“Trip, I have to do this.”
“Then there was no reason for this.” He pointed back and forth between us and my lungs seized.
“Our friendship?” I wheezed, unable to fill my lungs with the oxygen they were craving.
Trip thrust his hand through his hair and stared at me. “Yeah,” Trip scoffed. “Our friendship, darlin’. If that’s what we are then there’s nothing more to say. All of this was for you so you’d have all the opportunities in the world without any regrets. Yet here you are throwing it away, for what?”
“For the people I love,” I said, unsure if I was still doing the right thing.
Trip shook his head. “McKenna, I don’t know if you’re being completely naïve or I’m an idiot and what I thought was there wasn’t.”
“If you have something to say, Trip, say it now. You have nothing to hide behind anymore. You’re no longer my coach.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready to say any more. This was a first for me, and as much as you don’t believe it I did this all for you. I was protecting you. I’ve seen players ripped apart in the media. Things blown out of proportion and I refused to drag you into that.” Trip’s jaw twitched before he moved to leave, slamming the door on his way out.
I stared at the spot he had just disappeared from for what seemed like forever, wishing he’d come back in and make everything better. When I realized he wasn’t coming back, I cried myself to sleep on the couch. My sandwich forgotten.
