CHAPTER26
Ares
Iknew something was wrong before I even stepped off the ice and into the locker room after the final buzzer. I can’t say how, and I had no clue what, but something felt not quite right.
A congratulations message was on my screen from mytesoroby the time I had my shower and got dressed, but when she asked if I could go to Tori’s to see her, the heavy feeling in my stomach grew.
I’m waiting at a red light on Edgewood. I needed to get gas, then someone had broken down closing off a lane, and traffic was surprisingly dense. It’s as though the universe has conspired against me to keep me away from my girl for as long as possible.
It makes my nerves all the more frayed. I don’t know what’s wrong, but something’s tugging in my chest. I need to see her, to look at her face and know she’s okay.
When the light changes, I gun the gas. There are no parking spaces outside Tori’s house, so I circle the block a few times growling and grunting under my breath until I find one. It’s not a particularlylegalparking space, but right now, I don’t care if the neighbors call the cops. I’ll pay the damn fines. Or buy a new fucking car. Whatever.
Tori opens the door as I walk up the path. The dim light from the house illuminates her like some angry celestial being surrounded by a warm glow. She folds her arms, puffs out a breath I can see in front of her face, and holds up her hand like a stop sign.
“If this is a bit of fun for you, it’s time to turn around and walk away, hotshot.”
My feet stutter to a halt. “It’s never been ‘a bit of fun’ for me,” I say with finger quotes. “I care about her.” From the look on my girl’s best friend’s face, she doesn’t believe me.
“I’m falling for her, Tori. I’m in with both feet.” I stupidly point down to my toes like they add some extra weight to my statement.
Tori’s mouth twists like she’s trying to fight a smile, but it’s short lived before the concern from a few moments ago shadows her face again. “It’s not pretty in there. She had a fight with her dad.”
Tori doesn’t need to elaborate. Eloise’s father has issues with me. I hoped I’d have more time to convince him that I’m not the guy he thinks I am. At least not anymore.
Okay, so I’m kind of still that guy, but I’m trying to be better. Every single day I choose my sobriety and the game, and now I choose Eloise, too. Trying has to count for something, right?
None of that matters right now as the acid in my stomach threatens to creep up and into my mouth. She’s going to choose her father. There is no other alternative. Family first, that’s what Papá has drilled into our heads since we were little.
Family first.
Siempre.
Which means when I walk into that house, the only girlfriend I’ve ever had, the only woman I’ve ever had real feelings for, is going to break up with me.
As much as that sucks, the idea that she’s on the other side of that door, struggling with her own emotions, that she’s sad and needs a hug, that her dad might have yelled at her again… that transcends everything else.
I give Tori a nod and walk straight past her into her own house. In the living room, Eloise sits on the sofa, leaning forward, her elbows on her knees, her hands covering her face and her pink hair hanging over her fingers like curtains.
Her shoulders shake as she sniffles, and my heart collapses in my chest. I hop over the back of the sofa, startling her when I land on the cushion next to her. Barely giving her time to react, I scoop her into my arms and drag her onto my lap.
She burrows her head into my shoulder and lets go. As she cries, I stroke her back and whisper all the good things I can think of, it’ll all be okay, just let it all out, I’m here, and I’ve got you. But none of it feels like enough.
Because it isn’t.
I did this to her. I made her feel this bone-deep pain making her cry uncontrollably on my shoulder. The thought alone makes me want to join her in her tears. But I don’t. I hold her until it passes. Because this situation isn’t about me, not really, it’s about her, and she needs comfort right now.
“I’m sorry.” Her mumbled words against the damp skin of my neck makes my heart crack even more.
I shake my head, not sure I can trust myself to say anything.
“I’m sure this isn’t what you had in mind for after your game.”
It’s not. When I stepped off the ice, I wanted to fuck her until she saw stars, but now, now I want to hold her until she’s okay. “No need for sorry. It should be me apologizing,tesoro. I don’t like coming between you and your dad.”
She stares at me, the pain in her eyes making it hard to breathe, and the urge to kiss her until it goes away is strong. “Honestly, I think he’d be like this about any boyfriend I brought home.”
The growl is in the back of my throat before I can stop it. There is no other boyfriend, and there won’t be. But the idea that there might have been, well, I don’t like that so much.
