Page 53 of Want You

The worst part was he was the only person she actually wanted to talk to right now because she needed to see him say he didn’t know. She just didn’t know what she’d do if she saw the ugly truth in person.

CHAPTER 27

NATHAN

Nathan had a memory for every partner he’d ever had. His list wasn’t long. Short for an attractive man, minuscule for a professional athlete. He’d never blown off steam by using a partner. Never celebrated by going out and picking someone up. As much as he hated the phrase, he hadn’t been like a lot of the other guys.

He paced his apartment. Worrying about Octavia, wondering if she’d ever call him back. She’d made her feelings known early on about the culture, and he’d promised her that he was different. Then he lied and said he didn’t know.

Except it wasn’t exactly a lie. He knew shit went down. Heard enough from the guys in the dressing room that turned his stomach, but nothing like this had happened. Suddenly things that Connors had said were shaded in a different light.

Nathan’s stomach rolled thinking about how many times he had shrugged off disgusting things teammates had said. Fuck. He had to do something. And not just because he didn’t want the woman he was falling fast for to hate him.

He checked his phone again, his stomach dropping when there was still nothing from Octavia. But he could call his agent to see what he could do legally. Except he knew exactly what his agent would say: stay out of it. It’s going to get messy. The guy was spineless about this kind of thing. Ruthless when it came to money.

All he wanted was to talk to Octavia, but he knew there would be no rushing this. She had her doubts about him from the start and he knew her well enough by now to know she needed time to process this news before she’d be willing to discuss anything. His impatience was moot.

He forced himself to sit on the couch and stare at his reflection in the TV, debating whether or not to turn it on. Ultimately deciding he wasn’t quite ready to see every channel covering this breaking news.

When his phone rang he hoped to see her name, his heart sinking when Emma’s glowed back at him.

“Hey,” he answered, bracing himself for whatever telling off his big sister was about to deliver.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly, surprising him with the concern in her voice.

His body immediately relaxed and he took his first proper breath since getting home. “Not really,” he admitted. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what I can do.”

“I don’t either,” she said and his heart sank. Emma always knew what to do. Even when it seemed impossible, there she was with everything figured out.

“Well, shit.” He sighed, rubbing his face and standing up to begin pacing again. “I’ve never—” he began.

“I know,” Emma interrupted. “You’d never do anything like this because mom would murder you, and then I’d murder you, and Dad would probably come back to really make sure you were dead. Hell, Scottie may get a few blows in too.”

“Sure all of that but also there is no appeal in acting like that,” he replied, his guard up at the implication that consequences were what kept him from being a terrible person.

There was a beat of silence before Emma responded. “Nate, I know. We all know and I’m sorry that no matter what you’re going to get caught up in this. I am sorry that you are going to have to answer questions about this for the foreseeable future and you are probably going to be given bullshit canned answers that have been approved by the league. I wish I was calling with some epic big sister advice, but sadly I have no idea how you can navigate this without blowing up your career.”

It suddenly seemed so unfair that someone else’s actions—actions he didn’t support in any way, shape, or form—could harm his career. But his career seemed like small potatoes compared to how those actions harmed someone’s life.

He switched the call to speaker and began googling the city where the incident took place, searching for any names associated with the investigation.

“I have to do something,” he mumbled, his mind already on what he was going to say to the lead investigator, Angela Towny, after he hung up and called her.

“Well, you know you have our support. I love you no matter what, Nate, but I’ll probably love you a little more if whatever you do helps someone.”

“Mmhmm.” Nathan’s thumb was already hovering over the end call button. “Listen, I’ve gotta go. Thanks for calling.”

The first syllable of Emma’s reply was cut off as Nathan ended the call and immediately dialled the number he’d found for Angela.

“Hello?” A wary voice came from the other end.

“Is this Angela Towny?”

“It is. Who is this?”

“It’s Nathan Albertson,” he said with as much confidence as he could muster.

There was near silence on the other end. The only tell that Angela was still there was the sound of a TV.