I nod, even though she can’t see me. “You won’t.”
Across from me, Nicklas is watching again, but this time the heaviness from earlier is gone. His grin is back, easy and familiar, like he tucked everything else away, hiding it where no one can touch it.
“Tell Kate I said hi,” he says.
“Who was that?” Kate asks.
“Nicklas says hello.”
“Nicklas,” she repeats, laughing. “The one I’m supposed to stay away from?”
“Yes. Exactly that one.”
“Tell him I said hi back.”
“No.”
“Chucky…” she laughs, dragging it out just to annoy me.
I hear voices in the background—my parents, no doubt hovering like always. “Mom and Dad say great game,” she adds.
“Tell them I’ll call tomorrow. We’re just getting to the hotel.”
“Okay, big brother. See you soon.”
“Yeah. Bye, Kate.”
I hang up and slip my phone back into my pocket. The bus hums. The city rolls by outside in streaks of light. I should call Maria. I want to call Maria.
But I don’t.
Not with Nicklas sitting across from me, watching everything a little too closely.
So instead, I lean back in my seat…
And wait.
A few minutes later, we spill off the bus into the cool night air, the city humming low around us. Nicklas nudges me with his shoulder. “Grab a beer?”
I glance at him, at the way something quieter sits behind his usual grin. “Nah, I’m beat. I’m going to call it a night.”
That same flicker of loneliness crosses his face, and for a second I still, ready to change my mind. But then Gunther slings an arm around his shoulders. “Come on, Rookie.”
I linger just long enough to see Nicklas let himself be pulled along, laughter starting to replace whatever was weighing on him. When I’m sure he’s good, I turn and head for the elevator.
It’s packed—voices, colognes, flashes of phones. I tuck myself into the back corner, hoping to disappear, but that’s a joke. A couple of selfies later, the doors finally open on my floor. Quiet greets me as I step out, the noise falling away behind me.
Inside my room, I kick off my boots and let myself fall back onto the bed. The silence settles in, and it’s too quiet. I miss the boys, Marbles, the noise… I stare at my phone, turning it over in my hand, my thoughts circling.
Should I? Shouldn’t I?
I exhale sharply. Screw it.
I hit her name.
It rings once. Twice. Three times. I’m just about to hang up when?—
“Hello?” she answers, a little breathless.
