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“Wait, wait!” Ralph calls after me, making me turn around. “Where the hell are you going?”
“You know, if one of the qualifications for retaining your UFC championship stats was texting and calling Tatiana every ten minutes, you’d never have to train again.”
“That joke lost its punchline twenty times ago.”
“Your girlfriend can wait,” he says, placing his hands on my shoulders. “If the two of you are meant to be together, it’ll work out in the end. Trust an old guy on this.”
“Do you think she met someone and isn’t telling me?”
“Travis…”
“Nothing else makes sense.” I clench my jaw at the mere thought of her ever being with another guy. “Everything was fine the last time we saw each other, but she’s not talking to me like she used to. She won’t pick up my calls, and I’m pulling teeth just to get her to text me.”
“Doesn’t she have an important competition in a couple months?” He sounds exasperated. “Maybe she’s approaching her training far more seriously than you. It could be nothing.”
“Or it could beeverything.” I step back. “I’ll be back in ten.”
“Right.” He throws up his hands. “Let’s take thirty, everyone!”
I step under the outdoor awning and call Tatiana.
The line rings once.
Twice.
“Hey,” she answers, her voice soft. “What’s up?”
“What’s up? What the hell is wrong with you lately?” I can’t fake how I’m feeling. “Have I done something to you?”
“No, Travis.”
“Tell me the fucking truth, Tatiana.” I can’t take this game anymore. “Better yet, tell me where you are so I can catch a flight and talk to you about us in person.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Have you met someone else?”
“No.” Her voice cracks, the first sign of emotion I’ve heard from her in forever. “It’s a long story, Travis. I’ll call you about it tonight, okay?”
“Okay. I’ll hold you to that. I love you.”
“I’ll always love you, Travis…”
* * *
She doesn’t call me.
She stops answering my texts and calls altogether.
ACT 14
BACK THEN
TATIANA
Chicago, Illinois
Several weeks later
