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I can’t help but wonder if this will change things for us. There’s no doubt that having to explain what’s going on to my brother means we have to figure it out for ourselves first, something I think we’ve both been avoiding.
Twenty-Six
Chase
The locker room is tense upon our return after bye week, which isn’t unusual given that the trade deadline is coming up so soon, but there’s an extra layer of frost when Miles comes in and catches sight of me. He only looks at me briefly and says nothing.
I gave him a couple of days to cool off before I reached out to him, but he wouldn’t answer my calls or texts. And when Twyla reached him, he picked up but said he was busy and would call her back later, but never did.
Lee and Brady exchange glances and look between us.
By now, they both know what went down. Miles must’ve left Twyla’s and gone right to Lee’s because Shayna called her that night. Then an hour later, Violet called. I have no idea if anyone else in the locker room knows, but I doubt it. Miles wouldn’t go around advertising the fact that his sister is hooking up with one of his friends.
No part of betraying my friend’s trust feels good, but more than that, the whole situation is upsetting Twyla and that’s not okay with me. We need to figure this out so that Twyla’s not in the middle.
I finish getting ready and hang around until most of the other guys have left the locker room. Only then do I walk over to Miles.
“Can we talk for a second?” I ask.
He doesn’t look up from where he’s tying his shoes. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
My forehead wrinkles. “Why not? We need to sort this shit out.”
“Because I don’t want to be fined for fighting my own teammate in the locker room.” He sits up.
“I get it, but it’s hurting Twyla. I’ll say what I need to say and you can say what you need to say and we go from there. How does that sound?”
Miles studies me for a moment then frowns. “Fine. Let’s grab a beer after practice. Let’s not do it here. I don’t want other people up in my business.”
I nod. “All right.”
Miles walks past me, purposely brushing shoulders with me, but I let it pass. A part of me thinks I deserve it. But I can tell you one thing—if he tries to punch me again, it’ll result in my second bar fight this season.
The waitress at the bar down the street from the stadium drops off our beers and stands for a beat with a flirty smile, waiting, I presume, to see if either of us will try to chat her up. When Miles and I continue to stare the other down silently, she leaves.
Miles takes a sip of his beer. I figure now is as good a time as any to start.
“I want to apologize for keeping it from you. I should’ve never agreed to lie to you about what was going on with me and your sister.”
He raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘agreed’?”
I shift in my seat. I’m not trying to throw Twyla under the bus, but I told myself that I would be honest about everything. “We had a discussion about it, and I let your sister make the decision. She didn’t want to tell you.” I sip my beer, waiting for him to answer.
“Jesus.” He pushes a hand through his hair. “Am I really that much of an asshole that no one thinks they can tell me anything?”
My eyebrows draw down. “It’s not that, but we all know how overprotective you are of your sister.”
“I have my reasons,” he grumbles.
“I know, the meningitis when she was a kid.”
His head rears back. “She told you about that?”
I nod.
“She never tells anyone about that. It was such a difficult time in her life. We almost lost her and were so happy when she pulled through, only to have her be miserable at school for months afterward because her classmates were so vicious toward her for no reason.”
“Kids are assholes.”
