of chicken into her mouth.
"Don't want to talk, huh?" He smiled and cocked an eyebrow. "I know how that feels."
"I guess."
He fell silent for a few beats as he closed his eyes, but the next words out of his mouth shocked her to the core.
"You know my mom has Alzheimer's. Thanks to a lot of clinical trials and the best care money can buy, we've been able to slow down the progression the past few years. But not anymore. I'm used to her not recognizing me sometimes, but this was the first time that she was afraid of me. The look of terror on her face today when she saw me? It broke my fucking heart. She screamed, begging me to get away from her. I couldn't handle it."
"Eli, that's awful. I'm so sorry."
"Me, too."
"I'd say that's a good reason to get drunk in the early afternoon. A great fucking reason, in fact."
Eli turned toward her and opened his eyes, and she saw the depth of his pain. Her heart ached for him. He looked...lost.
"I thought so."
"This is a lot to handle by yourself."
He shrugged.
"You need to talk to someone about this. It's not something you can deal with on your own."
"I am. I'm talking to you."
She tapped the edge of the tub with her finger. "I meant a professional."
"It's not my style."
"Yeah, I guess not."
They sat in silence while Holly finished off her box of noodles.
"This food is delicious," she told him. "Best Chinese meal I've had in a long time. You know your takeout."
"It's my go-to place. I probably shouldn't be eating this kind of food right now, but then again, I shouldn't have gotten fucked up, either. So I guess it doesn't matter."
"Tomorrow's a new day," she said firmly. "You have practice tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah. We have to roll in at ten and watch some tape, too." He rubbed his eyes. "Fuck, I'm exhausted. This is ridiculous."
