AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Many of them looked in my direction as I came hurrying outside. I needed somewhere to go and I needed it to be away from here.
Not knowing where else would be safe, I hurried toward one of the huts I knew was empty and not being used as part of the tour. There weren’t many, but it had been vacated that morning and left until last to be cleaned.
By the time I was halfway there, Stacy had caught up with me. I slowed a little, but more people came out of a hut on the tour at the same time as the first tear hit my cheek.
I turned my face away and sped up again.
“Kit!” Sarai called behind me, but I wasn’t about to slow. Not right now. I needed to get out of view. I could calm down then. I was grateful at least one of my friends had followed and Sarai had as well.
As soon as I reached the hut I hoped to find refuge in, I yanked on the handle. It didn’t budge.
“Shit,” I exclaimed as Stacy stopped beside me and wrapped me into a hug. Less than a second later, Sarai came running up, already pulling a set of master keys out of her pocket. She swiftly unlocked the door and opened it for me, getting out of the way so I could dive inside.
I stopped as soon as I was a few paces in, and the sobs burst out of me. Before I could take in anything else, I was being hugged again and I heard the voices of even more people coming in behind.
After all the questions, photos, and knowing everywhere I went, Lukas appeared too, I just hadn’t been able to cope with the teasing and the players’ insinuations that I might be luring Lukas to the UK using my female charms. If that had been enough to work, being a submissive for him and offering him anything he wanted from me should have worked even better.
It made me feel like an enormous fool. I hadn’t known what everyone had been saying about me behind my back. After denying we had even been together at all, I was sure it would have confused the press to hear the football players joking around about a relationship between me and Lukas.
Sarai pressed a tissue into my hand and pulled out one of the dining chairs for me to sit on.
“Rest a moment and wipe those tears away. They didn’t mean anything by it. I don’t think they knew.”
“Knew what?” Daniel asked from the doorway, standing in the way with concern on his face.
I wiped away the tears and tried to hold myself together a little longer. I had all my friends in the room, and Daniel too.
“Lukas broke up with me right after the game we came to see.” I managed to say the words before I shuddered again,feeling more tears wanting to fall. It had been over two weeks previous, and I grew angry that I was still this hurt.
Daniel came in closer. “I’m so sorry, Kit. Sarai is right. None of us knew. I’d have asked him what the hell he was playing at if I had.”
To my surprise he knelt beside me and wrapped me into a big hug. For a few seconds I let him, surprised at how calming it felt and appreciating the gesture from someone who had been so supportive of Lukas.
As soon as he let me go, he got to his feet again and backed off.
“Want me to go kick his ass for you?” he asked, smiling to show it was a joke. I shook my head anyway.
“No. I kinda like his ass the way it is.” My voice cracked as I spoke, but I was pleased with my attempt to be funny.
Everyone chuckled at the unexpected joke, but another few tears trickled down my face.
“Can I ask why he threw away the beautiful relationship you had?” Daniel handed me another tissue almost like he didn’t know what else to do to show his support.
“It’s complicated. I can’t say I fully understand it, but it sounds as if he had his reasons and he was hurting too.” I shrugged as I trailed off. I didn’t really know the answer. There wasn’t much of an explanation that didn’t make Lukas sound awful, and this was Daniel. No part of me wanted to ruin their friendship.
I got the impression Daniel would stand up to Lukas if he felt it was necessary, and try to protect me, and I couldn’t bring myself to use that to my advantage. I didn’t want to become the sort of woman Lukas had feared I was.
“I’m sorry, Daniel. There’s no real bad guy in this.”
He knelt again and gave me another hug. “There are few people who would say something like that while hurting. I’msorry you are, and I will definitely go tell the idiot off for bringing this to the surface again.”
“Don’t be too hard on him,” I replied, appreciating Daniel’s kindness so much more than I could put into words.
“I’ll be as hard on him as I need to be to get him to learn his lesson.” Daniel gave me a grin and then hurried away.
I wasn’t about to argue with someone so strong and who knew everyone else better, but I didn’t know what to do now. Calm wasn’t fully within my reach yet, but I already felt the first tendrils of shame and embarrassment as I took in exactly how many people had followed me out of the restaurant.
No doubt everyone inside would have noticed the mass exodus and I had inadvertently drawn far too much attention to myself. I didn’t know what any of them would say, but I knew I worried about one thing above all others.
